132 THE CHINA STUDYpitch moderate diets with trivial changes as being healthy lifestyle "goals."
If you are at high risk for heart disease, or if you already have the disease,
they recommend that you adopt a diet containing 30% of total calories
as fat (7% of total calories as saturated fat) and less than 200 mg/day of
dietary cholesterol. 48,49 According to them, we should also keep our total
blood cholesterol level under the "desirable" level of 200 mg/dL,49
These venerable organizations are not giving the American public the
most up-to-date scientific information. While we are told that a total
blood cholesterol level of 200 mg/dL is "desirable," we know that 35%
of heart attacks strike Americans who have cholesterol levels between 150
and 200 mg/dPo (a truly safe cholesterol level is under 150 mg/dL). We
also know that the most aggressive reversal of heart disease ever dem-
onstrated occurred when fat was about lO% of total calorie intake. Stud-
ies have clearly demonstrated that many patients who follow the more
moderate government recommended diets see a progression of heart
disease. 51 The innocent victims are health-conscious Americans who
follow these recommendations, keeping their total cholesterol around
180 or 190 mg/dL, only to be rewarded with a heart attack leading to a
premature death.
To top it off, the National Cholesterol Education Program danger-
ously writes, "Lifestyle changes are the most cost-effective means to re-
duce risk for CHD[coronary heart disease]. Even so, to achieve maximal
benefit, many persons will require LDL [cholesteroll-Iowering drugs."49
No wonder America's health is failing. The dietary recommendations
for the most diseased hearts among us, given by supposedly reputable
institutions, are severely watered down and followed by the caveat that
we'll probably need a lifetime of drugs anyway.
Our leading organizations fear that if they advocate more than mod-
est changes, no one will listen to them. But the establishment-recom-
mended diets are not nearly as healthy as the diets espoused by Drs.
Esselstyn and Omish. The fact is that a blood cholesterol level of 200
mg/dL is not safe, a 30% fat diet is not "low-fat," and eating foods con-
taining any cholesterol above 0 mg is unhealthy. Our health institutions
are intentionally misleading the public about heart disease, all in the
name of "moderation."
Whether scientists, doctors and policy makers think the public will
change or not, the layperson must be aware that a whole foods, plant-
based diet is far and away the healthiest diet. In the seminal paper re-
garding the landmark Lifestyle Heart Trial, the authors, Dr. Omish and