Customer Reviews

The Heart Revolution: The Extraordinary Discovery That Finally Laid the Cholesterol Myth to Rest

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For the past few decades we have been told a dogma that has recently been shown by research to be not true: that the major cause of heart disease is cholesterol. Because of this erroneous dogma, many Americans have significantly reduced their consumption of healthy foods -- such as eggs -- simply because they contain cholesterol, and eaten unhealthy foods rich in sugar because they don't contain cholesterol. The surprising truth is that cholesterol is not a bad substance to be avoided but rather is an important biochemical which is essential for human health. Cholesterol is so essential that our bodies actually manufacture it; in fact, humans typically manufacture 3 to 4 times more cholesterol than we get from food. Well, if cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, what is? The answer is that the two major causes of the arterial blockage which can lead to heart attacks are free radicals (which can be combatted by antioxidants such as vitamin C, Vitamin E, and selenium) and homocysteine. Homocysteine is a natural substance which is formed from metabolism of the amino acid methionine. Vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid can keep the concentration of homocysteine in our bodies low enough to be safe. But if we are deficienct in these essential vitamins -- as many people are -- the level of homocysteine in our blood rises dangerously and can induce the formation of arterial plaque which blocks the arteries and leads to heart attacks. High levels of homocysteine are far more dangerous than high cholesterol levels. In this book the man who discovered this fact, Dr. Kilmer McCully, discusses in readable terms the importance of keeping homocysteine levels low and dispells the myth that foods containing cholesterol -- many of which are quite good for us -- are dangerous. You need to know and understand this new paradigm if you want to preserve your health and protect yourself from heart attacks. As a research chemist, I can't recommend this important book too highly.

This book gives easy, doable and simple prevention solutions to heart disease, including increasing B vitamins that lower a natural blood-vessel toxin we all -without exception- make, homocysteine.

Dr. McCully discovered the vital role of this molecule in heart disease [now with roles in over 100 diseases] but his insistence that it is NOT cholesterol or fat that cause bad arteries got him fired from and black listed and disgraced by Harvard University, in 1978 -only to be re-offered a professorship 25 years later [he graciously accepted].

Four new studies about homocysteine now appear daily and a Nobel Prize for single handedly discovering, proving and popularizing such toxic player and risk-factor in health should be in the works.. He now shares that life-long body of wisdom with the public. The good news is that ANYONE can lower his/her homocysteine with a high strength multi-B vitamin pill, the only therapy. Easy to read and well edited, this is the FIRST book you should read, and as a bonus, it will make you feel better about cholesterol.

Heh, any heart-health book with a high nutrient but high cholesterol recipe for chicken-liver spread with egg and butter deserves notice. Not only that -McCully was as right then as he is now, it is a lack of micronutrients that is so dangerous, and this includes omega-3 oil and the '"B" healthy' B vitamins.

This book is as vital for your doctor or cardiologist and buying them a copy too may be one of the smartest things you could do. Their life is a hard one with the drug-interests dominating much of the landscape. They should appreciate scientifically sound data about non-toxic non-drug nutritional prevention options, and it is here that Dr. McCully filled in much of the puzzle picture.

I add my voice to the very first reviewer, Dr. Willett, Chair of Harvard's Nutrition Department, in warmly recommending this important yet easy to read book, Eddie Vos Sutton Qc Canada www.health-heart.org E-mail: vos@health-heart.org

just did a quick read mar 99, and there is one very important nutrient that is not even mentioned that is more powerful than any of the b vitamins mentioned(folate, b12,b6) for lowering blood homocysteine levels. it is called TMG, or trimethylglycine, derived from sugar beets, which is CHEAP, and available at only a few health food stores. don't bother to ask your doctor about it; they are in the stone age WRT knowledge about nutrition, and they haven't even heard of homocysteine yet! there is a huge database of clinical support that shows just how powerful TMG is. TMG is a methyl-group donor, which degrades to DMG when it has donated one methyl group to homocysteine to render it harmless. it acts in DAYS to bring down the blood homocysteine level. dr. mccully deserves the nobel prize in medicine for his research and discovery, yet the establishment that ignored and ostracized him for so long will no doubt see to it that he either never receives it, or, like peyton rous, who received the nobel prize in 1966 for the cancer-causing virus he discovered in 1911(!),gets it very, very late. the homocysteine level test IS available, but must be specifically ordered by the physician. so you will have to find one who knows how important it is. rather strange, is it not, that a compound that the body(liver)makes for so many uses could possibly ever have been classified as a health hazard! i guess drug companies think that their totally non-natural drugs are better for you. the ridiculously simple experiment that was conducted years ago should have put to rest the cholesterol-as-villain myth--patients who had high cholesterol were given no diet or lifestyle changes, except that they were given vitamin c, at about 400-1000 mg/day, if i remember. guess what? their cholesterol plummetted.why? because in addition to all its other uses in the body, cholesterol is a first-line ANTI-OXIDANT, and so the body produces more of it when the diet is low in the main ones(a, beta-carotene, c,e, selenium). so within days of the body being helped out, the liver throttles back its cholesterol production! sea-changes in any discipline take decades, if not centuries, to come around. hopefully, within a few years, blood tests for homocysteine will be as routine as the WBC or RBC tests are now.

Dr. McCully has written, in simple prose, an easily understood summary of his years of original research. His perseverence in the face of hostility and underhanded back-biting has been amazing. And the results can help us all. Several years ago, I was at a scientific meeting at which the data on cholesterol were reviewed: it turns out that the medical establishment forgot, in its misbegotten war on cholesterol, that it has a crucial function in neurotransmitter synthesis. Lowering cholesterol below YOUR personal set-point will lower serotonin, increasing depression, accident rates, and weakening impulse control. So the case is even stronger than Dr. McCully indicates. Read his book -- and eat wisely.

Along with Ravnskov's "Cholesterol Myths" I would rate this as vital reading for anyone interested in their health. It's books like these that have convinced me to take my health into my own hands and largely ignore doctors, governments, the food industry and others who have vested interests and reputations riding on the back of the failed Lipid Hypothesis. McCully is one of those who has dared to oppose the "Cholesterol Police". His description of how he was treated, despite having conclusive evidence, angered and shocked me. It illustrates clearly that many so called scientists are not following the Scientific Method at all. They need to remember that you don't do experiements to prove your favourite theory is right, but to expose the truth, no matter what that turns out to be.

Ignore the reader from Columbia, MD USA. High blood cholesterol has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with causing heart disease (see Ravnskov). People with low levels are just as likely to get CHD as those with elevated cholesterol. However, heart disease patients have high levels because Cholesterol repairs damage to the body - other factors (Homocystene, Lp(a), free radicals and so on) are the real cause, so the body attempts a repair by increasing cholesterol levels. So a high blood level is just a symptom, not the cause.

Take it from a pathologist. I read this book looking to rip apart the scientific logic, but found it to be exceedingly well-grounded and thoughtful. Excellent read.

I highly recommend this book. I'm not in the medical field, but I am a scientist so I appreciated that this text was not "dumbed down" too much. Obviously it doesn't give the detail that a purely scientific text would, but it provides enough information and references so you can check out the fundamental research.

Dr. McCully presents sound nutritional advice to those at risk for heart disease as well as the rest of the public. He advocates cutting refined foods from our national diet - it is the refining of grains (especially white flour) that depletes the B vitamins in foods. As a result we experience a decreased capacity for clearing methionone from our blood. It is this methionone that is converted to homocysteine - a substance in the blood that Dr. McCully feels plays a big role in heart disease. Yes, this is new information for most of the public - but the bottom line is the same. To decrease one's risk for developing heart disease, McCully informs us that one must eat more servings of whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes. Additionally, one must avoid fatty, processed foods like cakes, cookies and muffins. Dr. McCully also advocates intake of high quality protein, especially lean proteins like fish, poultry and lean cuts of pork. This book will be valuable to anyone who wants to reduce his or her risk of developing heart disease. This book will also be of value to anyone who just wants a healthier way of eating. As a clinical dietitian with a master's degree in nutrition, this book will have it's place in my own personal library.

The innocence of the essential cholesterol in causing atherosclerosis, and the guilt of of the undesirable metabolic product, homocysteine, are presented in a very readable manner, yet with citations to the peer-reviewed medical literature. A positive program for reducing the levels of homocysteine is given that includes supplements and diet.

This book is a must read for anyone concerned about his/her cholesterol level.......especially if your medical professionals are solely focussed on lowering them as the only rational strategy for good health. Kilmer McCully does a great job of adding balance to the medical community's current enslavement to the cholesterol=heart disease theory, and in the process demonstrates again how the world of science tends to banish those whose breakthrough insights don't fit the mainstream mold. Fortunately for us all, McCully's insights about the role of inflammation in heart disease are finally being more fairly considered by the
medical establishment.