The thinking on this has completely inverted in the past 5 years. The correlation between dietary consumption of cholesterol and serum (blood level) cholesterol is limited at best. Studies which showed a linear relationship were flawed.

Put simply, it is now thought that cholesterol is a plaster over the arterial inflammation caused by sugars. It is a symptom, not a cause of plaques.

Here you go: https://examine.com/nutrition/is-saturated-fat-bad-for-me/

Actual studies linked within.

The conclusion from the very first review cited in your article (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20351774):

These findings provide evidence that consuming PUFA in place of SFA reduces CHD events in RCTs.

i.e. replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease, which was my original claim.

From your article:

Saturated fats do increase cholesterol levels relative to polyunsaturated fats.

You need some fat in your diet, but the overwhelming evidence is that you're better off getting it from unsaturated (plant-based) sources.

And then again: http://time.com/4291505/when-vegetable-oil-isnt-as-healthy-a... , links e.g. to http://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i1246 which has the conclusion quoted below, which is in line with what ggp claimed about whether cholesterol is the cause or just a symptom.

""" Available evidence from randomized controlled trials shows that replacement of saturated fat in the diet with linoleic acid effectively lowers serum cholesterol but does not support the hypothesis that this translates to a lower risk of death from coronary heart disease or all causes. Findings from the Minnesota Coronary Experiment add to growing evidence that incomplete publication has contributed to overestimation of the benefits of replacing saturated fat with vegetable oils rich in linoleic acid. """

Something being less bad than an alternative is not the same as being actively bad for you.

Going 20 mph is slower than going 30 mph but it is not going in reverse.

This is under debate. A lot of recent research seems to be leaning the other way on cholesterol.

Can you cite any of the research? Here is a decent overview, but I would love to learn more.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/cholesterol/

The book cited in this article that so many claim exonerates fats has been thoroughly debunked.

https://thescienceofnutrition.wordpress.com/2014/08/10/the-b...

That's a good read, thanks.