The idea that animal fat consumption causes heart disease is perhaps the most controversial component of the standard preventative advice given to reduce heart disease. This association is based upon the research of Ancel Keyes, who compared heart disease rates in the United States, Canada, Australia, England, Italy, and Japan and found that lower rates of heart disease were manifested in countries with less saturated fat consumption. However, there are many examples of tribes that ate diets high in animal fats and protein yet had low rates of heart disease until exposed to a Western diet: the lifestyle practices of the industrialized world clearly seems more apt to contribute to heart disease but exactly how remains uncertain. There is a complex interplay of genetics and other metabolic factors in the development of atherosclerosis (Teicholz 2007).

Total cholesterol alone has a limited value in predicting the tendency to develop heart disease:...
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