Oct 25, 2017 - Dietary cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients: a review of the ... disease (CHD) and stroke as the two leading causes.
Dietary cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients: a review of the Harvard Egg Study and other data
Dietary cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients: a review of the Harvard Egg Study and other data P. J. H. Jones Dispersing the fog In recent years, the prevalence of cancers has declined significantly (1), signalling an overall improvement in health and medical knowledge. By contrast, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in North America (2). The World Health Organization continues to rate coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke as the two leading causes of death in developed countries. These two disorders also remain as two of the top five causes of death in underdeveloped countries (3). Thus it is particularly important to understand the factors that contribute to CHD and to tailor all prevention and management strategies accordingly, encompassing all areas of medication, diet and exercise. Early research focusing on dietary cholesterol and cardiovascular disease often used eggs as a test product because of their naturally high cholesterol content. As a result, a misperception has endured that eggs are associated with high serum cholesterol and are deleterious to health. However, cholesterol is an essential molecule for life. It is an integral part of cell membranes, is an important regulator for many hormones and aids in digestion. In addition, there is very little evidence supporting the association of dietary cholesterol with serum cholesterol and development of cardiovascular disease. A recent assessment of the early studies purporting to show a link between dietary cholesterol and cardiovascular disease highlights the fundamental flaws in their designs. Marion Volk, a naturopath and faculty member at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, has examined early studies that concluded a linear correlation existed between consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol and death from heart disease (4). She conducted a literature search of studies published in English before 1994 – because after 1994 most trials included a staSUMMARY 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
