Reacción a "Reactions: a meta-analysis shows that vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with a lower concentration of lipids such as cholesterol"

This work represents a well-conducted analysis of 30 clinical trials involving over two thousand participants and highlights the value of a vegetarian diet in reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke through reduction in blood cholesterol levels.  However, it also demonstrates that the impact of diet on an individual's cholesterol level is relatively limited.  This is because people inherit the tendency for their livers to produce too much cholesterol, meaning that high cholesterol is more strongly influenced by our genes (DNA) than by our diet.  This explains why statins are needed to block cholesterol production in people who are at higher risk of, or have already suffered from, a heart attack, stroke or other illness related to cholesterol build-up in blood vessels.