to populationwide issues of lipid management and not to individual
patients, whereas total:HDL cholesterol may not be useful for
subjects with specific lipid abnormalities such as greatly decreased
HDL- or increased LDL-cholesterol concentrations. In fact, this is
true for any population-based study, and only a health care professional
can ultimately determine the most appropriate (dietary)
advice for any person. However, the effect of carbohydrates on
total:HDL cholesterol justifies some caution in the application of
high-carbohydrate diets to the prevention of heart disease.