Abstract
The risk from hypercholesterolemia has been overemphasized for years in Japan. Many of the Japanese epidemiological studies showed that high cholesterol levels, those between 240 and 260 mg/dL (6.2–6.7 mmol/L), are the safest in terms of all-cause mortality. Some epidemiological studies showed no upper limits of benefit for serum cholesterol levels. Therefore, treating subjects with 240 to 260 mg/dL of cholesterol references the paradox of treating those who are least likely to die. When serum cholesterol levels are estimated to be high, dietary intervention is often recommended. However, an observational study performed in Japan showed that cholesterol-reducing diets might increase the risk of acute myocardial infarction nearly three times. It is about time that we changed our attitude toward cholesterol especially in Japan.
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Hamazaki, T., Okuyama, H. (2008). The Japanese Experience. In: De Meester, F., Watson, R.R. (eds) Wild-Type Food in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-330-1_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-330-1_2
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