Dietary Cholesterol Controversy

From Medical News Today

“Luckily, some debates have been settled, and there is no controversy: Vegetables are good for you. So are fruits, whole grains, and everything in the bean group: beans, peas, lentils, etc. The science is clear, and there is no debate there,” said one physician.

 

“Where the debate comes in is with commercial products containing ‘bad’ fat, cholesterol, and untoward amounts of sugar. So, meat, dairy products, eggs, coconut and palm oil, and sodas will continue to be part of a tug-o-war between industry and health advocates.”

 

The advice is to think less about specific nutrients — such as cholesterol — and more about overall food patterns.

 

If one follows a healthy Mediterranean-style diet, the foods involved in that pattern tend to be low in dietary cholesterol without mentioning it. They tend to be low in saturated fat without mentioning it. They tend to be high in fiber without mentioning it. And the overall ‘pattern’ has been shown again and again, in different ways, to be healthy.

 

“Another way to frame this is as a whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet, which is very similar to a Mediterranean diet. After all, people don’t shop for nutrients; they shop for foods,” one researcher said.

 

“Shopping for the foods that would go into a Mediterranean diet would involve lots of veggies, beans, nuts and seeds, fruits, whole intact grains, and modest amounts of fish, yogurt, eggs, and some other animal products.”

 

It would mean avoiding added sugars and large dessert portions of refined fats and grains. This is the approach that is being taken by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.