In the past, doctors took the old saying “You are what you eat” literally. They fi gured you got fat from eating fat and cholesterol buildup in your arteries from eating cholesterol. In the 1960s, scientists discovered a link between high blood cholesterol levels and heart disease and made an assumption that changed the way Americans ate for decades. They assumed, without proof, that high blood cholesterol came from eating too much cholesterol. Soon government agencies began telling people to eat fewer eggs and dairy products and less red meat. Low-cholesterol diets were supposed to be not only good for your arteries but also thriftier, kinder to animals, and friendlier.
