The thing with cholesterol is that's the substance that provides rigidity in our veins and arteries. If we didn't have cholesterol in our bodies, our circulatory system would collapse and we'd die.

However, blood cholesterol levels are almost completely independent of dietary cholesterol. But try finding a consensus on that.

American Heart Association -- http://www.americanh...l?identifier=4488

[Cholesterol is] an important part of a healthy body because it's used to form cell membranes, some hormones and is needed for other functions.

So we need it, right? So we should eat it?

People get cholesterol in two ways. The body — mainly the liver — produces varying amounts, usually about 1,000 milligrams a day. Foods also can contain cholesterol.

And how much are we eating?

The average American man consumes about 337 milligrams of cholesterol a day; the average woman, 217 milligrams.

And does all of that go right into our blood?

Some of the excess dietary cholesterol is removed from the body through the liver.

How much is "some"?

...

Well ... So that's what the AHA says. How about Harvard? http://www.hsph.harv...-and-cholesterol/

Cholesterol in the bloodstream is what's most important. And the biggest influence on blood cholesterol level is the mix of fats in your diet—not the amount of cholesterol you eat from food.

Wha-wha-whaaaat? First of all, is it the fat or the cholesterol in our diet that raises cholesterol in our blood? Second of all, if the average person produces 1,000 mg a day, and we eat 217-337 mg per day (Tangent: Why is endogenous cholesterol production reported as a single value, but dietary cholesterol intake is reported with a range over 50%?) then dietary cholesterol could have at most a 30% impact on blood cholesterol levels. That counts as "the biggest influence"?

Hmm, so what do the Brits have to say? http://www.physorg.c...ews139156140.html

This research provides further evidence to support the now established scientific understanding that saturated fat in the diet (most often found in pastry, processed meats, biscuits and cakes) is more responsible for raising blood cholesterol than cholesterol-rich foods, such as eggs.

So that's now established. Has anyone sent a memo to Harvard and the AHA? Maybe that hasn't made it back here to the states. Oh, wait. http://blog.nutritio...-cholesterol.html

The most recent research indicates that cholesterol from your food has very little effect on how much cholesterol is in your body. If you're trying to reduce your LDL cholesterol, it's more effective to reduce your intake of saturated fat.

All of this points to a major flaw in the way we do medical research today. People learn the latest scientific theories in college. When they go into research, they specialize on a very small piece of knowledge, and challenge the current thinking about their piece. But they never reassess all the other assumptions surrounding their area of expertise.

So people spend years studying the effect of dietary cholesterol on blood cholesterol levels, without ever considering whether it's dietary fat that's driving the numbers. Or whether elevated blood cholesterol levels are actually a bad thing to begin with.

Then an industry trade group takes finding "A" from study "X", chains it together with finding "B" from study "Y" to draw conclusion "C", for which there is no original research. Then conclusion "C" is taught in school, or more accurately taught through media campaigns and government programs, so that it becomes the assumption behind decades of further research.