Health officials have been warning people to stay away from high-cholesterol foods
Butter, full-fat dairy products, nuts, coconut oil and meat have now been classified as "safe" and have been officially removed from the "nutrients of concern" list.
Washington: United States officials have finally given the green light for a U-turn on previous warnings on cholesterol, which has been on the “naughty” list of nutrients for nearly 40 years. Health officials have been warning people to stay away from high-cholesterol foods since the 1970s to avoid heart disease and clogged arteries.
However, after a study, eggs, butter, full-fat dairy products, nuts, coconut oil and meat have now been classified as “safe” and have been officially removed from the “nutrients of concern” list, reported the Internation Business Times.
The US Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for updating the guidelines every five years, stated in its findings for 2015: “Previously, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended that cholesterol intake be limited to no more than 300 mg/day. The 2015 DGAC will not bring forward this recommendation because available evidence shows no appreciable relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum (blood) cholesterol, consistent with the AHA/ACC (American Heart Association / American College of Cardiology) report. Cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern for overconsumption.”
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee will, in response, no longer warn people against eating high-cholesterol foods and will instead focus on sugar as the main substance of dietary concern. The 70s, 80s and 90s were the ‘non fat’ years, with the US government warning people to limit the amount of high-cholersterol foods in their diets to avoid heart disease and strokes.
But nutritionists and scientists have long been campaigning for the U-turn, which started with introducing “good cholesterols” back into the ‘safe zone’. US cardiologist Dr Steven Nissen said: “It’s the right decision. We got the dietary guidelines wrong. They’ve been wrong for decades.”
Dr Chris Masterjohn added: “When we eat more foods rich in this compound, our bodies make less. If we deprive ourselves of foods high in cholesterol — such as eggs, and butter — our body revs up its cholesterol synthesis.”
( Source : agencies )
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