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[okie smokie]

Regarding vegetables in our diet, esp. starches:
When a Maasai Warrior said that his diet consisted of the meat and blood and milk of his cattle, he was asked if he ate any vegetables.  His reply was that the vegetables were for the cattle.  Maasai who still live in the ritual style and are basically warriors and herdsmen, eat about 2 lbs of meat daily and drink the milk of the cows.  They bleed them and drink the blood on ritual occasions.  They have no heart or other vascular disease or diabetes, and cancer is also very rare.  Obesity is unknown.  (they eat no carbs).  Inuit indians (Eskimos), rarely eat veggies and their diet consists of meat, blubber (fat), fish.  They too have almost no vascular disease, diabetes, or cancer.  In the two groups above, those that have been introduced to sugar, refined flour and the "western" diet and lifestyle (usually by well meaning missionaries), have the same diseases that we do and to the same degree.
Conclusion:  Meat and fat rules! Cholesterol? must be good for you. Veggies? Avoid the starchy ones. Do not eat refined flour products or sugar.  Hard to do, I admit. But think about it!

[pmillen]

I just had another heart attack and two more stents installed 10 days ago.  This confuses me.

[okie smokie]

I just had another heart attack and two more stents installed 10 days ago.  This confuses me.

My error to bring this subject to this venue.  My views are considered radical by most cardiologists (I am a retired MD).  I will withdraw this note. 
You are best served by following your cardiologists instructions.   

[glitchy]

I always find studies like this intriguing especially when a retired doc thinks about them too. However, I always wonder what other factors come into play too. How much does lifestyle come into play. I’m envisioning people they are moving and working 12 hours a day?

Pmillen, very sorry to hear you went though that. I hope you recover quickly and are well for a long time.

[Kristin Meredith]

I too am intrigued, but there are so many other factors at work that I wonder.  Doesn't genetics come into play?  Also, I wonder about things like DNA.  The Masai and Eskimos are pretty "pure breed" -- I am a mutt of Norwegian, English, German and Welsh (probably the Welsh alone would kill me with those pasties and fish & chips -- you know, the great stuff!).  Does climate have a factor?  So many facets, but at the end of the day, I probably should cut out sugar, butter, and wheat and that is so hard for me to do.

[okie smokie]

Among those two peoples, diet was not the only thing that explorers and missionaries brought them.  Lifestyle, certainly plays a role. One could also argue heredity playing a very important role. Keep in mind also that if man had not learned to cultivate the soil and produce large amounts of the starchy grains and legumes like potatoes, which are the major source of our caloric intake, most of us would not be here.  Prehistoric man was a hunter gatherer, and was able to eat only what he could catch or find growing wild.  Yes he ate wild grains when meat was scarce, but it did not exist in large amounts in any one place and was not refined in any way. (refined grains have the roughage removed and metabolize into sugars more easily). Fruits were his main source of sugars, but were only seasonal and again not concentrated in any one area. Large populations of people did not exist due to limitation of food sources, and starvation came when those sources dried up. Only when we learned to grow our own animals and grains did we settle down and expand our numbers.  For those who are really interested, I suggest two books:

"Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. It is a long but complete evaluation that was an attempt to find out why we get fat, but which revealed far more than that in regard to the current myths of cholesterol, heart disease and cancer. Very well written, and readable, but over 500 pages with full bibliography. If you read it in full, you will be enlightened. 

"Fat and Cholesterol are Good for You!" by Uffe Ravnskov MD. PhD.  Written for everyone. He debunks the cholesterol myth with some very compelling arguments.  Easy read with some humor included. He is the leading researcher in debunking the cholesterol myth, and the hazards of statin drugs.   

Both books are on Amazon Books.
 
My apology above was directed to the reply of pmillen who just recovered from a heart attack and two stents.  I can understand why you would be confused about my "radical" statements.  However, because of the interest that followed, I will not cancel this thread. I had a surprise double bypass in Dec. 2015 at age 79, so I can feel your concerns about my comments.  Best wishes for a full recovery.   

[pmillen]

Taubes' books are available in iBooks.  Unfortunately, Ravnskov's isn't.

Thank you to those who have wished me well.  I'm fine.  I  mowed the front lawn yesterday.  Back yard today.

[okie smokie]

Ravnskov's books (several on the subject) are available on Amazon but are in the $30 range, new.  Used are very reasonable at $8-9.  Here is a recent very large study (82,000 people) by him and his group in the online BMJ (British Medical Journal--one of the best of medical journals). It really confirms his previous research into the Cholesterol Myths. 

http://www.drcharlesblum.com/Patient%20Information/Cholesterol%20LDL%20reduction%20not%20protective%20BMJ%202016-Ravnskov-.pdf