On Thu, 20 Apr 2000, wombn wrote:

> But the body must be using dietary cholesterol for something, isn't
> it?  Or does it all get "thrown away"?

Yes, your body uses cholesterol for cell maintenance.  But if
there's a lot of it in your diet, your body makes less; if
there's little in your diet, your body makes more.  This is why
decreasing your intake of cholesterol typically (but not always)
has little effect on your serum cholesterol levels.  There are
some people in whom this feedback loop doesn't work properly; for
them changes in dietary cholesterol do make a substantial
difference in serum cholesterol levels.

As Ken already indicated, insulin stimulates cholesterol
production, which is why some people on high-carb low-fat diets
find their cholesterol going up.  In addition, certain saturated
fats have an independent effect on serum cholesterol, notably
myristic, lauric, and palmitic acid.  This effect is independent
of the insulin effect.

Todd Moody
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