SOME GOOD NEWS ABOUT CHIN

Eastern cultures and diets have lower blood cholesterol than American counterparts and the American Medical Association develops consensus on what should be covered by basic medical insurance policy.

September/October 1989
 
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TO YOUR HEALTH

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The Chinese heart-disease rate can teach us a cholesterol lesson.

When it concerns the fitness of body, mind or spirit, the editors ofAmerican Health are there, staying on top of up-to-date medical research, separating fad from fact and helping you preserve and improve life's most precious gift your good health. Here are just a few items culled from recent and upcoming issues, including further proof on the interesting and complex relationship between diet and health.

WHEN BLOOD CHOLESTEROL IS UN der 180 mg/dl, heart disease is uncommon; below 150, it's practically nonexistent. In China, the average level is 127. In Western countries, it's 212. Dietary differences between China and the West—such as fat intake, which health experts advise us to keep under 30% of our daily caloric intake—may account for much of that difference. A six-year study of Chinese diet and disease patterns, the most comprehensive ever undertaken on diet and health, has also shown that, except for high levels of sodium, the Chinese diet—which, as you probably know, is largely vegetarian with small amounts of animal products—is nutritionally superior, even in iron intake.

Surveying the Chinese enabled researchers to evaluate what effects such low cholesterol levels have on the human system. It turns out that not only does heart disease decline, but colon cancer does too; this suggests that earlier studies that linked low cholesterol levels to colon cancer were misleading. In fact, the rate of heart disease among men in China is one-sixteenth that in the U.S. (among women, one-sixth), while the rate for colon cancer is only about 40%.

Read, Look, and Learn

Unlike other nutrition-oriented newsletters, Easy Low Fat Living offers little news or reporting, but it does have food charts and plenty of recipes, plus tips on lowering the fat content of your own favorite recipes. The newsletter costs $24 a year for 12 issues; to order, call 203/336-5426.

For further guidance, Cholesterol Control: An Eater's Guide offers a half-hour tour of one family's successful approach to low-fat shopping, cooking, eating out and entertaining. At the 19th annual National Educational Film and Video Festival, the video won a Bronze Apple award. Price $29.95. For more information, call 800/669-1955.

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