A report published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on the Women’s Health Initiative stated something that many doctors know but few will admit. Low fat diets have little or no affect on cholesterol levels.

Unlike most regular patients the women in this trial were given intensive training and education on eating a low fat diet. The trial found that even though the cholesterol levels were not affected the women who decreased their intake of saturated fats and trans fatty acids did have a lower rate of heart disease. It was also concluded that the low fat diet was effective for weight loss.

The study authors did admit that self reporting of food intake is highly inaccurate and for that reason the results of the study must be interpreted with that in mind. My clinical experience with newly diagnosed patients is that while we always give them a diet trial it rarely if ever works. Even if there is some improvement the patients admit that they could never stay on such as diet long term and actually prefer to be on medication. It may be in the future that drug therapy might  be started earlier and there is some belief among lipid specialists that this may be the best course of treatment.  bjmdjd

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elevated cholesterol · Journal of Clinical Nutrition · low fat diet · Women's Health Initiative