The state with the highest mortality rate for coronary heart disease is New York. But nine of the next 10 states on the list are clustered in the Midwest and the upper South. It's not any chemical company belching out bad humors. It's the health habits. Take, for instance, diet.
Meat is emphasized in the Midwest as nowhere else in the country.
It's also, by now, become cultural tradition. They would not come over no matter how much free beer there was. Most physicians agree that red meat is fine in moderation, maybe 12 ounces a week. In St. Louis, for instance, the trademark foods are deep-fried beef ravioli wrapped in bread crumbs and frozen custard so thick you can hold your cup upside down without losing a drop. It's appalling what they serve at Millie's Diner.