Shiitake and Cholesterol | Cholesterol Activity Of Shiitake | How Shiitake Controls Cholesterol Level Shiitake and Cholesterol Japan now has a major health problenn in common with North America and Europe, and it is probably from adopting a more Western-style diet.  Both the cure and the prevention of hardening of the arteries number among the most crucial problems identified by Japanese health authorities.  Indeed, about half the deaths in Japan in the aged and middle-aged are due to some form of "hardening of the blood vessels.   Atherosclerosis develops when the flow of blood in arteries becomes blocked by cholesterol-containing plaques called atheroma.  Most authorities on heart disease believe we could increase our chances of survival by some means of reducing the daily amount of stress in our lives as well as the excessive fat in our blood.  Shiitake inhibits the aggregation or clumping together of blood platelets. By inhibiting blood platelets from forming clots, which can