Cholesterol and Heart Disease

What about the cholesterol level of the US? I understand that there is no correlation between good cholesterol and heart disease... b/c France, etc... they eat and drink things that have high cholesterol levels that are good for you... like olive oil, balsamic viniger, red wine etc... but I have a hard time believing that something like a cheese burger and diet pepsi life style is heart attack free... and I think it's interesting that the US or even North America was not put on the test.

The french eat more saturated fat than we do.
The masai in africa took more than half their calories from saturated fat (butter) and through autopsy were shown to have zero incidence of heart disease.
The Tokelau of New Zealand area ate a diet with more than 35% saturated fat from fish and coconut, and had absolutely no incidence of heart disease until they emigrated to mainland new zealand and were introduced to sugar.
Read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" or "Vegetarian Myth" for proof!

While nutrition labels usually combine them, the saturated fatty acids appear in different proportions among food groups. Lauric and myristic acid radicals are most commonly found in "tropical" oils (e.g. palm kernel, coconut) and dairy products. The saturated fat in meat, eggs, chocolate, and nuts is primarily the triglycerides of palmitic and stearic acid. Epidemiological studies of heart disease have implicated the four major saturated fatty acids to varying degrees.

The World Health Organization has determined that there is "convincing" evidence that myristic and palmitic acid intake increases the probability, "possible" risk from lauric acid, and no increased risk at all from stearic acid consumption. And it cannot possibly be denied that the portions of a typical American diet is by far larger then any other country, and rich in myristic and palmitic acid.

The French diet consists of significantly less sugar than the American diet. The French eat pastries, but the pastries are more buttery than sugary. Sugar is an addictive substance when it is refined and consumed in large quantities. Obviously, some sugar is good for us. But this sugar needs to come from fruits and vegetables. Over consumption of sugar leads to increased weight, which is linked to increased heart disease.

Anthocyanins are flavonoids known as polyphenols that pack a powerful punch through antioxidants. Anthocyanins are found in copious quantities in red grapes. Thus, red wine provides the French with a protection against heart disease, even though the typical French diet is high in saturated fat.

i am studing nutrition at uni. and we are being taught that excess unhealthy fat intake and general unheathy lifestyle choices (lack of exercise etc) causes cardiovasuclar disease. But then I read about this "cholesterol myth" in a book, and now my life is confused.

Question what you are told.
Do your own research checks on PubMed
The world is run by Pharmaceutical interests who do not want their customers to fix their lifestyles.
Be a skeptic! Be your own person!
Cholesterol is innocent.
Do be confuse statistical association with causality.
Otherwise you may conclude that arriving in hospital (statistically) makes you very sick!

especially if you arrive by ambulance

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The major avoidable contributory factor to cardio-vascular disease is a sudden fall in blood glucose concentration
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A notion supported by the fact that Diabetics, who apparently suffer from repetitive, abnormally rapid, falls in blood glucose concentration, are documented with an above average incidence of cardio-vascular disease.
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The cause of the injury that plaque repairs and the cause of a sudden seizure is common.
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Warm thanks; Nick Gracey, WATerian @ 08:15hrs sat30may2009 UK.
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