The Life Sciences Research Organization (LSRO) in Bethesda, Maryland has published a review article in the June 2010 issue of Nutrition Reviews that summarizes a December 2008 conference entitled Conference on Cholesterol: Where Science and Public Health Policy Intersect. Organized by LSRO and sponsored by the Egg Nutrition Center, the conference elaborated the scientific data supporting the US nutrition policy recommendations to limit dietary cholesterol and analyzed the consequences of the policy on US government-sponsored food programs, eating patterns, and health of the US population.
Brownawell AM, Falk MC.
Cholesterol: where science and public health policy intersect.
Nutrition Reviews 2010; 68(12):697-718.
Abstract
Current US guidelines for cholesterol recommend limiting intake of cholesterol to <300 mg/day for the general population and <200 mg/day for individuals with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. These recommendations, however, are at odds with international (e.g., Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia) guidelines that provide no specific numerical recommendation, but instead recommend reducing total fat intake and shifting fat consumption away from saturated and trans fats to unsaturated fats. A conference was held on December 3, 2008, to evaluate the data supporting current US nutrition policy recommendations to limit dietary cholesterol and analyze the consequences of this policy on the eating patterns and health of the US population. This review is a summary of the information and perspectives presented by conference speakers and discussed by conference participants.Reprints of the article are available from LSRO by contacting Dr. Michael Falk, 301-634-7030, FalkM@LSRO.org.
