DIETARY FATTY-ACIDS - THEIR IMPACT ON SERUM-LIPIDS, LIPOPROTEINS AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS

There are important new data concerning the influence of dietary fats on serum cholesterol and lipoproteins. Earlier results of US-American authors, expressed in the regression equations of Keys, of Hegsted and their collaborators, have been amply confirmed even by authors who interpret their results differently. More recent results concerning trans-fatty acids, stearic acid, n-3-fatty acids which are not considered in the formulae of Keys and Hegsted could have been predicted from modern biochemistry of fatty acids. There are new results describing the influence of chain length of fatty acids on serum lipids. Recent studies center around the influence of fatty acids on lipoproteins. It appears that n-6-polyenoic fatty acids lower LDL but n-3-polyenoic fatty acids lower VLDL. Within the range of foods, commercially available in central Europe, fatty acids do not influence HDL.