Quote:
Originally Posted by rubicon
Don't tell that to the people commenting on the Mediterranean or Okinana Diets threads listed here. cholesterol is the culprit. I happen to agree with you that cholestrol is being over-stated and also believe the doc are on to something by studying inflammation as a cause.
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The lesson to be learned by studying the various diets is this.
The U.S. diet is the worst (causing the most heart attacks and strokes) because it contains the most animal protein and the most processed foods. That means lots of cholesterol and lots of imflammation.
The Mediterranean diet is better than the U.S. diet because more emphasis is put on fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains olive oil, fish, and lean meat.
Overall, I believe animal-protein consumption is a lot less than in the U.S.. Therefore there's a lot less cholesterol and inflammation.
The Okinawan diet causes the least amount of heart attacks and strokes because it contains only a small fraction of the animal protein contained in the above diets and processed foods are kept to a bare minimum. The least amount of animal protein and processed foods translates to the least amount of cholesterol and inflammation.
The vegan diet may be even better than the Okinawan diet because it has the least amount of cholesterol, and no animal protein to cause inflammation. Although inflammation can be caused by eating processed/refined foods.