On Monday, July 19, 2004, at 09:16 AM, Ashley Moran wrote:

>
> This study sounds quite interesting- does it disprove the saturated
> fat/cholesterol theory?
>
> Ashley
>
I don't think it does. It isn't that simple. The link between sat
fat/cholesterol/heart disease is fairly firm. The thing is, it isn't
that STRONG. Unless your cholesterol is very high, the protective
effects outweigh the negatives. At some point though, you would start
to get a net increase in death from high cholesterol, over the lives
saved from stroke, cancer, mental illness/suicide etc.

I don't know where that level lies. My own cholesterol is in the
250-270 range, the last few times I had it checked. That may be over
the line. I don't worry about it much though. I don't smoke and never
did. I exercise, and my blood pressure is 107/60. My HDL is pretty high
too, and triglycerides very low.

Cholesterol is just one number, maybe not the most important one.