The notion that dietary cholesterol, (cholesterol that occurs naturally within food), promotes cardiovascular disease has been a central tenet of the US government’s dietary recommendations for the past 50 years, including their Food Guide Pyramid (retired in 2005), MyPyramid (retired in 2011), and their current MyPlate configuration. Soon, however, the government may finally change its course, aligning itself with decades of scientific research showing that dietary cholesterol neither increases serum (blood) cholesterol levels nor increases risks for cardiovascular disease.
This surprising revelation broke when the Washington Times reported that the highly influential Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), the group responsible for providing the scientific basis for official US dietary guidelines, is poised to reverse its longstanding warnings against eggs, shrimp, various animal fats, and other foods rich in dietary cholesterol.1
Such a reversal would be highly impactful and significant considering that official dietary guidelines affect school lunch programs and other institutional menu planning, while also directly influencing the eating habits of millions of Americans.
The DGAC convenes once every five years to update and adjust, if necessary, their recommendations. According to the Washington Post, at the panel’s final meeting in December, they decided to withdraw their dietary cholesterol warnings. “A person with direct knowledge of the proceedings,” the Post reports, “said the cholesterol finding would make it to the group’s final report, which is due within weeks.”2 In the current status and trend recap following December’s meeting the DGAC notes, "Cholesterol is not considered a nutrient of concern for overconsumption." Read more here.
