The effect of dietary fat source and cholesterol intake level on plasma, lipoprotein and tissue lipid composition, lipid balance, and red blood cell (RBC) antioxidant status in rats was studied. Spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and Wistar Kyoto normotensive rat (WKY) were randomly assigned to one of the six semi-purified diets containing 16% lipid. The fat blends consisted of 13% from either butter, soybean oil or menhaden oil, plus 3% from canola oil. Cholesterol was added to dietary fat sources at final concentrations of either 0.05% or 0.5% (wt/wt). During the 6th week of the experiment, animals were placed in individual metabolic cages for a 5 day balance study, where feed intake was measured and excreta collected and measur...