Just when you think you have this diet thing figured out, along comes a 
zinger to disrupt everything. This study suggests that increases in HDL seen 
after higher fat diets might not indicate an increase in reverse transport of 
cholesterol afterall.

J Nutr 2002 Jan;132(1):50-4 Related Articles,  Links 
  
Dietary fat saturation affects apolipoprotein AII levels and HDL composition 
in postmenopausal women.

Sanchez-Muniz FJ, Merinero MC, Rodriguez-Gil S, Ordovas JM, Rodenas S, Cuesta 
C.

Departamento de Nutricion, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. 
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Increased HDL-cholesterol levels have been associated with lower coronary 
heart disease (CHD) risk. However, HDL are heterogeneous lipoproteins, and 
particles enriched in apolipoprotein (Apo) AII have been associated with 
increased CHD risk. We examined the effect of dietary intervention on HDL 
composition in 14 postmenopausal women subjected to two consecutive diet 
periods, i.e., an oleic acid sunflower oil diet followed by a palmolein diet, 
each lasting 4 wk. The linoleic acid was kept at 4% total energy and the 
cholesterol intake at 400 mg/d. The palmolein diet increased serum total 
cholesterol (TC) (P < 0.001), phospholipids (P < 0.001), Apo AII (P < 0.001), 
HDL cholesterol (P < 0.05), HDL lipids (P < 0.05), HDL proteins (P < 0.01) 
and the HDL total mass (P < 0.05). The HDL cholesterol/Apo AI ratio was 
increased 22.0% (P < 0.05), whereas the HDL cholesterol/Apo AII and the Apo 
AI/Apo AII ratios were decreased 19.4% (P < 0.01) and 30.4%, (P < 0.001), 
respectively. When the effects of the dietary intervention were examined 
according to the cholesterolemia status (< or >6.2 mmol/L), the most 
significant changes (P < 0.001) were related to Apo AII levels. Moreover, a 
significant dietary oil by cholesterol level interaction was found for Apo 
AII and the HDL cholesterol/Apo AII ratio. In summary, a palmolein diet 
increased TC and HDL cholesterol compared with oleic acid sunflower oil diet; 
however, the increase in Apo AII but not in Apo AI suggests the impairment of 
reverse cholesterol transport and potentially an increase in CHD risk. This 
effect was more marked in women with serum TC > 6.2 mmol/L.

Namaste, Liz
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