Eat a low fat/low cholesterol diet, especially one with less saturated fat, you'll live longer, be healthier, and just enjoy life so much more!!  We have had this line of bullshit shoved down our throats for the last decade by major health organizations.  For years, doctors warned us that eating high saturated/ high cholesterol meals would cause you to keel over and die of a heart attack. Television commercials are bombarded with ads stating that the use of cholesterol medications in conjunction with a low fat diet can increase quality of life and reduce death.  First little problem - dietary intake of cholesterol has no impact on the level of cholesterol in your blood. Two major long-term studies, Framingham and Tecumseh, reported that that those who ate the most cholesterol had exactly the same level of cholesterol in their blood as those who ate the least cholesterol. For the science of fat metabolism confirms that there cannot be any connection whatsoever between saturated fat consumption and cholesterol levels.  Contrary to popular belief of what drug companies are telling us, dietary cholesterol is poorly correlated with sudden cardiac death in men. For instance, in a prospective study on healthy men, investigators found that only C-reactive protein (CRP) was significantly associated with the risk of sudden cardiac death, whereas blood homocysteine and all lipid parameters, including serum total and LDL cholesterol levels, were not¹⁶.  Remember a few years ago when doctors warned people to limit their consumption of eggs...another bullshit lie!! In fact, researchers from the University of Connecticut reported this month in the Journal of Nutrition that dietary cholesterol from eggs can increase in HDL (cardioprotective proteins).   In the study, subjects were counseled to consume a carbohydrate restricted diet (10-15% energy from carbohydrate) and they were randomly allocated to the EGG group [intake of 3 eggs per day (640 mg/d additional dietary cholesterol)] or SUB group [equivalent amount of egg substitute (0 dietary cholesterol) per day]. At the end of the study, the overall fat percent contribution in the diet increased from 39.6% at baseline to 55.6% at the end of wk 12. Surprisingly, plasma HDL-C concentration increased in the EGG group, whereas HDL-C did not change in the cholesterol free egg substitute group¹⁷.  Despite the fact that Americans are eating less saturated fats, the incidence of heart disease has not decreased.  Proponents of the low fat diet are the American Heart Association, the World Cancer Research Fund, and the American Dietetic Association.  The governing bodies' standby claims that a reduction in saturated fat in one's diet provides a number of positive results including healthier heart, better cholesterol and blood pressure and reduced risk of many obesity-related illnesses. In his best-selling book, Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease, Dr. Ornish presents two diets: the Reversal Diet and the Prevention Diet. The diet recommends that you consume 10% of calories as fat.  The Ornish Diet is very strict and places specific limitations on all foods containing more than slight amounts of cholesterol and saturated fat.  Animal fats, found in dairy and red meat, are thought to be contributors to poor heart health, body fat and high cholesterol. If you examine the FDA's food guide pyramid for a healthy diet; the healthiest type of diet plan is a balanced diet which includes foods from all food groups, all fats and oils should be eaten sparingly. This means your diet should be low in fat, especially saturated fat. As a rough guide, no more than about 30 percent of your calories should be eaten in the form of fat

Here is what the major governing agencies for health are saying about low fat diets:

- Better for Low Cholesterol and Prevention of heart disease, says the American Heart Association.

- Better for Prevention of Cancers, says the World Cancer Research Fund.

- Better for Health and Weight Control, says the American Dietetic Association and the Food and Drug Administration.