| Project/Area Number |
62304053
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Co-operative Research (A)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
医学一般
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| Research Institution | Kyoto University |
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Principal Investigator |
TORU KITA Kyoto University, 医学部 (60161460)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
中谷 矩章 東海大学, 医学部, 助教授
YUJI MATSUZAWA Osaka University, 医学部, 講師 (70116101)
KOREAKI NAKAYA Tokai University
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| Project Period (FY) |
1987 – 1988
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 1988)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥7,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥7,400,000)
Fiscal Year 1988: ¥2,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,000,000)
Fiscal Year 1987: ¥5,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,400,000)
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| Keywords | cholesterol / dietary factors / LDL / fatty acids / Zen monks / 血小板 / 禅宗 / LDLコレステロール / 不飽和 / 飽和脂肪酸 |
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| Research Abstract |
In Japan the incidences of heart attacks and cerabral srtokes are rapidly increasing, which correlates with a greater consumption of Western style food. Epidemiologic surveys conducted in many countries over the past 30years have all shown that atherosclerosis becomes more severe as the mean LDL level rises in a population. In Japan, it is well known that Zen monks have long life span, possibly because of their diet. In this study, we focused on their serum lipid levels and dietary habits.
The mean levels of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were 28.5, and 32.8% lower in Zen monks than in control Japanese males. There were no significant difference in the level of triglyceride in both groups. The mean levels of total and LDL-cholesterol were almost same in both caucasian and Japanese Zen monks and were apparently lower than that in control Japanese males. This suggested that there are no race difference in the level of serum cholesterol when people eat animal product-free diet. In addition, the serum lipid levels in Zen monks before they started thraining were compared with those 6 months after they underwent training. The mean levels of total and LDL-cholesterol decreased by 18.1 and 16.3%, respectively. The results of the nutritional intake revealed differences between Zen monks and control males. No significant differences were observed between the groups in mean intake of total calories. Zen monks consumed virtually no cholesterol or animal products (fat protein) and ate only vegetable fats with an extremely high ration of polyunsaturated to saturated fat (P/S ratio). These data suggest that the dietary habits of Zen monks give rise to relatively low levels of LDL-cholesterol. We are now planning to investigate what factors in fatty acids influence serum cholesterol level.
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