Cholesterol is not as terrible as it is painted
Study Claims Cholesterol in Food Does Not Increase Stroke Risk
Lina Medvedeva, XX2 century
A study by the University of Eastern Finland (New Finnish study: dietary cholesterol or egg consumption do not increase the risk of stroke) showed that a moderately high intake of dietary cholesterol, no more than one egg per day, is not associated with an increased risk of stroke. In addition, carriers of the APOE4 phenotype, which affects cholesterol metabolism and is common among the Finnish population, did not find a correlation between these factors. The results of the study were published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Abdollahi et al., Egg consumption, cholesterol intake, and risk of incident stroke in men: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study).
The results of previous studies on the relationship between dietary cholesterol intake and stroke risk contradict each other. Some studies have found a link between high cholesterol in the diet and an increased risk of stroke. Others associate the consumption of eggs containing high amounts of cholesterol with a reduced risk of stroke. For most people, cholesterol consumed with food has little effect on serum cholesterol levels. However, carriers of apolipoprotein E phenotype 4 (APOE4), which significantly affects cholesterol metabolism, have a higher dietary effect of cholesterol on serum cholesterol levels. In Finland, the prevalence of APOE4 is exceptionally high, its carriers are about a third of the population. However, research data on the association between high dietary cholesterol intake and stroke risk in this population has not yet been available.
In 1984-1989 in The University of Eastern Finland has started a study of risk factors for coronary heart disease in Kuopio (Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study), an assessment of the eating habits of 1950 men aged 42 to 60 years who do not have diagnosed cardiovascular diseases was made. Data on the APOE phenotype were available for 1015 men participating in the study, 32% of them had APOE4.
During 21 years of follow-up, 217 men were diagnosed with stroke. The study found that neither dietary cholesterol nor egg consumption were associated with stroke risk, even in APOE4 carriers.
The data obtained indicate that moderate cholesterol intake, or daily consumption of eggs, is not associated with the risk of stroke, even in individuals genetically predisposed to a stronger effect of dietary cholesterol on serum cholesterol levels. In the control group, participants consumed an average of 520 mg of cholesterol daily, which means that the results cannot be generalized with an increase in this level. One egg contains about 200 mg of cholesterol. In this study, about a quarter of all dietary cholesterol consumed was eggs. In addition, the generalizations of this study are also weakened by the fact that the study group did not have cardiovascular diseases before the start of the study, and the number of the studied was small. Therefore, the results should be tested on more people, as well as on those who have already had cardiovascular diseases and who are recommended to limit the consumption of cholesterol and eggs.
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