Effect of dietary cholesterol on serum cholesterol in man

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Abstract
Fifty-six adult males were fed for 3 weeks a cholesterol-free formula diet. They were then divided into four groups of 14 subjects each. During a 6-week period they received a formula diet containing 0, 106, 212, or 317 mg of cholesterol/1,000 kcal. The fatty acid composition of all diets approximated the diet normally consumed in the United States, i.e., 40% of saturated fatty acids and 12% of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The ingestion of cholesterol resulted in an elevation of the serum cholesterol. This increase was linear over the entire range of sterol feeding. Each 100 mg cholesterol in 1,000 kcal of diet resulted in approximately a 12 mg/100-ml increase in serum cholesterol. The highest level of cholesterol that was fed approximates that in the United States diet. The subjects receiving this diet showed a 40 mg/100-ml rise in serum cholesterol. It is proposed that relatively greater importance should be given to dietary cholesterol as a determinant of the serum cholesterol level in the United States population.