If you’re concerned about heart disease, here’s one less thing you may not have to worry about: the cholesterol in the foods you eat.
Eggs and shrimp, once considered the villains of high blood cholesterol, are now pretty much off the hook.
“Eggs just aren’t a problem for most people. Same with shrimp,” says Dr. Arthur Agatston, a preventive cardiologist and author of the bestseller “The South Beach Diet.”
“Recommendations to reduce dietary cholesterol never were grounded in fact,” adds Dr. Beatrice Golomb, associate professor of medicine at the University of California at San Diego.
Not only that — there are indications that even the levels of cholesterol in your blood are less important in predicting your risk for heart disease than other factors.
For screening purposes, doctors still recommended you get your cholesterol level checked every five years. If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, the recommendation is to have it checked every year. More important than total cholesterol is the total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio, which should be 3.5 to 1 or lower.
If you’re concerned about heart disease, here’s one less thing you may not have to worry about: the cholesterol in the foods you eat.
Eggs and shrimp, once considered the villains of high blood cholesterol, are now pretty much off the hook.
“Eggs just aren’t a problem for most people. Same with shrimp,” says Dr. Arthur Agatston, a preventive cardiologist and author of the bestseller “The South Beach Diet.”
“Recommendations to reduce dietary cholesterol never were grounded in fact,” adds Dr. Beatrice Golomb, associate professor of medicine at the University of California at San Diego.
Not only that — there are indications that even the levels of cholesterol in your blood are less important in predicting your risk for heart disease than other factors.
For screening purposes, doctors still recommended you get your cholesterol level checked every five years. If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, the recommendation is to have it checked every year. More important than total cholesterol is the total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio, which should be 3.5 to 1 or lower.
