Serum-cholesterol response to dietary cholesterol: a re-evaluation.

The data from the literature in which the serum-cholesterol response has been measured following a change in cholesterol intake have been re-evaluated. The overall data appear to be best explained by exponential equations. However, very large differences in response have been reported for similar changes in cholesterol intake and no predictive equation can explain such values. It is concluded that over the range of cholesterol intakes of practical interest--0 to 400 mg/1000 kcal--the usual response is approximately linear, each 1 mg/1000 kcal resulting in an expected increase of serum cholesterol of approximately 0.1 mg/dl. With a 2500 kcal diet, an increase in intake of 100 mg/day would be expected to increase serum cholesterol by approximately 4 mg/dl.