An NCEP II diet reduces postprandial triacylglycerol in normocholesterolemic adults

We compared the fasting and postprandial response to a National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) II diet with that of a diet high in total (40% of energy) and saturated fat. In free-living conditions, 17 healthy normolipidemic, normoglycemic men and women consumed a high-fat diet, a maintenance diet and the NCEP II diet, for 1 mo each. At the completion of each dietary period, an oral fat load (70 g/m2 body surface area) was administered and plasma triacylglycerol (TAG) determined every 2 h for 8 h. Compared with the high-fat phase, the NCEP II diet was associated with significantly lower energy intake (12.1 +/- 1.1 vs. 7 +/- 0.7 MJ/d) and final body weight (78 +/- 3.8 vs. 76.3 +/- 3.5 kg) (P < 0.01). Plasma high density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein (apo) A-I and ApoB concentrations were also significantly lower when subjects consumed the NCEP II diet rather than the high-fat diet (P