To illustrate the development of heart disease from virtual non-existence to being the biggest killer disease, I have used statistical trends describing disease development in Germany - a typical, modern industrialized nation.

In the year 1800, meat consumption in Germany was about 13 kg (28 pounds) per person per year. One hundred years later, meat consumption was nearly three times as high, at 38 kg per person per year. By 1979, it had reached 94.2 kg, which is an increase of 725 percent in less than 180 years. These figures do not include fats. During the period of 1946-1978, meat consumption in Germany increased by 90% and heart attacks rose by 20 times. During the same period, fat consumption remained the same, whereas consumption of cereals and potatoes, which are major suppliers of vegetable protein, decreased by 45%. Therefore, fats and carbohydrates, as well as vegetable proteins, cannot be considered to be causes of coronary heart disease. This leaves meat as the main factor responsible for the dramatic upsurge of this degenerative blood vessel disease.

In consideration of the fact that at least 50 percent of the German population is overweight and most overweight people eat much more meat than those with normal weight do, meat consumption among the overweight must have at least quadrupled in the 33 years after World War II. Being overweight is considered to be a major risk for high blood pressure and heart disease.

According to statistics published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1978, the yearly increases of heart attacks in Western European countries were accompanied by a continuous yearly increase in meat consumption by as much as 4 kg per person. This practically means that eating habits after World War II have shifted from a healthy mixed diet to one excessive in animal protein, but poor in carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables and grains. According to the WHO, fat consumption remained virtually unchanged. Heart attacks and atherosclerosis began to increase dramatically in Germany and in Western industrialized nations soon after the war; today they cause over 50 percent of all deaths.

Although fat consumption among vegetarians is not less than among meat eaters, the vegetarians have the lowest death rates from heart disease.The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that a vegetarian diet could prevent 97% of all coronary occlusions. The incredibly popular high protein, low carbohydrate Atkins Diet and South Beach Diet have the unfortunate side effect of starving a person by clogging up his capillary and artery walls with excessive proteins, and by greatly limiting his fuel intake (carbohydrates). This can certainly make a person lose weight, but not without also damaging his kidneys, liver, and heart. Both the late Dr. Atkins, a heart disease and obesity victim, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton, a keen follower of the South Beach Diet and recipient of a quadruple bypass, suffered the consequences of the high protein diet. Millions of Americans are following in their footsteps.

The reason for the virtual absence of coronary heart disease among vegetarians is their low intake or complete absence of animal protein. Fat consumption is, therefore, only an accomplice of the disease, but not its cause. The constantly recycled mass hysteria that believes fat, which is generally associated with cholesterol, to be the main dietary culprit of heart disease, is completely unfounded, outdated, and has no scientific basis.

[This is an excerpt from the book 'Heart Disease No More!' by Andreas Moritz, available on http://www.ener-chi.com/book.htm ]

Andreas Moritz is a writer and practitioner in the field of Integrative Medicine and author of 13 books on various subjects pertaining to holistic health, including 'Timeless Secrets of Health & Rejuvenation', 'Cancer Is Not A Disease', 'The Amazing Liver & Gallbladder Flush' and 'Vaccine-Nation: Poisoning the Population, One Shot at a Time'.

Andreas can be contacted on http://www.facebook.com/enerchi.wellness

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There is good news when it comes to moderate alcohol consumption and its effects on your cholesterol levels.

According to most research studies, a moderate alcohol intake (one or two drinks maximum of alcohol per day) is associated with less risk of heart disease. This applies to all forms of alcohol and not simply to red wine, as is popularly believed and is due to the fact that all types of alcohol reduce the level of LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood. Alcohol also raises the HDL (good) cholesterol, which could play a role in protecting against heart disease.

One research paper even goes as far to say that any amount of alcohol consumption is good for improving your cholesterol. This paper surveyed 4860 middle-aged men in Caerphilly (South Wales) and Speedwell (Bristol) and found that alcohol consumption was directly related to increased levels of HDL cholesterol. The research also showed that the more alcohol you drank the more your "good" HDL cholesterol increased - regardless of age, smoking habits, body weight, "bad" cholesterol or other levels of fats in the blood.

But (unfortunately), this paper is a lone voice in the research on alcohol and cholesterol and I would not hold too much faith in its results!

This is because it was based on surveys and the majority of people tend to exaggerate, under estimate or are genuinely mistaken about their own health habits when it comes to someone "official looking" standing in front of them with a clip board (or it may just be me that fibs when it comes to surveys!). The majority of papers show that too much alcohol can raise blood pressure, damage the liver, cause strokes, enlarge the heart, cause arrhythmias and start having an adverse effect on overall cholesterol (and health).

Fortunately, the old adage of "a little of what you fancy does you good" still holds true for alcohol and if you stick to 2-3 drinks 2-3 times a week you won't go far wrong!

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