[축산신문]
Choi Yoon-jae Emeritus professor, Seoul National University
Cholesterol in livestock feed, a substance essential for the maintenance of life
Maintain a constant level of blood in our body Homeostasis
“Cholesterol” cannot be excluded from the old misconceptions about food for livestock. Among them, eggs are one of them, and in 1913 a Russian scientist Anitschkow reported that egg consumption increased blood cholesterol in a rabbit experiment. According to him, the recommended daily amount of cholesterol is 200 mg, but eggs contain 275 mg, so the consumption of eggs causes cardiovascular disease and chronic disease. In this issue, we would like to point out the controversy over the harmfulness of cholesterol contained in livestock feed which has not disappeared for a long time.
Verification content
1. Cholesterol is one of the essential nutrients for maintaining a healthy body.
First we need to reconsider the negative perception of cholesterol that most people have. People avoid cholesterol-containing foods due to misconceptions about cholesterol, which is a big mistake.
Cholesterol plays an important role in fixing the position of proteins in the cell membrane of over 100 trillion cells in the body and is an essential substance for cell formation and shape maintenance. At the same time, it is an essential component for the production of sex hormones and various steroid hormones, and is used as a raw material for bile to aid in the digestion of fats and plays an important role in the synthesis of vitamin D. For this, if the our body is deficient in cholesterol, the function of the cell membrane is lowered, various metabolic and hormonal functions are lowered, the function of the cerebral nervous system is weakened, memory deteriorates and the risk of diseases such as depression is increased. As such, cholesterol is an essential substance that is indispensable in our body.
2. Dietary cholesterol does not significantly increase blood cholesterol level.
Our body produces 3000 mg of cholesterol per day as needed, of which less than 5% of blood cholesterol is absorbed from food and the rest is synthesized in the liver separately as needed.
In this regard, the fact that a Russian scientist experimented with an egg containing animal fat as food for a “herb-eating animal” called a rabbit could be considered problematic by its design. Unlike humans, herbivores don’t have a mechanism to make or control cholesterol in the body, so they have no choice but to raise blood cholesterol as it is absorbed.
Sometimes, ingredients in pet foods along with cholesterol reduce the absorption of cholesterol. For example, in the case of eggs, it is known that the lecithin component contained in the yolk lowers the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine and promotes its excretion.
3. Excess blood cholesterol can cause cardiovascular disease, but in normal people there is no significant correlation between cholesterol intake and cardiovascular disease.
In the case of normal people, the amount of cholesterol consumed per day is not significantly related to the level of cholesterol in the blood or the development of cardiovascular disease. As early as 2015, the United States Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (United States Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee) recommended that healthy adults consume cholesterol-rich foods because their homeostasis mechanisms in the body do not significantly increase levels of cholesterol. blood cholesterol and also announced that it will no longer be restricted. This result can equally be applied to the case of Korea (261.3 mg), which is similar to the United States, where the average daily per capita cholesterol intake is 276 mg.
Of course, if you suddenly consume a lot of cholesterol-containing foods, your homeostasis mechanism may not work properly and you may have temporary problems. , Food intake for livestock in KoreansWhereas, you don’t need to worry too much.
Verification result
Pet foods containing cholesterol are not harmful to health.
Cholesterol is an essential substance for the maintenance of life in our body and it is not necessary to avoid it. In particular, in the case of normal people, because the homeostasis mechanism that maintains the blood cholesterol concentration in the liver works, there is no need to worry too much about the increase in cholesterol levels when consuming pet food in large quantities. adequate, especially at the level of food intake for Koreans’ livestock. Cardiovascular disease is also less causative.
verification material
Goodrow, EF et al., Consumption of one egg per day increases serum concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin in the elderly without affecting serum concentrations of lipids and lipoprotein cholesterol. J Nutr 136, 2519-2524 (2006)
Park Myung-sook et al 2, “Cholesterol Intake in Koreans: Using Data from the 6th National Health and Nutrition Survey (2013-2015)”, Journal of the Korean Society of Community Nutrition, 22 (6), 520-528 ( 2017)
U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Recommends Eggs as First Food for Babies and Young Children (Perishable News, 2020)
“The US government is ready to withdraw long-standing cholesterol warnings” (The Washington Post, 2015.2.10.)
Jung Yun-seop, 『Eat Healthy Fat』 (EmotionTPS, 2016)
Livestock Journal, CHUKSANNEWS
