U.S. Advisers Rethink Cholesterol Risk From Foods: Report
U.S. Advisers Rethink Cholesterol Risk From Foods: Report
Trans fats are a bigger threat to heart health, doctors and dietitians say
The federal panel discussed its cholesterol decision in December, the Post reported. The group's final report is due within weeks.
High levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol in a person's blood have long been linked to the formation of arterial plaques that can impede the flow of blood and contribute to heart attacks or strokes, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).
But many nutritionists and heart doctors now believe that for a healthy adult, cholesterol consumed at mealtimes does not significantly affect blood cholesterol and, thus, the risk of heart disease.
Instead, they have focused on the body's natural ability to produce cholesterol. This type of cholesterol is used for a wide variety of purposes -- to create hormones, to produce bile acids, to make vitamin D and to maintain healthy cell membranes.
Some people seem genetically predisposed to create unhealthy levels of this cholesterol in their bodies, experts say. But as many as one in four people still may be more vulnerable to diets high in cholesterol, and these people will need to continue watching what they eat, the experts said.
However, this does not mean that people can start eating foods high in saturated fat, which are a major source of "bad" LDL cholesterol, warned Dr. Robert Eckel, chair of atherosclerosis for the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and a spokesman for the AHA.
"Saturated fat is still bad for your blood cholesterol," as are trans fats, he said.
Eckel noted that the AHA itself has remained ambivalent regarding dietary cholesterol intake, neither condemning nor approving it.
"It just means the types of studies and the inadequacies of the data makes us uncomfortable," he said, arguing that there needs to be new, well-designed studies that compare dietary cholesterol intake against diets heavy in saturated fats.
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee's proposed cholesterol recommendations run counter to dietary directives promoted for decades by a wide range of federal health agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In fact, the panel now poised to shrug off dietary cholesterol had deemed it a public health concern just five years ago, when the panel last convened.
U.S. Advisers Rethink Cholesterol Risk From Foods
Trans fats are a bigger threat to heart health, doctors and dietitians say
The federal panel discussed its cholesterol decision in December, the Post reported. The group's final report is due within weeks.
High levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol in a person's blood have long been linked to the formation of arterial plaques that can impede the flow of blood and contribute to heart attacks or strokes, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).
But many nutritionists and heart doctors now believe that for a healthy adult, cholesterol consumed at mealtimes does not significantly affect blood cholesterol and, thus, the risk of heart disease.
Instead, they have focused on the body's natural ability to produce cholesterol. This type of cholesterol is used for a wide variety of purposes -- to create hormones, to produce bile acids, to make vitamin D and to maintain healthy cell membranes.
Some people seem genetically predisposed to create unhealthy levels of this cholesterol in their bodies, experts say. But as many as one in four people still may be more vulnerable to diets high in cholesterol, and these people will need to continue watching what they eat, the experts said.
However, this does not mean that people can start eating foods high in saturated fat, which are a major source of "bad" LDL cholesterol, warned Dr. Robert Eckel, chair of atherosclerosis for the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and a spokesman for the AHA.
"Saturated fat is still bad for your blood cholesterol," as are trans fats, he said.
Eckel noted that the AHA itself has remained ambivalent regarding dietary cholesterol intake, neither condemning nor approving it.
"It just means the types of studies and the inadequacies of the data makes us uncomfortable," he said, arguing that there needs to be new, well-designed studies that compare dietary cholesterol intake against diets heavy in saturated fats.
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee's proposed cholesterol recommendations run counter to dietary directives promoted for decades by a wide range of federal health agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In fact, the panel now poised to shrug off dietary cholesterol had deemed it a public health concern just five years ago, when the panel last convened.