What's Up Docs? Doctors' Notes: Cholesterol
Apr 7, 2026
Professor Nita Forouhi, a Cambridge expert in population health and nutrition, discusses cholesterol, fats and heart risk. She tackles why seed oils became controversial and how different fats affect LDL. The conversation covers trans fats, familial high cholesterol, when drugs like statins are appropriate, and practical oil choices for cooking and eating.
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Focus On Foods Not Individual Nutrients
- Nutrition guidance should focus on whole foods and dietary patterns rather than single nutrients like 'fat' or 'saturated fat'.
- Professor Nita Forouhi explains nutrients come within foods and foods sit inside overall patterns such as the Mediterranean diet, which changes impact.
Swap Saturated Fat For Unsaturated Fats
- Replace saturated fat with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated sources rather than refined carbohydrates.
- Forouhi recommends oils from olives, fish, nuts and seeds as better alternatives to butter and fatty dairy.
How Saturated Fat Raises LDL Cholesterol
- Saturated fat raises LDL by down-regulating LDL receptors and by increasing liver cholesterol production.
- Forouhi links this mechanism to other influences like obesity and high insulin from refined carbs, showing multiple pathways raise LDL.