Federal Government May Remove Recommendations to Avoid Foods High in Cholesterol

Credit Christopher Paquette/Flickr NPR

When the federal government updates its guidelines this year on what constitutes a healthy diet, there could be a big change.

An advisory committee is recommending that cholesterol should no longer be avoided.

Dr. Charles Lowenstein, chief of cardiology at UR Medicine, says he's all for that recommendation, based on research in recent years.

"There's no evidence that eating a lot of cholesterol is bad. There's plenty of evidence that high levels of cholesterol in your body are bad,” he said. “Your body makes cholesterol. In fact, it makes a lot more cholesterol than when you eat cholesterol."

Lowenstein says your body turns saturated fat into cholesterol, so foods high in that type of fat should still be restricted.

The federal government's new guidelines are expected to come out within the next few weeks. Lowenstein believes people do pay attention to the recommendations, which are updated every five years. 

"If you look at egg consumption over the last fifty years, there was a peak in the 1940s or 1950s and ever since then egg consumption has gone down gradually and we're at a low point right now. I bet after these new guidelines come out, egg consumption is going to go up again."

Beth Adams/WXXI