[Diet and the heart: end of an era? or beginning of a hope?].

A critical review is made of a recent article by G. Mann (New Engl. J. Med., 297, 644, 1977) where an attack is moved to the theory according which the diet is a basic factor in the epidemic of coronary heart disease. Most of the Mann' arguments are contradicted and an attempt is made to explain why his article has received such a large attention also outisde the strictly scientific mass-media.