Lipid intake and atherosclerosis

The importance of diet in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis is well known. Among the different nutrients, lipids certainly have a primary role. Dietary cholesterol can influence the progression of atherosclerosis by increasing cholesterol levels or by modifying the composition of lipoproteins. Epidemiological and clinical studies have clearly demonstrated a relationship between the intake of saturated fatty acids and atherosclerosis. Among these fatty acids, stearic acid has the smallest effect on cholesterol levels. Until a few years ago it was though that monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) did not affect lipoprotein metabolism. However, very recently it has been shown that MUFA have the same hypocholesterolemic effect as polyunsaturated fatty acids; moreover they do not induce a decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Therefore the overall metabolic effect of MUFA seems to be beneficial.