For those who love a fistful of french fries, loads of extra cheese and hamburgers with the works, the news seemed a gift from the gods.
Some Baltimore diners welcomed reports yesterday of recent studies that say very low cholesterol levels may be as deadly as very high levels. A few health-conscious eaters, perhaps used to bragging about their low levels, reacted with mild disbelief.
"It's one less thing to worry about," said Vickie Bonovich of Owings Mills, 33, a systems analyst with a downtown brokerage firm. She was relieved, in part, because she had just splurged on a medium-rare steak sandwich with french fries at Burke's restaurant on Light Street.
"I generally watch my cholesterol and try to keep it as low as possible because there's a history of heart disease in my family," said Ken Gross, 30, a lawyer. Despite this concern, Mr. Gross had treated himself to a cup of spuds slathered with American cheese from a Harborplace french fry stand.
After learning of the studies, Mr. Gross raised his cup in a mock toast. "I'm very happy," he said. "I'll have this more often."
Carrol Adams, 59, who works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture near his home in Belton, Texas, said he eats chicken and fish more often than red meat; fruit and vegetables more than dairy products. The result is a low cholesterol level of 172.
Would Mr. Adams, who was eating a scoop of super premium Lee's ice cream at Harborplace, indulge more often?
"I don't think I'd take a chance," he said. "And I'm probably overweight a little bit, and should lose 10 or 15 pounds." He glanced at his diminutive cup of butter pecan ice cream. "Maybe 20 pounds."
Several doctors cautioned that the public shouldn't take these new studies as a green light for dietary indulgence. Some physicians remain skeptical that low cholesterol causes health problems.
"So much has been done to educate the public on the risk of high cholesterol in the past few years, it would be terrible if we completely reversed that because of one or two suggestions like this in the literature," said Dr. Adrian S. Dobs, an endocrinologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
"If you're high, yes, there's no debate you need to get down," she said. "The question is if you're low, do we attempt to treat it? That's where we don't know the answer."
