Define Heart Diseases - excessive fat intake?

Heart diseases show strong links to fat and cholesterol intake. Foods rich in cholesterol are of animal origin and given in Table. Higher dietary cholesterol increases blood cholesterol but high blood cholesterol with family history does not necessarily gain on cholesterol-free diet. Both drug and low cholesterol diet is recommended. Vegetable oils have no cholesterol, as can be noted from Table. The reference of 'good' and 'bad' cholesterol to dietary fats is in reference to the effect in blood lipids and HDL/LDL ratio.

The significance of n-6/n-3 ratio has been already covered in previous sections. High intakes of n-6 polyunsaturated fats have been associated with the reduced total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol concentrations that are associated with low risk of CHD. In general, epidemiological studies have demonstrated an inverse association between n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake and risk of CHD. n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (particularly, eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) have been shown to reduce the risk of CHD and stroke by a multitude of mechanisms: by preventing arrhythmias, reducing atherosclerosis, decreasing platelet aggregation, lowering plasma triacylglycerol concentrations, decreasing proinflammatory eicosanoids, modulating endothelial function and decreasing blood pressure in hypertensive individuals.