Nutrition Science and Everyday Application - beta v 0.1

LIPID RECOMMENDATIONS AND HEART HEALTH 299
Dr. Krauss summed up the recommendations as such: “An overall eating pattern that
emphasizes whole grains rather than refined carbs such as white flour, along with foods
high in polyunsaturated fats, such as fish, seeds, nuts and vegetable oils, is of more value for
reducing coronary heart disease risk than simply aiming to further reduce saturated fat.”
Figure 5.29. Examples of heart healthy meals, including fish, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and
unsaturated fats
What About Dietary Cholesterol?
Dietary cholesterol also has a small impact on overall blood cholesterol levels, but not as
much as some people may think. For most people, decreasing dietary cholesterol intake has
little impact on blood cholesterol, because their bodies respond by reducing synthesis of
cholesterol in favor of using the cholesterol obtained from food. Genetic factors may also
influence the way a person’s body responds to changes in cholesterol intake. The 2015 U.S.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) suggest limiting saturated fats, thereby indirectly
limiting dietary cholesterol since foods that are high in cholesterol tend to also be high in
saturated fats. (Eggs and fish are notable exceptions; both are high in cholesterol but low in
saturated fats.)
The 2015 DGA dropped the previous recommendation (from the 2010 DGA) to limit the
consumption of dietary cholesterol to 300 mg per day, but with a caveat: “This change does
not suggest that dietary cholesterol is no longer important to consider when building healthy
eating patterns. As recommended by the Institute of Medicine, individuals should eat as little
dietary cholesterol as possible while consuming a healthy eating pattern.”