Is There a Correlation between Dietary and Blood Cholesterol? Evidence from Epidemiological Data and Clinical Interventions

Dietary cholesterol has been a topic of debate since the 1960s when the first dietary guidelines that limited cholesterol intake to no more than 300 mg/day were set. These recommendations were followed for several years, and it was not until the late 1990s when they were finally challenged by the newer information derived from epidemiological studies and meta-analysis, which confirmed the lack of correlation between dietary and blood cholesterol. Further, dietary interventions in which challenges of cholesterol intake were evaluated in diverse populations not only confirmed these findings but also reported beneficial effects on plasma lipoprotein subfractions and size as well as increases in HDL cholesterol and in the functionality of HDL. In this review, we evaluate the evidence from recent epidemiological analysis and meta-analysis as well as clinical trials to have a better understanding of the lack of correlation between dietary and blood cholesterol.