[beowulfey]

I think it is more:

PROBLEM #2: high serum cholesterol is correlated to cardiovascular disease, but eating high saturated fat-diets is not.

ANSWER #2: It appears that studies that assess the effect of a particular diet depends a lot upon the health of the individual prior to the study start; thus, using a random population results in non-significant results.

Note that I agree with you otherwise. I would suspect that a diet high in saturated fats without any supplemental unsaturated fats would result in cell walls becoming so stiff that removal of cholesterol can no longer benefit the cell walls; if this happens in arteries, you get hardened arteries that can lead to heart disease.

[sradman]

My key takeaway is that the ratio of saturated:unsaturated fat in the diet does control the concentration of serum cholesterol but any ratio between 1:0 and 0:1 (provided you get enough essential fats) is perfectly normal and does not impact health negatively either way. The function of serum cholesterol is maintaining cell rigidity throughout the body, not just in arteries. I have never heard this explanation before; it makes sense. This claim should be easy to verify experimentally.

The question then turns to the underlying cause of atherosclerosis. The arguments, to me, seem circular. Ultimately, the important question is how much of the plaque is due to a damaging agent like sugar and how much is due to a hyperactive inflammatory response. Measuring inflammation independent of arterial wall damage seems incomplete.

[megameter]

Speaking anecdotally, I put a few logical ideas together from different articles and got an answer that seems to work for me some years ago:

1. Simple carbs like sugar are metabolic stressors

2. Saturated fats, as well as other agents like caffeine can act to accelerate the metabolisation of sugar

3. If you consume a stressor with an accelerator, you are more likely to do damage than if they are spread out or diluted e.g. with fiber, so don't do that

4. (Something something exercise)

This hypothesis, while lacking in rigor, explains why I can have two burgers and be fine, but be miserable if I have a burger, fries and a coffee.