US determined that cholesterol is not so bad (+ study)

The experts of the Committee reviewed the evidence and concluded that cholesterol is not a significant influence in plasma, as is saturated fat. There is no longer (warning) about the limit of (intake) cholesterol. (...) so it is decided that no restriction or recommendation on cholesterol should be made ... "This is how Dr. Barbara E. Millen, President of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, makes it known.

The main US nutrition panel He decided to set aside his traditional caution text on the intake of cholesterol-laden foods, a measure that could nullify nearly 40 years of government warnings about its consumption.

The finding of the group, in that cholesterol in the diet should no longer be considered a "risk nutrient" contrasts with the committee's findings five years ago, the last time it was called to consider the analyzes. During these procedures, as in previous years, the panel considered that the problem of excess cholesterol in the American diet was a public health problem.

The finding follows an evolution of thinking among many nutritionists who now believe that eating foods high in cholesterol may not significantly affect the level of cholesterol in the blood or increase the risk of heart disease, at least, initially, for healthy adults.

The biggest danger in this regard, believe these experts, does not lie in products such as eggs, shrimp or lobster, which are rich in cholesterol, but in too many portions of heavy foods with saturated fats (beyond just cholesterol), such as fatty meats, whole milk and butter.

Although the generic concern about cholesterol is removed, it is to be noted that the new conclusions about its intake does not reverse the warnings about the high levels of the so-called "bad cholesterol" in the blood, which have been related to heart disease. In addition, some experts warned that people with particular health problems, such as diabetes, should continue to avoid high-cholesterol diets.

Although we are accustomed to contradictory dietary advice, in this case the announcement comes from a serious and well-informed source, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, the group that provides the advice. Scientific basis for the "Food Guidelines". That federal publication has broad effects on the American diet, helping to determine the content of school lunches, affecting the way food manufacturers publicize their products and serving as the basis for a large number of dietary tips.

Marian Neuhouser, member of the board of directors, presented the decision on cholesterol two years ago, publishing these conclusions along with another series of guides in the most recent publication of the Dietary Guidelines (2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans - here in pdf ), a study that is reviewed every five years.

Experts consulted about the change, such as Naomi K. Fukagawa, a professor at the University of Vermont who served as vice chair of the committee in 2010, support the change in cholesterol. Walter Willett, chairman of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, also called the change in cholesterol a "reasonable move."

But this change of recommendation on dietary cholesterol also shows how the complexity of nutrition science can contribute to confusion for the general public, who, while seeking guidance on what to eat, are often afloat in contradictory advice.

Cholesterol has been a constant in dietary warnings around the world, and in the United States at least since 1961, when it appeared in guidelines developed by the American Heart Association. Later adopted by the federal government, such warnings helped change dietary habits (even egg consumption per capita dropped by about 30%).

However, even today, after more than a century of scientific research, scientists continue to be divided.

Many nutritionists say that they should have eliminated the warning about cholesterol long ago, noting that the United States was outside the knowledge disclosed in other countries, where dietary patterns do not distinguish cholesterol. But others admit that they prefer to keep the warnings.