On 4/5/2000 I wrote:
>While browsing Kurzweil's web site, I came
>across this book of his:
>"The 10% Solution for a Healthy Life
>How to Eliminate Virtually All Risk of Heart
>Disease and Cancer
>by Ray Kurzweil, Crown Publishers, 1993
>http://www.kurzweiltech.com/10.htm
>
>Has anyone looked at how good the evidence
>is for his claims? He says:
>
> ... Extensive human population studies show the same pattern.
> These societies that eat 30 percent of calories from fat have heart
> disease rates about 30 percent lower than those that eat 40 percent
> of calories from fat. ... The pattern that exists for heart disease
> exists also for the most common cancers.
Spudboy100@aol.com also then asked for "what double-blind and repeated
studies of this topic point out". Hal Finney said that "This looks to
have been well within "mainstream alternative" (if that means anything)
health perspectives of the early 1990s." Carrie Rowland noted that
"Similar claims are made in the books by Dr. Neal Barnard".
"ct" <tilley@att.net>'s pointed me to actual evidence:
http://www.americanheart.org/Scientific/statements/1998/099801.html
I was somewhat shocked at the contrast there between the conclusion:
"There is overwhelming evidence that reductions in saturated fat, dietary
cholesterol, and weight offer the most effective dietary strategies for
reducing total cholesterol, LDL-C levels, and cardiovascular risk."
and the actual evidence presented, which seemed quite weak to me.
Is all this stuff really mostly based on a thirty year old comparison
of heart mortality and fat consumption in only seven countries?!
Robin Hanson rhanson@gmu.edu http://hanson.gmu.edu
Asst. Prof. Economics, George Mason University
MSN 1D3, Carow Hall, Fairfax VA 22030
703-993-2326 FAX: 703-993-2323
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:09:12 MDT