Alteration of Serum Cholesterol by Dietary Fats.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Serum total cholesterol concentration was measured in 122 young men and 19 young women before and after 9 days during which each person ingested daily 57 g of corn oil, olive oil, safflower oil or butterfat. The subjects were instructed to follow their usual diets during this period and body weight measurements indicated that the experimental fats did not supplant an equal quantity of ordinary diet calories. The subjects who ingested butterfat showed a slight but statistically insignificant rise in the serum cholesterol while those who ingested the other fats exhibited a statistically significant decrease, averaging 23 [plus or minus] 2.8 mg/100 ml with corn oil, 18 [plus or minus] 4.6 with safflower oil and 10.7 [plus or minus] 2.3 with olive oil. Compared with the safflower oil the corn oil was more saturated (iodine value 126.7 vs. 144.2) and contained less linoleic acid (57.5 vs. 72%), so it is concluded that the cholesterol depressant action of the corn oil was not fully accounted for by its degree of unsaturation or content of "essential" fatty acid. Since the subjects in all groups gained some weight, it appears that at least some effects of the 3 vegetable oils tested can be obtained without exact iso-calorie substitution in a normal diet.