High‐Fat, High‐Cholesterol Diet Raises Plasma HDL Cholesterol: Studies on the Mechanism of This Effect

Earlier work with human subjects showed that a low‐fat, low‐cholesterol diet lowered plasma high‐density‐lipoprotein‐cholesterol (HDL‐C) and the production rate of apolipoprotein A‐I (apo A‐I). More recent research with transgenic mice demonstrated that a high‐fat, high‐cholesterol diet raised plasma HDL‐C and the production rate of apo A‐I by a mechanism involving the regulation of translation of the apo A‐I mRNA. The authors conclude that the rise induced in HDL‐C by a high‐fat, high‐cholesterol diet is defensive and therefore, should not be interpreted as a desirable dietary change.