# This person claims dietary cholesterol intake has nothing to do with heart disease - Is she right? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 18, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439 "2012-11-18T20:46:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/1 "2012-11-18T20:46:52Z")
Is she right or not? [Cholesterol & heart disease – there is a relationship, but it’s not what you think](http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2010/11/cholesterol-heart-disease-%E2%80%93-there-is-a-relationship-but-it%E2%80%99s-not-what-you-think/) ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/2 "2012-11-18T21:24:32Z")
The article was a bit TLDR for me, although what I saw reminded me a bit of things I’ve read from Taubes. I can offer one anecdote for you. I’ve been eating a diet that consists mostly of grassfed meat, pastured eggs, wild-caught fish, and vegetables. I’ve been doing this for almost three years now. In that time, I’ve lost over 60 pounds, and my cholesterol levels have gone down, with bad cholesterol and triglycerides way down, and good cholesterol way up. My diet is 60-65 percent fat, mostly saturated and animal-based. I can’t speak for everyone, but it’s certainly worked for me. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/3 "2012-11-18T21:29:12Z")
[Here’s a neuroscientist](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vr-c8GeT34&feature=youtu.be)claiming the same thing in a youtube video. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/4 "2012-11-18T22:42:38Z")
Even the [American Heart Association](http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/PreventionTreatmentofHighCholesterol/Common-Misconceptions-about-Cholesterol_UCM_305638_Article.jsp) says that eating eggs isn’t a problem, and eggs contain the most cholesterol of any food commonly eaten (I say commonly, there are some that are even higher, like liver, but I don’t think people regularly eat them). Of course, you can only eat one egg (about 2/3 of RDA) a day because you still have to adhere to the recommended cholesterol intake. Also, some people (about 1/3) do get elevated cholesterol from eating a high-cholesterol diet, but both LDL and HDL increase, offsetting their effects (a decrease in HDL is worse than an increase in LDL); the LDL particles also increase in size (small LDL particles are the bad ones), as mentioned [here](http://www.wellnessletter.com/ucberkeley/feature/the-sunny-side-of-eggs/#). A similar story can be said about saturated fat - only certain types of saturated fat actually negatively affect cholesterol; namely, [palmitic acid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmitic_acid), of which palm oil (its namesake) is especially rich in (thus why you hear it is bad for you, it is very common in many other plant oils and animal fats though, but not as much as in palm oil). On the flip side, there is [lauric acid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauric_acid#Potential_medicinal_properties) - which is actually the most beneficial fatty acid, even more so than omega-3s, in its effect on cholesterol levels; it increases cholesterol but HDL in particular (another one is [stearic acid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stearic_acid#Metabolism), which lowers LDL cholesterol). Of course, none of these are as bad as trans fat produced by partial hydrogenation (not to be confused with natural trans fats, which are actually a special combination ([conjugated](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjugated_linoleic_acid)) fat, which have health benefits). ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/5 "2012-11-18T22:45:07Z")
IMHO, as individuals we are all, well, individual enough that it’s almost impossible to tell how a particular diet, or dietary component, will affect any particular part of our lives. It’s an oldie but a goodie: One man’s meat is another man’s poison. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/6 "2012-11-19T01:15:35Z")
> [@astro](#): > > This person claims dietary cholesterol intake has nothing to do with heart disease - > Is she right or not? Well, let’s see. On the one hand, we have experts in cardiovascular physiology and heart disease from organizations including the CDC, National Cholesterol Education Program, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, American College of Cardiology Foundation, and American Heart Association endorsing the value of lowering cholesterol blood levels through diet, exercise and avoidance of smoking in the prevention of heart disease. [http://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/guidelines\_recommendations.htm](http://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/guidelines_recommendations.htm) On the other hand, we have Zoe Harcombe, who says she does “a fortnightly newsletter called “Diet & Health Today” in our on line support club.” I’d go with what Zoe says. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/7 "2012-11-19T16:22:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Well, let’s see. > > On the one hand, we have experts in cardiovascular physiology and heart disease from organizations including the CDC, National Cholesterol Education Program, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, American College of Cardiology Foundation, and American Heart Association endorsing the value of lowering cholesterol blood levels through diet, exercise and avoidance of smoking in the prevention of heart disease. > > [http://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/guidelines\_recommendations.htm](http://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/guidelines_recommendations.htm) > > On the other hand, we have Zoe Harcombe, who says she does “a fortnightly newsletter called “Diet & Health Today” in our on line support club.” > > I’d go with what Zoe says. 🙂 No, on the other hand, we have you who misinterprets what they say to mean that reducing consumption of cholesterol actually lowers such, rather than it just being the healthy diet in general. And who does not read the thread, which shows those same people saying eggs do not cause high cholesterol, despite being high in the dietary form. ---
**Author:** ![randomface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@randomface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randomface)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/8 "2012-11-19T17:23:30Z")
My cholesterol test results went way down when I started eating low carb and eating mountains of saturated fat and cholesterol. Also, my blood pressure is fantastic now. Other test results seem to show lower inflammation (cortisol), so I figure I’m doing great as far as cutting my CVD risk. My grandfather is on statins and attempts to eat a conventionally healthy diet and still cannot get his cholesterol under control nor his blood pressure, so I lean away from blaming fat and dietary cholesterol alone from causing several of the biomarkers associated with CVD risk. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/9 "2012-11-19T17:34:06Z")
This is basically what the late Dr. Atkins claimed for years-that carbohydrates are more of a problem than fats. Yes, blood cholesterol can be controlled with statins, but they have their own side effects. I think much more research into the role of dietary cholesterol is needed. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/10 "2012-11-19T17:43:18Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Well, let’s see. > > On the one hand, we have experts in cardiovascular physiology and heart disease from organizations including the CDC, National Cholesterol Education Program, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, American College of Cardiology Foundation, and American Heart Association endorsing the value of lowering cholesterol blood levels through diet, exercise and avoidance of smoking in the prevention of heart disease. these same “experts” were all in favor of trans fats as “healthier” for us. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/11 "2012-11-20T00:18:04Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > No, on the other hand, we have you who misinterprets what they say to mean that reducing consumption of cholesterol actually lowers such, rather than it just being the healthy diet in general. And who does not read the thread, which shows those same people saying eggs do not cause high cholesterol, despite being high in the dietary form. The OP is about a person who claims that “dietary cholesterol intake has nothing to do with heart disease.” And the source material I linked to does in fact recommend lowering intake of cholesterol in the diet to enhance cardiovascular health. Examples: \*“Consume fewer foods with sodium (salt), saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, and refined grains” \*(2010 dietary recommendations) _"This easy-to-read booklet is designed to help you make the lifestyle changes that will lower blood cholesterol and reduce your risk for heart disease. It explains how to follow the TLC diet (low in saturated fat, trans fat, and dietary cholesterol), increase physical activity, and manage weight for people whose cholesterol level is above their goal. "_ > [@jz78817](#): > > these same “experts” were all in favor of trans fats as “healthier” for us. Your basis for this claim is what? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/12 "2012-11-20T01:54:34Z")
The reason I posted the OP was when I hit her page I thought to myself, “here’s some crank peddling snake oil”, but as I read her page she’s really not peddling anything but her newsletter. [In viewing the YouTube video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vr-c8GeT34&feature=youtu.be) the Dr. speaking about the history of US dietary recommendations makes a compelling case that a lot of these nutritional recommendations and related advice about diet have less to do with science and more to do with business and politics. He makes no bones about the fact that he thinks a lot of the current nutritional paradigm Doctors rely on relative to recommendations about obesity and treatment of cardiovascular disease WRT diet is based on sloppy science, big pharma interests, and even fraud. The video IMO is worth a listen just for the historical perspective it gives in how doctors have addressed obesity from the 1800s until now and how the high protein approach is nothing new. The other weird thing (to me at least) is how amazingly \*old \*the studies are that a lot of these conclusions and recommendations are based on ( early 1900s to the 1950’s) and (if he’s right) how sloppy they were. Doctors aren’t idiots and I’m not pretending there’s some master conspiracy to keep people fat and sick so they can pump them full of statins, but it does seem that the argument that the huge uptick in obesity over the past 30 years is more directly related to an increase in refined carbohydrate intake than any other factor has some legs. Beyond this there is growing evidence that minimizing carbs and maximizing protein intake (even fatty protein in some cases) is far more effective at controlling obesity than a diet based on the US food pyramid. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/13 "2012-11-20T02:20:41Z")
The late bodybuilding trainer Vince Gironda famously recommended eating lots of eggs to build muscle and lose fat, and to keep carbohydrate intake low. (He of course also recommended lots of exercise). In response to criticism that this diet would put people at risk for heart disease, he claimed that: 1. Trigliceride levels were a better measure of coronary risk than blood cholesterol levels; 2. Consuming foods high in cholesterol would not necessarily raise blood cholesterol; 3. Foods high in saturated fats were more likely to raise blood cholesterol than foods high in cholesterol (but some foods had both); 4. Individual genetics played a role, so the best recommendation was to monitor cholesterol and trigliceride levels when eating such a diet. Typical meals under this regimen: - A whole bunch of eggs, mixed in a blender with half and half; tossed salad - A large helping of cooked hamburger; steamed vegetables ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/14 "2012-11-20T13:19:26Z")
Good, now we’ve got a bodybuilder’s trainer and a YouTube video weighing in. The evidence is becoming overwhelming! :rolleyes: > [@astro](#): > > He makes no bones about the fact that he thinks a lot of the current nutritional paradigm Doctors rely on relative to recommendations about obesity and treatment of cardiovascular disease WRT diet is based on sloppy science, big pharma interests, and even fraud. Uh-huh. _They_ don’t want us to know the real story, so _They_ can sell us nasty drugs while they’re secretly chowing down on eggs cooked in coconut oil and living to ripe, healthy old ages.\* > [@](#): > > The other weird thing (to me at least) is how amazingly \*old \*the studies are that a lot of these conclusions and recommendations are based on ( early 1900s to the 1950’s) Beyond the fact that the recommendations I linked to are all quite recent, you can go to PubMed and look up for yourself the literature on lipids and cardiovascular health. There’s a ton of recently published and ongoing work in the field (the first 40 journal articles that come up in a search of cholesterol and heart disease have publication dates of October-December 2012). > **[PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)** > > PubMed® comprises more than 38 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites. Anyone who claims most of the studies are 1950s vintage or earlier is amazingly ignorant or deliberately promoting a falsehood. There are a number of factors involved in good cardiovascular health, of which a lowered cholesterol intake is only one (weight loss, exercise and avoiding smoking/secondhand smoke are among the others). \*what is not so amazing is how many of the people who tell you mainstream health recommendations are financially motivated, are themselves out to sell you supplements, books and subscriptions. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/15 "2012-11-20T13:38:51Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > There’s a ton of recently published and ongoing work in the field (the first 40 journal articles that come up in a search of cholesterol and heart disease have publication dates of October-December 2012). > > [PubMed](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) > > Anyone who claims most of the studies are 1950s vintage or earlier is amazingly ignorant or deliberately promoting a falsehood. I don’t want to wade through the first 40 articles, but after the first 10 it is quite clear those are irrelevant topics that just happen to include the word “cholesterol”. Did you read all 40? Could you link to some specific studies that back up your point? I found [this one](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19751443) that seems a little more relevant on the same site. > [@](#): > > For many years, both the medical community and the general public have incorrectly associated eggs with high serum cholesterol and being deleterious to health, even though cholesterol is an essential component of cells and organisms. It is now acknowledged that the original studies purporting to show a linear relation between cholesterol intake and coronary heart disease (CHD) may have contained fundamental study design flaws, including conflated cholesterol and saturated fat consumption rates and inaccurately assessed actual dietary intake of fats by study subjects. Newer and more accurate trials, such as that conducted by Frank B. Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health (1999), have shown that consumption of up to seven eggs per week is harmonious with a healthful diet, except in male patients with diabetes for whom an association in higher egg intake and CHD was shown. The degree to which serum cholesterol is increased by dietary cholesterol depends upon whether the individual’s cholesterol synthesis is stimulated or down-regulated by such increased intake, and the extent to which each of these phenomena occurs varies from person to person. Several recent studies have shed additional light on the specific interplay between dietary cholesterol and cardiovascular health risk. It is evident that the dynamics of cholesterol homeostasis, and of development of CHD, are extremely complex and multifactorial. In summary, the earlier purported adverse relationship between dietary cholesterol and heart disease risk was likely largely over-exaggerated. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/16 "2012-11-20T13:45:38Z")
Here is another [relevant article](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9430080) from the Pubmed website: > [@](#): > > The misperception that dietary cholesterol determines blood cholesterol is held by many consumers in spite of evidence to the contrary. Many studies reported over the past 2 years have shown that dietary cholesterol is not a significant factor in an individual’s plasma cholesterol level or cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Reports from the Lipid Research Clinics Research Prevalence Study and the Framingham Heart Study have shown that dietary cholesterol is not related to either blood cholesterol or heart disease deaths. In a similar manner, 10 clinical trials (1994 to 1996) of the effects of dietary cholesterol on blood lipids and lipoproteins indicate that addition of an egg or two a day to a low-fat diet has little if any effect on blood cholesterol levels. This observation was noted in young men and women with normal cholesterol levels as well as older subjects with elevated plasms cholesterol concentrations. The consistency of the clinical and the epidemiological data demonstrating that dietary cholesterol has little effect on plasma cholesterol in most individuals raises a number of questions regarding the justification of population wide restrictions on dietary cholesterol intake and egg consumption. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/17 "2012-11-20T13:49:56Z")
Here is some more information from the [Harvard School of Public Health](http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-full-story/index.html): > [@](#): > > Why hasn’t cutting fat from the diet paid off as expected? Detailed research—much of it done at Harvard—shows that the total amount of fat in the diet isn’t really linked with weight or disease. What really matters is the type of fat and the total calories in the diet. ([7](http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-full-story/index.html#references)-[15](http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-full-story/index.html#references)) Bad fats, meaning trans and saturated fats, increase the risk for certain diseases. Good fats, meaning monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, do just the opposite. They are good for the heart and most other parts of the body. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/18 "2012-11-20T14:01:57Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > > [@jz78817](#): > > > > these same “experts” were all in favor of trans fats as “healthier” for us. > > \*Your basis for this claim is what? I believe what he means is that partially hydrogenated vegetable oil was thought to be healthier because it had no cholesterol and less saturated fat (and comes from vegetables, which everybody knows are healthy), before it was found that hydrogenation produced trans fats (full hydrogenation produces saturated fat) which are now know to be far worse. Even today, you can still find products which proclaim to be saturated fat/cholesterol free and contain trans fat. For example [Bac-Os](http://www.americanfood4u.com/Spicery/Bac-Os_Bacon_Flavor_Chips_i33_1362.htm) (got to love the “adds a trivial amount of trans fat”, which can be listed as 0 grams due to lenient labeling rules, and the blurb about being part of a healthy diet; of course, [real bacon is also bad for you](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20100517/processed-meat-linked-to-heart-disease-risks), but not necessarily because it has saturated fat and cholesterol). ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/19 "2012-11-20T14:15:18Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > The late bodybuilding trainer Vince Gironda famously recommended eating lots of eggs to build muscle and lose fat, and to keep carbohydrate intake low. (He of course also recommended lots of exercise). > > 1. Foods high in saturated fats were more likely to raise blood cholesterol than foods high in cholesterol (but some foods had both); > > Typical meals under this regimen: > > - A whole bunch of eggs, mixed in a blender with half and half; tossed salad Those statements are contradictory; eggs are loaded with saturated fat as can be seen [here](http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/111/2) (347 calories contain 38% of your DV), and in roughly the same proportion relative to total fat as other animal based foods (one wonders if the DV for saturated fat was based on a diet consisting of only said foods, since to get 100% of your DV of saturated fat, you will also get about the same in total fat; of course, processed foods can have far more saturated fat as a percent of total fat, plus use oils (palm oil) with a higher palmitic acid content, which adversely affects cholesterol, unlike other saturated fats). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439/20 "2012-11-20T15:26:45Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > I don’t want to wade through the first 40 articles, but after the first 10 it is quite clear those are irrelevant topics that just happen to include the word “cholesterol”. I mentioned that particular search as an illustration that dietary cholesterol and heart disease are an ongoing research emphasis and that it is false to claim all the work was done in the 1950s or earlier. One of those “first ten” papers emphasizes the importance of lowering LDL cholesterol levels, mentioning “clinical trial data confirming the efficacy of aggressive lipid management. Within secondary prevention in particular, there is a need for more widespread use of intensive statin therapy to achieve low LDL cholesterol levels to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients at high risk for recurrent events.” > **[Management of cardiovascular risk: the importance of meeting lipid targets -...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22697390/)** > > Strategies to reduce cardiovascular risk in primary and secondary prevention focus on optimization of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. Since the 2004 update of the Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III guidelines, developments in the field... Your definition of “relevance” and mine apparently differ. What annoys me is the claim by Random People On The Internet that dietary cholesterol has nothing to do with heart disease and that recommendations to lower cholesterol through diet and drugs are “A SCAM!”. What recent research has demonstrated (and your own, most recent link emphasizes) is that there are multiple factors including genetics and type of fat that influence development of cardiovascular disease, and emphasis on amount of saturated fat intake alone is not justified (nor is it what mainstream medicine calls for). > [@](#): > > Here is some more information from the Harvard School of Public Health: They don’t say harm from excessive saturated fat intake is a myth - they warn that “generic” low fat diets haven’t generally worked out well to curb obesity and heart disease, particularly since people typically don’t follow other advice on calories, exercise etc. and chow down on lots of carbohydrates to make up for the lost fats. > [@](#): > > Here is another relevant article from the Pubmed website Relevancy tends to decline with advancing age (that article is 15 years old). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-person-claims-dietary-cholesterol-intake-has-nothing-to-do-with-heart-disease-is-she-right/641439.md?page=2)