On Sun, 26 May 2002, Richard Geller wrote:

> > I think there is research showing the reducing dietary fat lowers
> > the chances of a second heart attack, but not a first.  Can't
> > quote a source, though.  Anyway, it does make some sense.  It has
> > been demonstrated that a high-fat meal causes a transient but
> > significant increase in blood turbidity.  If a person's cardiac
> > blood flow is already compromised, this could be a problem.
>
> I'm not sure it makes sense, actually. Perhaps eating a high fat meal does
> that, but so what?
>
> I don't think it gets to the "heart" of the matter: internal inflammation.

Well, I think there are two aspects to this: One is the cause of
heart disease; the other is the cause of heart attacks in people
with heart disease.  Some people with heart disease don't have
heart attacks, after all.

I agree that there is good evidence that heart disease is an
inflammatory process.  And I think there is good evidence that
insulin is a key player.  The evidence for foreign proteins is
less clear; in fact, I'm not sure there is much evidence.  The
Masai, for example, seem to have low rates of heart disease
despite consuming large quantities of milk.  But that's another
issue.

Once a person has heart disease, however, and coronary
circulation is already compromised, then I think such things as
transient blood turbidity matter.

Todd Moody
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