title: Chemical food composition: implications for atherosclerosis prevention.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the fatty acid and cholesterol content in food acquired in Brazil with the composition found in the most frequently used reference tables in the country.
  
  
  METHODS
  The fatty acid and cholesterol content in 41 food items frequently used in our country and the various directions to prepare them were reviewed by using specific methodology and the information was compared to the tables adopted by Unicamp and UNIFESP.
  
  
  RESULTS
  According to Unicamp table, the cholesterol content found in parmesan cheese was 100.7 mg/100 g, while it was 68 mg/100 g in UNIFESP table, that is, a 48% (p < 0.05), higher content in the former. This study table found a cholesterol content 31% lower (94 mg/100 g vs. 123 mg/100 g, p < 0.05) for yellow cheese. For whole milk, we found a 52% difference regarding cholesterol content, while the difference for saturated fat ranged from 1.4 g/100 g in Unicamp table to 2.130 g/100 g in our study table (p < 0.05). For some food items, no statistically significant differences were found among the tables. However, when a 1,800-calorie diet was prescribed, the discrepancies among the tables and lack of information resulted in clinically relevant differences in dietary recommendations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are important differences in food fat content between the fatty acid and cholesterol content formally analyzed and the content shown on commonly used tables, and this can compromise our recommendations on preventing atherosclerosis. One possible explanation for the differences would be the fact that the UNIFESP table is American in origin.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Gama Filho, Instituto do Coração e Diabetes, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. scherr@all.com.br
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scherr
authors.forename: Jorge Pinto
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
mesh_terms: D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001938:Brazil; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000032:analysis*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D005504:Food Analysis; D006801:Humans; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D009753:Nutritive Value
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D002784:Cholesterol