Customer Reviews

The Homocysteine Revolution: Medicine for the New Millennium

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One of the most tragic medical blunders of the past few decades is the incorrect dogma that coronary artery disease -- and resultant heart attacks -- are caused primarily by cholesterol and "artery clogging fat." Yes, arteries clogged with plaque (which contains cholesterol and fat) can result in heart attacks, but there is abundant evidence that the mere presence of cholesterol and fats in the body does not, by itself, cause arterial plaque to form. In fact, many slender people with "ideal" cholesterol levels have plaque-filled arteries which result in heart attacks. What medical dogma has overlooked until quite recently is that plaque builds up only in arteries that have been wounded in some fashion. Arterial plaque is, in essence a form of scab that forms on wounded arteries to protect us from internal hemorrhaging. What causes wounded arteries? One cause is free radicals, which can be combatted by antioxidants. But a second major cause of arterial wounding -- and arterial plaque -- was discovered by the author of this book, Dr. Kilmer McCully: elevated concentrations in the blood of a chemical called homocysteine. Homocysteine is a natural product of the metabolism af an amino acid called methionine and, therefore, our body's always contain some homocysteine. Vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid keep blood concentrations of homocysteine low enough to be safe. But deficiency of these vitamins can allow homocysteine to build up to concentrations that can wound our arteries and lead to the formation of arterial plaque -- which can eventually trigger a heart attack. Recent research has confirmed Dr. McCully's findings. If you want to understand the role of homocysteine in causing cardiovascular disease and resultant heart attacks -- and learn how to protect yourself from them -- I strongly suggest that you acquire and read this valuable book.

Excellent information presented clearly. The diet suggestions offered in the book are logical and pleasant to follow. The difficulties the author faced in getting his ideas accepted offer a lesson in perserverance. I have given copies to several family members.

For those interested in the politics of medicine, the latest research on heart disease, and the role that vitamins and nutrition affect your health this is a must read book. It was overall easy for a lay person to follow and explained alot of medical concepts clearly. I was impressed. Thank you Dr. Mcully for making this important contribution to health sciences.

Excellent exposition of a revolution in medical science that will eventually save millions of lives. Besides, even if he is only half-rght, how tough can it be to take a few vitamins, eat your vegetables, cut down on donuts and doritos, and take a walk (preferably uphill) once in a while? Moreover, it is also an excellent and clear example of the entrenched members of a group suppressing an idea that would take away their income derived from maintaining current orthodoxy. This has always been true and always will be true. Why? After all, if you had attended college and graduate school and trained for 5 or more years beyond that, and accumulated $200k+ in debt to become qualified to perform open heart surgery (or pick whatever profession or skill you like), and to be elevated into a position of seeming god-like powers, and to be worshipped by the multitudes, and to hear the exalted "Doctor" pronounced before your name (egos please stand up!) and then someone came along with a new theory that said your patient could take 10 cents worth of vitamins every day and avoid your surgical specialty, don't you think you'd be a little resistant too? It is easy to say, well they have no integrity. But look at your own life, how many times do you resist a better idea or a change because it will mean a loss of income or prestige or might be a blow to your pride or ego? Keeping your expensive house and your porsche and your kids in private school and your wife out of divorce court is an extremely powerful incentive to maintain the status quo which is a 7-figure income for a heart surgeon. Sad but true and the most basic of human nature, preserving your own life and lifestyle. However, in this case, belief in the cholesterol theory of heart disease and that surgery is the only solution has lead to millions of deaths and untold billions in costs, money that could have been invested in many, many other worthwhile projects. So, a word to the wise: keep your eyes and minds open and look for this anti-growth phenomena behind every bit of resistance to a new idea, especially if it will impact somebodies income or fame or power or status, the pride and ego hooks that most of us hang our self-respect and self-worth on. Remember, the same powerful motivator that would keep silent a group of highly-educated, very intelligent, hard working and dedicated individuals, is the same motivator that will push a 14-year-old to murder to join a gang, simple human pride and eqo with the desire to be liked and accepted by his peers. Only a few courageous individuals in history, and Kilmer McCully can be counted among them, have been willing to throw away their careers and sometimes their lives for the sake of the highest human values - honesty and integrity and fierce dedication to truth. McCully should win the nobel prize for his work. We should also, every day, give thanks to him and that handful who have brought us this far in human history with their courageous, daring work and vision.

There are two main messages from this book:

* High Homocysteine (an amino acid) levels in the blood damage the ineer walls of blood vessels, leading to hardening and clogging. Presence of LDL collesterol make the matter worse.

* Homocysteine levels can be usually lowered by supplementing with B6, B12 and Folic Acid (and of course, by eating a more wholesome food devoid of oxidised collesterol)

Beside the above, the book also carries two secondary messages. I think they are important as well:

* Dr McCully was the first one arrive at the relationship between high homocystine levels and higher incidence of heart attack. And he did this way back in the 60's. Hence, I consider this book to be first among equals

* The mainstream health care industry is yet to accept/appreciate the homocysteine connection. I can't understand how something as important can escape general acceptance for half a centry

However, this is one of the well written and important books on the subject.

Good book. I knew nothing about homocysteine when I started it, except that it was a marker for inflammation in the body, but I finished with a clear idea of its role in arteriosclerosis and general health. It's written from a historical point of view, both the more distant history of the first developments in understanding, and the last 30-35 years, when the author played a significant part. At first I did not like this indirect approach, wanting just the science, but it did turn out to be an interesting read and not a bad way to communicate the information. For a lay-reader, I found it stayed within the bounds of comprehensibility, but you do end up with maybe a dozen or so different biochemicals flitting in and out of the text, often with names that are slight variants on each other. But overall it's clear.

I'm surprised at the reviewer who thought there was no advice for personal health - that's the whole topic of chapter 5. I felt I got a clear picture about how to apply the information for personal health. Proponents of the paleolithic diet will find one of McCully's final conclusions about diet (to eat little meat and fish) indefensible. But that's a quibble in the book as a whole, and don't let it put you off the book if you want a good layman's introduction to homocysteine and how it relates to health.

Tho this book is over 10 years old, it appears to be the only publication of its kind! Well written by the discoverer of the importance of Homcysteine and its application to heart disease.
I'm looking for more recent understanding of this complicated subject.

This book is a revelation. Dr. McCully should have received a Nobel prize for this outstanding contribution to preventing one of the scourges of humanity.

me discuss what we would do with my doctor. I have leaned that a high Homocysteine (Hcy) level is a marker for heart disease just as is a high CRP (C Reactive Protein). In fact I think they are both much more important that looking at blood lipids. I also found out that a higher Hcy level is usually indicative of a B12 and/or folic acid deficiency. In addition there are some genetic expresions in certain populations (of which I am one) that predispose us to those deficiencies.

I also ordered and devoured "Could it be B12" by Sally Pacholok and got more information related to Hcy. As a result of the information in these two books we ordered some additional blood tests (serum B12 and urinary MMA) and have started on a high dose B6/Folic Acid/B12 prescription.

If you have issues with Homocysteine or B12 (and I bet most people these days are B12 deficient if you use a more realistic guidleine than the current) I would recomend reading both of these books. You will be glad you did.