Overview: Dietary fat and atherosclerosis

Research on the effects of dietary fat on cholesterolemia and coronary risk began with comparisons of the amount and type of fat (saturated vs unsaturated). It then became clear that not all fatty acids had similar cholesterolemic effects and equations were derived which gave different weights to saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. We now find that the triglyceride structure also plays a role in cholesterolemia as suggested by the studies of Kritchevsky and Tepper in rabbits and McGandy et al. in human subjects.