>Practically nobody with a blood cholesterol level below 140 ng/dl ever
>gets cardiovascular disease, the number one killer in the western world.
>The only way to reach this low level for most people is to consume _no_
>cholesterol in the diet. This means eating _no_ animal products.
This is incorrect for approximately 90% of the population. Your
liver synthesizes about 1 gm/day of cholesterol and downregulates
production based on consumption: eat 200 mg/day more, it makes
200 mg/day less. For this 90%, cholesterol consumption has no
effect on cholesterol levels. What does affect cholesterol is
fat and calories. Many cholesterol-high foods are also high in
fat and calories as well (e.g. eggs) so they do indeed raise
cholesterol; this confounding correlation is part of the reason
many think that consumed cholesterol makes a big difference for
blood cholesterol.
I eat meat, and my cholesterol level is 135. My family history
for heart disease is absolutely hideous, with three of four
grandparents dying of atherosclerosis and both parents having
highly elevated cholesterol. I get this with a low-fat diet
and fairly casual CR. You can get a great cholesterol level
on animal products.