Traditional Japanese cuisine may reduce heart disease risk
The ability to read and write Japanese turned out to be one of the best indicators of cardiac health among nearly 8,000 men of Japanese ancestry examined in a large prospective study in Hawaii.
It's not hard to figure out. In Hawaii's racially diverse population, many Japanese people, even some who were born in Japan, have become thoroughly Westernized and have either forgotten or never learned the intricate calligraphy of their ancestral tongue. On the other hand, those who retained or acquired these language skills usually adhere to other traditional Japanese ways, including diet.
And eating the traditional Japanese diet—with its higher complex carbohydrate content—is apparently inversely related to the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).
Abraham Kagan, MD, of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, described this facet of the Honolulu Heart Study at the meeting of the American
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