The Great Cholesterol Myth: Why Lowering Your Cholesterol Won't Prevent Heart Disease-and the Statin-Free Plan That Will

Even thought I owe many books concerning Cholesterol I immediately ordered a copy of this one the day I first heard about it, this because my wife and the doctors she se still are trusting in the danger for my wife caused by Cholesterol. Cholesterol which I now during the past 4 years with doctors have discussed about, but my wife, the doctors, and many other persons still only believe what they are told in the hospitals. Even though I during all these years, for example 3 years ago, before the meeting with a doctor, delivered a letter writings from many new books concerning Cholesterol, according to which my wife only during 10 years is having a chance on 2 % for getting a hard attack, opposite to mine being 16 %. But the doctors still haven't chance their minds and want my wife to start on Statins. Opposite to the Harvard probability result on only 2 % the doctors she, without my knowing, visited 3 weeks ago, tells her that each day she can have a hard attack, if she don't start taking Statins. Actual she is having 277 in the total Cholesterol opposite to mine being 194. But she is having 117 in the HDL, opposite to mine on 55, and age, not smoking, and so on, all results in the mentioned respectively 2 % and 16 % when using the Harvard sheet. But the doctors are counting on the total and not allowing more than 200 in the total Cholesterol, so I'm healthy and she is having a great risk for heard attack.So I bought this book as I still, concerning Cholesterol, am fighting against the doctors, and thereby my wife and other persons who blindly trust the doctors even though I try to explain how dangerous the Statins can bee, and that it's wrong only to look at total Cholesterol and not allowing more than 200, and for the HDL not to allow more than 65. And by buying the newest books concerning Cholesterol hoping one day to get the doctors and private persons to change their minds, and after that living healthy by not taking Statins.Concerning this book the first ting I must say is that it's very easy to read and that it's containing a good reminding and detailed histories about how it all started and vent on and ended with the wrong believing that the Cholesterol and Fats are dangerous, and that they shall be limited as much as possibly.Historically the chapter 2, "Cholesterol is Harmless", is interesting to read, about how it starts back in 1953 with Ancel Keys idea about the bad Cholesterol. The Cholesterol, of which we actual have stored, and are using, half of in the brain. And we are reading how it was worked trough all the departments with the message that Cholesterol is dangerous. For example we read how the assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, while not being a scientist her self, she went to the president of the National Academy of Science for having him to look on the writings, which she brought, about the bad Cholesterol. And that he then answered her "The anti-fat dietary goals written by Mottern were utter and complete nonsense". And she so instead went to another person, as no matter what, their ideas should be followed and believed. .In the chapter 3, "Inflammation: The true cause of heart disease", we are getting a really up to date telling about what's now knowing concerning the Cholesterol, that is about the subtypes in the HDL and LDL. Where in the most important one, the "bad" LDL, we respectively are having the A, which is big and fluffy molecules, that looks like a cotton ball, and which do no damage, opposite to the small and hard B, which can do much damage if it becomes Oxidized.In the chapter 7, "Help your Heart with these Supplements", we as the first thing read about the coenzyme Q10. And the Q10, this important kind of vitamin, especially informed to get more of if we start taking Statin, as the Statin force the body to produce less Q10. But the doctor I've met here in Chiang Mai don't know this and tells the patient they put on Statin also to start on Q10. And a very informative chapter by having very detailed writings concerning each of the here mentioned supplements. But besides we at a place here also read that one research during 3.2 years showed that the patients who were taking Statin, each year had an 42 % increase of their arterial Calcium, and thereby increasing the resistance against the blood 3 times more than for those who did not take Statin, and thereby a putting Hearth on a harder work.Chapter 9, "Putting it all together - a simple and easy Blueprint for a Healthy Heart and Life", covering 25 sides. And these sides are covering what to eat, and what not to eat, and why. But it also covers the importance in being happy, which we learned more detailed about in the chapter 8. "Stress: The Silent Killer". And here concerning the food, I for example under: Eat this: Wild Alaska Salmon, discovered that in 4 once of this Salmon we are getting 462 mg of heart-healthy Potassium, the same amount as in a medium Banana. Here in Thailand I each day eat Bananas, so glad to learn that.Today I in the RAM Hospital, for the first time after more than 3 years again visited the doctor who back then wanted my wife to start on Statin, this time bringing many new printings and 3 books. And this time it ended with the doctor telling my wife, when using the diagram from Harward, which I brought, that there for her is no risk concerning hearth attach. And besides he was lending this book. So now, in any case, one doctor finally has changed his mind concerning Cholesterol.But once again, an excellent good and easy to read and up to date book.

The book, The Great Cholesterol Myth is a useful contribution exposing the lipid hypothesis of heart disease for what it is, an unproven theory grounded in propaganda, not science. For those of you who demand authors with ' proper ' credentials, you will be satisfied . Bowden has a Ph.D and is a clinical nutritionists, and Sinatra is a M.D. . The book is an easy read,making the subject easy to grasp for the non specialists with many basic concepts well defined in kind of a folksy writing style. If you have read other books on this subject, you can skim over these areas.The first two chapters deal with why cholesterol levels are not a good indicator of heat disease, and the history of how animal fats became demonized, including the pseudo science of Ansel Keys's epidemiology studies and, the politics of McGovern's Committee On Nutrition, etc. .Chapter 3 expounds on how chronic inflammation is likely to cause heart disease and the beneficial roles of the various forms of cholesterol.Chapter 4 deals with Sugar and its destructive role in human physiology. There is a discussion on insulin resistance and its ramifications. There is no discussion of the hormone that fat produces, Leptin which Byron Richards in his book Mastering Leptin states that leptin resistance is a major contributing factor to insulin resistance and by extension would be a major factor in heart disease.Chapter 5 is a great discussion on Fat, and why saturated fat is not the boogie man we have brainwashed into believing it is. They clearly explain the differences between various fats without overwhelming the reader in chemistry. They have a very clear discussion of the Omega 6 and Omega 3 fats, and why the ratio of consumption is so important.Chapter 6 discusses cholesterol lowering drugs ( statins ) including how little they lower risk, how the assessment of benefit is grossly inflated, how for almost every group the benefits are assumed and not proven, and how side effects are significant and trivialized my most doctors and as such the complications are under reported. Various studies are critically reviewed to show little or no support for the idea that lowering cholesterol lowers risk for heart disease or increases overall life.Chapter 7 contains recommendations for supplements to improve cardiovascular health and is good as far as it goes. I am no expert, but I do see some omissions, such as not mentioning how vitamin K2 can improve health by helping redistribute calcium from soft tissue to where it belongs, in the teeth and bones. I fault this book in is that there is no section on Further Reading, though it is well references with scientific articles, which most people cannot access . For improvement of calcium health I would suggest the book: Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life by Kate Rheaume-BleueChapter 8 deals with Stress and heart disease which at this time I have skipped at this time.In the concluding chapter there is a very useful summary of test you might want to have. One test that is omitted is one usually directed at diabetics, but it has been found to be a reliable indicator of heart disease risk, which is the glycolated hemoglobin test. A good discussion of this topic: Post-Meal Blood Sugar and A1c Predict Cardiovascular Events and Deaths can be found by searching the Blood Sugar 101 site. The rest of the chapter is devoted to eating recommendations and behavioral aspects of lowering risk for heart disease.I recommend this book highly. If you or a family member is on Statins drugs for lowering risk of heart disease and you haven't study what the critics of the lipid hypothesis have to say, then you have not had informed consent for this therapy. This book is not as complete or strident or technical as Anthony Colpo's The Great Cholesterol Con ( see it for a better discussion of the iron hypothesis of heart disease ) but is a simpler read. I wish the authors would have had a more inclusive list of related books. Maybe other reviewers can add to my suggestions. Here are some other books worth reading that would amplify some subjects touched upon in this book: Exposing the Hidden Dangers of Iron by Garrison and Weinberg, Transdermal Magnesium Therapy By Mark Sircus, And The High Blood Pressure Solution By Richard D. Moore.