Saturated Fats vs Cholesterol: Unpacking their Impacts on Blood Lipids
August 14, 2025
We often get asked about cholesterol levels, and how to best ensure that an athlete or client is staying within the recommended guidelines. Do we keep an eye on dietary cholesterol intake? Saturated fats? Both? Something else? Scientists tackled this question in a study published this year, when they looked at cholesterol vs saturated fat intake, and its effects on LDL levels.
Who, what and why?
Researchers looked at 61 people void of diagnosed health conditions, all with an LDL-C results of less than 135mg/dL at baseline, and an average of 105mg/DL. They each had to consume particular diets for five weeks each, as prescribed by the scientists. All three diets had the same calorie count, and similar macronutrients, with 20-25% protein, 40-45% carbs, and 35% fat.
- Heavy on the eggs: This diet included 2 eggs per day, 594mg of dietary cholesterol ingested daily, with 8% of calories from saturated fat.
- Zero eggs: As it sounds, with 14% of calories from saturated fat, and 300mg of cholesterol daily.
- The control: 1 egg per week, 14% of calories from saturated fat, and 520mg of dietary cholesterol on the daily.
What did they find?
Scientists found that LDL-C levels were lower with the diet that had the daily egg consumption vs the control diet. They measured it at 104mg/dL in the heavy egg diet vs 109 mg/dL in the control. They also found that apolipoprotein B (you may have heard of this referred to as “apoB”) was also lower.
No differences were found between in the control and the diet that contained zero eggs, despite the lower dietary cholesterol intake.
Why does it matter?
Read our “Cholesterol 101” here.
Both LDL-C and apoB are both important risk factors of heart disease! The results suggest that saturated fats have a more negative effect on LDL-C and apoB than dietary cholesterol, due to what the researchers stated in their findings. That said, they did not make a direct comparison between the high egg and the egg-free groups, so we’re not sure what the difference, if any, was there.
But, the results definitely still seem to parallel the existing body of scientific evidence related to the effect of saturated fat and dietary cholesterol on our blood lipids.
This all said, the relationship between dietary cholesterol and LDL-C is heavily influenced by the polyunsaturated fat to saturated fat ratio, and the overall fat composition of the diet. A higher polyunsaturated fat to saturated fat ratio, which favors polyunsaturated fats over saturated fats, mitigates the potential impact of dietary cholesterol on LDL-C. Therefore, it is not just cholesterol intake but the quality of the fats in the diet that plays a critical role in managing blood lipids.
Basically, increasing fats and dietary cholesterol, overall, has been shown to increase LDL-C! However, the effect of dietary cholesterol on LDL-C is influenced by the overall fatty acid profile of the diet. Research indicates that dietary cholesterol has a minimal impact on LDL-C when the diet is high in polyunsaturated fats and low in saturated fats. In contrast, high-saturated fat diets lead to a more pronounced increase in LDL-C, especially when dietary cholesterol intake is also elevated.
Of course, individuals may experience different things, but since we know BOTH can increase this risk, it might be best to watch your intake, especially if you have a history of cardiovascular disease in your family, or previously reported high LDL-C levels.
If you’re looking for meal plans that balance all the macros, including fats, check out our 4-Week and 1-Week Real Food, Real Quick programs.
