Remember the food pyramid with its warning about the evils of cholesterol?
Every five years, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, issues "Dietary Guidelines for Americans," a federal document that has far-reaching implications on what Americans eat.
The guidelines affect everything - from the way companies advertise their products to the diet advice offered up by nearly every doctor and nutritionist in the country.
It’s on page 91 of the massive 572-page Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee that a stunning reversal is recorded: "Previously, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended that cholesterol intake be limited to no more than 300 mg/day. The 2015 DGAC will not bring forward this recommendation because available evidence shows no appreciable relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum (blood) cholesterol, consistent with the AHA/ACC (American Heart Association / American College of Cardiology) report. Cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern for overconsumption."
This is a tectonic shift regarding one of the main nutritional designations of the foods Americans eat. Cholesterol has been a prominent dietary warning since the American Heart Association declared it off limits more than half a century ago.
But the problem goes even further according to Dr. Steven Nissen, chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.
He believes that the directive to Americans to limit saturated fats and cholesterol from a well-balanced diet to high-sugar diets, which resulted in people eat more and gaining weight.
This decision to reclassify cholesterol is major. Foods high in cholesterol, such as eggs, liver, shellfish, shrimp and lobster, will likely see a major increase in demand from diners.
Your Culinary World Copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2015
