I get this question all the time.
"Dr. Sean, what about my high LDL? I'm worried about eating red meat."
Here's my answer: You're tracking the wrong thing.
Cholesterol is noise. The MRI is signal.
Let me explain.
When your doctor runs bloodwork, you get a number. Just a number. That number tells you traffic is happening on the highway. It does not tell you where those cars are going.
Here is an example:
In a healthy person, high triglycerides can mean rapid fat turnover. Your body grabbing fat from storage and burning it for fuel. Sign of metabolic agility.
In an unhealthy person, that same number means fat overflow. Congestion. Disease forming.
Same number. Opposite meanings.
Your doctor cannot tell the difference. The lab cannot tell the difference. Nobody can tell the difference from a blood draw.
This is what I call the signal-to-noise problem.
Dozens of variables confound cholesterol numbers. Time of day. What you ate. Whether you fasted. Your metabolic state. Your insulin levels. The list goes on.
Visceral fat on an MRI has zero confounders.
You either have it or you don't. You can see it. You can measure it. It has a visual impact on your senses. And then you can track its reduction or accumulation over time as a direct measure of the choices you are making in your life.
After scanning thousands of people, I can tell you this: I've seen patients with "perfect" cholesterol numbers who were rotting inside with visceral fat around their organs and inflammatory fat strangling their heart.
I've also seen patients with "high" LDL who had almost no structural disease.
The MRI ends the lie.
Your body makes cholesterol for a reason. You need it to produce hormones. To build cell membranes. To make testosterone.
The problem is not cholesterol. The problem is glycated, oxidized cholesterol. And that happens when you're filled with visceral fat and insulin resistance.
Fix the structural disease. The numbers sort themselves out.
That's why I built the Ultimate Start.
Get scanned. We'll show you the best place to get an elective, for cash, a full-body MRI.
For $990, you'll get a detailed physician's read of your MRI. You'll see exactly where the deadly fat lives inside you. Not a guess. Not a blood draw. The truth.
Plus my 48 strategies to eliminate it. Two months of coaching. And 50% off Alpha Maker, my twice-a-week live lecture and ask-me-anything series with nearly 100 recordings of past presentations.
Stop chasing noisy metrics. Start tracking what matters.
—Dr. Sean
Not Medical Advice: This newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, nor does it establish a doctor-patient relationship. The information provided should not be used as a substitute for consultation with qualified healthcare professionals. Always consult your physician before making changes to your diet, exercise, supplementation, or medication regimens. Individual results vary. The strategies discussed may not be appropriate for your specific situation. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you've read here. If you have existing health conditions or are taking medications, obtain medical clearance before implementing any protocols mentioned.