Background: Premenopausal African American women have a 2-3 times greater incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) than do white women. The plasma lipid responsiveness to dietary fat, which may be associated with CHD, has not been adequately studied in premenopausal African American or white women.
Objective: The objective of our study was to compare the effect of diet on fasting plasma lipids and lipoproteins and postprandial lipemia in premenopausal African American and white women.
Design: Thirteen African American and 9 white healthy premenopausal women were fed a low-fat, high-fiber diet and a high-fat, low-fiber diet for 4 wk each in a randomized crossover design. Fasting plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations and the 24-h plasma triacylglycerol response to a standard fatty test meal were measured at the end of each dietary period.
Results: Plasma total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations were higher after the high-fat, low-fiber diet in both white and African American women (P < 0.0001). The 24-h area under the plasma triacylglycerol curve after the test meal was lower after the low-fat diet than after the high-fat diet (P < 0.04).
Conclusions: African American and white women had lower fasting plasma total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations and less postprandial lipemia after the low-fat than the high-fat diet. Diets low in total and saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber may reduce the risk of CHD by lowering fasting plasma total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations and by reducing the lipemic response to fatty meals.