Diet, Serum Cholesterol and Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract

Diet, particularly the ingestion of cholesterol and fats, has been considered as causally related to the increasing incidence of coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis. This communication presents evidence which is not consonant with this viewpoint. The evidence presented here is based upon dietary and serum cholesterol studies of 97 males who had experienced coronary heart disease prior to the age of 40 and, for purposes of comparison, 146 healthy, nonhospitalized males. The evidence shows clearly that (a) there is virtually no correlation between ingested cholesterol and the level of cholesterol in the serum, and (b) there is virtually no difference, on the average, in the amount of cholesterol ingested by patients of the coronary disease group and the individuals of the control group. A discussion of the "dietary theory" of atherosclerosis is included in this presentation.