Nutrition and atherosclerosis: some neglected aspects.

This article suggests that atherosclerosis is a plurideficiency disease. Increasing only linoleic acid intake in daily nutrition to counteract atherosclerosis has failed to give satisfactory results. The use of lecithin affects the metabolism and transportation of cholesterol in the blood more efficiently than do the polyunsaturated fats. Furthermore, insufficient quantities of vitamins B6 and C in the blood contribute to lesions of the arterial endothelium, which are indistinguishable from the first stages of atherosclerosis. It is recommended, therefore, that these factors should be combined, and that, together with a sufficient quantity of polyunsaturated fatty acids, the daily diet be supplemented with adequate doses of lecithin, vitamin B6 (in B complex), and vitamin C.