Effect of a diet low in saturated fatty acids on plasma lipids, lipoproteins, and HDL subfractions.

• Published in: Arteriosclerosis: An Official Journal of the American Heart Association, Inc.
• Main Authors: Ehnholm, C, Huttunen, J K, Pietinen, P, Leino, U, Mutanen, M, Kostiainen, E, Iacono, J M, Dougherty, R, Puska, P
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) 1984
• Subjects: karelia*
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/01.atv.4.3.265; https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/01.ATV.4.3.265

The effect on serum high density lipoprotein subfractions of a low fat diet with a high ratio of polyunsaturated-to-saturated fatty acids was studied in 38 middle-aged volunteers (19 men and 19 women) in North Karelia, Finland. The mean serum HDL2 cholesterol decreased from 32 +/- 2 mg/dl (mean +/- SE) to 28 +/- 2 mg/dl (p less than 0.001) during the experimental diet and returned to 33 +/- 2 mg/dl (p less than 0.001) after a return to the original diet. No changes were observed in the concentration of HDL3 cholesterol. A highly significant decrease was observed in serum apoprotein A-I concentration, but not in apoprotein A-II concentration during the experimental diet. It is concluded that a low-fat, high-P/S ratio diet lowers LDL and HDL2 cholesterol in healthy volunteers, but does not influence the level of HDL3 subfraction.