The diet-heart hypothesis, i.e. dietary cholesterol and saturated fats raise the serum cholesterol which in turn is a risk factor for coronary artery disease is prevalent since the 1950s. Over the years it had a major influence on the perspectives of nutritionists, medical researchers and the lay public. However, of late, the evidence base supporting the diet-heart hypothesis is being increasingly questioned.
Besides retrieval and re-analysis of archival data from incomplete studies, study of internal documents of industry reveal that vested interests may have played a role in maintaining the diet-heart hypothesis. This brief review gives an overview of the evidence and conflicting views most of which fell by the wayside in the heady days of the diet-heart hypothesis. It puts forth the question whether there is a paradigm shift in the diet-heart hypothesis. Using the key-words…
