# Cholesterol in the diet need no longer be considered a “nutrient of concern” **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 11, 2015, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347 "2015-02-11T00:01:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/1 "2015-02-11T00:01:32Z")
[The U.S. government is poised to withdraw longstanding warnings about cholesterol](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/10/feds-poised-to-withdraw-longstanding-warnings-about-dietary-cholesterol/) > [@](#): > > The nation’s top nutrition advisory panel has decided to drop its caution about eating cholesterol-laden food, a move that could undo almost 40 years of government warnings about its consumption. Saw this on FOX Business as I was working out in the gym. Any MDs want to weigh in on this? They just realized they were talking out of their ass for 40 years? What’s the skinny? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/2 "2015-02-11T00:04:32Z")
They figured out that eating cholesterol doesn’t give you cholesterol, just like eating pork doesn’t turn you into a pig. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/3 "2015-02-11T00:13:43Z")
NM. DP based on faulty site message. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/4 "2015-02-11T00:42:30Z")
So one of those Egg Council creeps got to them too, huh? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/5 "2015-02-11T01:05:05Z")
the corpse of Ancel Keys should be dug up and killed again. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/6 "2015-02-11T01:07:32Z")
Good, now everyone can STFU about my butter. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/7 "2015-02-11T01:21:59Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Good, now everyone can STFU about my butter. I blame the early cholesterol hysteria for part of my Dad’s issues later (although he could have just not buttered everything :smack:). Before he had any cholesterol issues it prompted the switch to margarine as a one for one replacement. That was back when margarine was basically transfat and yellow dye. With the benefit of hindsight, the results were what we’d expect now with all that transfat in his system. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/8 "2015-02-11T01:30:15Z")
mmmm bacon cooked in butter with extra eggs… ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/9 "2015-02-11T01:45:58Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > …Saw this on FOX Business as I was working out in the gym. Any MDs want to weigh in on this? They just realized they were talking out of their ass for 40 years? What’s the skinny? Ha! Have you taken a look at the original food pyramid? They were wrong on just about everything. Don’t forget your 4 daily servings of white bread! Also, while you might want our MD’s to weigh in, they’re not necessarily more qualified any more than you or me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/10 "2015-02-11T01:51:34Z")
Hasn’t this been fairly well-known for awhile? I guess they’re now making it official, but I seem to recall hearing at least a decade ago that dietary cholesterol has little to do with blood cholesterol levels. IANA doctor, though. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/11 "2015-02-11T02:04:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Ha! Have you taken a look at the original food pyramid? They were wrong on just about everything. Don’t forget your 4 daily servings of white bread! At least the original food pyramid made recommendations. Now, the official food pyramid says “Eat lots of starches, unless starches are bad for you, and in that case eat very little of them”. And yeah, this is old news. It’s been known for decades that dietary cholesterol has very little direct relationship with cholesterol levels in the body. What complicates matters is that fat, especially saturated fat, can contribute to bodily cholesterol levels, and foods high in cholesterol are often also high in saturated fat. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/12 "2015-02-11T03:36:59Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > They just realized they were talking out of their ass for 40 years? What’s the skinny? That’s how science is supposed to work. New evidence says the old understanding was wrong, so they change it. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/13 "2015-02-11T04:04:46Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > That’s how science is supposed to work. New evidence says the old understanding was wrong, so they change it. Yep but also remember that “facts” in nutritional guidelines was flawed in the first place and pushed by big sugar, grain or whatever. I draw your attention to a Scientific American article that goes onto say salt aint that bad. > **[It's Time to End the War on Salt](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/its-time-to-end-the-war-on-salt/)** > > The zealous drive by politicians to limit our salt intake has little basis in science This week a meta-analysis of seven studies involving a total of 6,250 subjects in the American Journal of Hypertension found no strong evidence that cutting salt intake reduces the risk for heart attacks, strokes or death in people with normal or high blood pressure. In May European researchers publishing in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that the less sodium that study subjects excreted in their urine—an excellent measure of prior consumption—the greater their risk was of dying from heart disease. These findings call into question the common wisdom that excess salt is bad for you, but the evidence linking salt to heart disease has always been tenuous. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/14 "2015-02-11T04:07:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > At least the original food pyramid made recommendations. Now, the official food pyramid says “Eat lots of starches, unless starches are bad for you, and in that case eat very little of them”. > > And yeah, this is old news. It’s been known for decades that dietary cholesterol has very little direct relationship with cholesterol levels in the body. What complicates matters is that fat, especially saturated fat, can contribute to bodily cholesterol levels, and foods high in cholesterol are often also high in saturated fat. Oh the food pyramid is another one that big grain unduly influenced! > **[Sweden Becomes First Western Nation to Reject Low-fat Diet Dogma in Favor of...](https://healthimpactnews.com/2013/sweden-becomes-first-western-nation-to-reject-low-fat-diet-dogma-in-favor-of-low-carb-high-fat-nutrition/)** > > Sweden has become the first Western nation to develop national dietary guidelines that reject the popular low-fat diet dogma in favor of low-carb high-fat nutrition advice. The switch in dietary advice followed the publication of a two-year study by... ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/15 "2015-02-11T05:14:41Z")
Damn you, Big Egg! ---
**Author:** ![Waymore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Waymore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waymore)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/16 "2015-02-11T05:24:01Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > So one of those Egg Council creeps got to them too, huh? Bravo to you fair poster. One of my favorite episodes ever. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/17 "2015-02-11T06:03:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What complicates matters is that fat, especially saturated fat, can contribute to bodily cholesterol levels, yeah, until they change their minds about that too. I’d like to see a study on the effects of saturated fat intake _in the absence of stuffing your face with sugars and starches._ ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/18 "2015-02-11T17:26:59Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Hasn’t this been fairly well-known for awhile? I guess they’re now making it official, but I seem to recall hearing at least a decade ago that dietary cholesterol has little to do with blood cholesterol levels. IANA doctor, though. This federal panel renewed the dietary cholesterol warning five years ago. Apparently they have decided that the weight of the evidence now tilts the other way. Pharmaceutical commercials have been characterizing cholesterol levels as having two sources (diet and genetics) for the last several years. Overall, I think it’s fair to say that it’s old news that genetics can influence one’s levels, but the decision to eliminate diet from concern is new. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/19 "2015-02-11T17:41:51Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > yeah, until they change their minds about that too. I’d like to see a study on the effects of saturated fat intake _in the absence of stuffing your face with sugars and starches._ I would as well. I have excellent blood lipids despite 60 to 65% of my caloric intake coming as fats. What I don’t eat are sugar and starch. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347/20 "2015-02-11T17:48:00Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > So one of those Egg Council creeps got to them too, huh? It’s not like that! Eggs have gotten a rather bad rap lately. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholesterol-in-the-diet-need-no-longer-be-considered-a-nutrient-of-concern/712347.md?page=2)