Nice article, use it or don't In the early 1970s, young men in Finland were dying from heart attacks at the highest rates in the industrialized world. In theNorth Karelia region of the country, home to 180,000 people, every family knew the pain of watching a young and fit man die young. While the Finns had very little obesity and very few sedentary jobs (factors that should have protected them from heart disease), they had high blood cholesterol and elevated blood pressure, and smoking was rampant. In 1972, the Finnish government launched the North Karelia Project with the goal of lowering the quantity and type of fats eaten and to improve smoking rates. They coordinated an education program in schools, medical facilities, media, work sites, supermarkets, through the food industry and emphasized the health risks of smoking and tips to quit. Furthermore, residents were asked to switch from butter to vegetable oil-based margarine and replace whole milk with low-fat milk. By 1977, the drop in heart deaths was sufficiently impressive to roll the project out to the entire country and over 30 years of data are available. Did the residents respond? They sure did. The rate of using butter on bread fell from 90% to less than 5% and one third of the population began to drink skim or 1% milk, up from zero at the outset. Overall dietary fat intake dropped and saturated fats fell to 16% of calories. Beginning in 1979, the government introduced an additional goal of eating vegetables six to seven times a week. By 2004 about a quarter of the men and one third of the women of Finland were reaching that goal. Smoking in men fell from 52% to 31% and remained under 20% in women, the lowest in Europe. What were the results? The results for dying at a young age were stunning. In North Karelia, men between the ages of 35 and 64 years enjoyed a drop in overall death by 62%, heart attack deaths fell 85%, all cancers deaths by 65%, and lung cancers by 80%. For the entire Finnish nation dying from a heart attack during working years was reduced by a whopping 80%! When the cause of the dramatic improvements in health were analyzed, the drop in animal saturated fat was the most powerful factor. The lessons of Finland are powerful and point to ability of simple, coordinated, and consistent messages to the public and our families to not smoke, reduce animal fat intake, and increase vegetables and fruits in our diets to avoid unnecessary family tragedies from early deaths. The message that butter and animal fat is healthy is often heard and may confuse you but the health boom in Finland teaches a powerful lesson that cannot be ignored. My advice as a cardiologist with decades of experience? If anyone recommends you eat a diet high in animal fats, ask them if they have any long-term data on preventing heart disease, the number-one killer in the world. Heart attacks are preventable and putting your fork in a plant (instead of an animal) remains your best health decision. Imagine a world where six out of seven heart attack obituaries disappear, six out of seven funeral home tables are empty, six out of seven hospital CCU beds for heart attacks are empty. Imagine all the people whose lives we could save .. link to WHO.... http://www.who.int/chp/about/integrated_cd/index2.html
