Customer Reviews

The Myth of Cholesterol: Dispelling the Fear and Creating Real Heart Health

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading Uffe Ravnskov's book, "The Cholesterol Myths", I found this one rather disappointing. At least he gets the cholesterol message pretty much right, but basically this seems to be a watered down rehash of Ravnskov's material, used to bolster the author's New Age alternative medicine notions of transcendental meditation and vegetarianism. There may be something there, but the scientific proof is lacking. Ravnskov's book is as pure science as you will find.

This book does what it says: (1) Explains why you should not fear cholesterol, and (2) Offers sensible recommendations for preventing heart disease. As a research scientist, I commend the authors' scrutiny of the medical literature. It is evident that they have done their homework. While I do not necessarily agree with each and every one of their interpretations, I find their assesment and conclusions well thought out. I was particularly impressed with their multifaceted approach to "Creating Real Heart Health" found in the second part of the book. I was not aware of all the psychological, social, and environmental factors that influence the health status of the cardiovascular system -- I do not think most physicians are.

For many folks, monitoring cholesterol has become a regular part of adult health care. Those lab report results can seem like raffle ticket numbers and none of us wants the boobie prize. To get the "right" cholesterol numbers, we are urged to change diet, lifestyle, exercise regimen, etc., and/or take drugs, but the outcome can seem as random as a raffle when the next lab results come in. This book gathers together a wealth of hard research about what the connection may and may not be between cholesterol levels and overall heart health. The Myth of Cholesterol also points toward what may be much more important heart health factors. I felt empowered after reading this book, both because I can now understand my lab report better myself and because I can also participate as an informed patient when I discuss this with my doctor. I found the book clear and easy to read. The subtitle for this book talks of "dispelling the fear" around cholesterol. It did for me.

This book might just save the lives of several of my clients as well as family and friends. It exposes the errors in how the medical community has been looking at heart attacks and what cause them. Carefully written and referenced, it also thoroughly explains the scientific evidence for the claims.
As a Holistic Health Counselor and nutritionist I appreciate the revised nutritional guidelines - sorely needed information as the public has been previously misinformed. This is THE BOOK I'll be giving to my clients with heart issues.

This is a great book and an easy read. Although there is technical information in the book on the details of clinical studies conducted they don't intrude or become over burdonsome for the casual reader. I was shocked at how flimsy the link between cholesterol and heart disease is.

The Myth of Cholesterol explains how our culture got swept up in fearing a harmless and necessary physiological substance. It uses the results of many scientists and their experiments to show that cholesterol does not cause heart disease, and then goes on to talk about some of its real causes. The book offers real prescriptions for heart health that are free and bring only good side-effects because they are life-style changes that each person has the freedom to make. We learn that heart disease is more poetic that modern medicine has let us believe.

Written in accessible language for the non-medical community, but strong enough to with-stand the pressures of that climate as well, this book will ease the burden of anyone who fears heart-disease or worries about their cholesterol; it will educate anyone who has an interest in true health.

Because of my doctor's insistence on taking medication for my Cholesterol level, I felt a great need for better understanding, and some advice on what I can do about it. I hate the idea of just taking a new medication everyday if there is some alternative for improving my health (who knows what side-effects the drug may have by itself). I purchased several books on Cholesterol, and this is the only one that I was able to read through completely and I feel that this book gave me exactly what I was looking for, an understanding of cholesterol, and methods for preventing heart disease (which is the focus of my doctor's advice).

I have realized that creating heath for myself and "real heart health" in particular, is possible and a responsibility. I do know and have observed the effects of stress on my health, and have already seen improvements in other areas of my health from adopting the recommendatons in this book. This book colllects a large range of information and explains it in terms that were clear (and interesting) to me.

Now I understand the lab numbers, was able to have a more intelligent discussion with my doctor, and have taken the steps towards a healthier life. My highest recommendation.

I found "The Myth of Cholesterol "very helpful when I was faced with the decision of whether or not to start taking a statin drug. My suspicions of the medical industrial complex were completely confirmed. Cholesterol is not even a symptom much less a disease. It is minimally connected to any risk of heart attack. That it can be influenced by drugs seems to have caused the leap to it must be. The "magic bullet" theory being all pervasive in the minds of the public and the medical community and heavily pushed by Big Pharma's persistent advertising.
While I was convinced that statins could do little good, I was not convinced that they would do significant harm in the small doses proposed for me, although the risk of harm does exist.
The extreme lifestyle changes suggested in the second half of the book were just unrealistic, at least for me. While I do try to live as stress free as possible, I am not about to take up Transcendental Meditation. I am not going to become a Vegetarian either. I will continue to eat as healthily as possible, go three times a week to my exercise classes at the "Y" and take the drug my doctor feels may help me. While I may still have my doubts as to its efficacy, my relationship with him is important to me.