In Celebration Of The 100th Anniversary Of The Lipid Hypothesis Of Atherosclerosis

In 1913, Russian researcher Anitschkow made a discovery that would revolutionize our understanding of heart disease. At the time, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) was considered an inevitable part of aging with no known cause or treatment. The leading theory suggested that eating too much animal protein caused the condition.

To test this protein theory, Anitschkow and his colleagues conducted careful experiments with rabbits. They fed the animals diets rich in milk, eggs, and meat, which did cause artery damage. But through systematic testing, they made a surprising discovery: whole eggs and egg yolks caused the problem, but egg whites alone - even in large amounts - had no effect. This ruled out protein as the culprit.

The breakthrough came when they isolated cholesterol from egg yolks, purified it, and fed it to rabbits dissolved in vegetable oil. The pure cholesterol alone caused the same artery damage, proving that cholesterol - not protein - was the substance responsible for atherosclerosis. This landmark finding gave birth to what we now call the "lipid hypothesis" or "cholesterol hypothesis" of heart disease.

This research laid the foundation for our modern understanding of how cholesterol contributes to cardiovascular disease. Today, managing cholesterol levels through diet, lifestyle changes, and when necessary, medications, remains a cornerstone of preventive cardiology and metabolic health optimization in clinical practice.