Independence of the effects of cholesterol and degree of saturation of the fat in the diet on serum cholesterol in man

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Abstract
The effect on the fasting serum lipid levels of adding daily 291 mg of cholesterol to diets containing 3 mg of cholesterol and equal fat content, but different fatty acid composition, was tested on 12 young men. The saturated diet provided 97 g/day of a staurated oil made up of 2 parts of palm oil and 1 part of coconut oil. The polyunsaturated diet provided 97 g/day of safflower oil. The cholesterol was dissolved in 40 g of either oil incorporated into a spread. A similar spread, devoid of cholesterol, was fed during the cholesterol free periods. Duration of dietary periods was 14 days. Addition of cholesterol produced a mean elevation of serum cholesterol of 9 mg/dl (SE ± 2.1) in the presence of the saturated diet, and of 8 mg/dl (SE ± 1.6) in the presence of the polyunsaturated diet. Both cholesterol elevations were significant (P < 0.01) but not significantly different from each other. Substitution of the saturated diet for the polyunsaturated diet caused a significant elevation of serum cholesterol which was the same when the substitution was made in the presence or in the absence of added dietary cholesterol.