Customer Reviews

The New Good Fat, Bad Fat: Lower Your Cholesterol and Reduce Your Odds of a Heart Attack

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

 

 

As a practicing cardiologist, I find diet education very challenging. Most books and pamphlets are overly complicated and leave patients confused about fat and cholesterol intake. Good Fat, Bad Fat takes a very simple practical approach which focuses on bad fat (saturated fat and trans fatty acid) intake. The information is easy to digest (pun intended) and very simple to implement. Unlike other fad approaches Drs Castelli and Griffin's advice is scientifically sound and based on solid research evidence as well as their personal experiences. This is a relatively short, easy read. I recommend it to all of my patients.

Reading this book was a kind of "deja vu" experience for me. A year or two ago, I had the good fortune to work with Dr. William (Bill) Castelli in his clinic, mostly observing his and his team members' practices with their patients in the Framingham Cardiovascular Institute. I am a nurse and a clinical researcher and Dr.Castelli served on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the company for which I worked. Regarding his long-time tenure as head of the renowned Framingham Study on heart disease, I remember him saying, "What good is research if it isn't used to help people change their lives?" (I'm paraphrasing; it was awhile ago...). Since leaving the study, he has worked exclusively with patients who are either post coronary surgery or have blocked coronary arteries and are trying to avert surgery. The goal is lifestyle change (diet and exercise) and medication in order to decrease atherosclerosis (open blocked arteries) and help patients attain a healthy, painfree and active life.

As part of my work, I visited the clinic several times. I observed not only Dr. Castelli's but also his team members' warm and nurturing relationships with the patients. Each practitioner, for instance, including Dr. Castelli, walked patients to the office of the next person they were to see during their visit. All of their practices, those of Dr. Castelli, the nurse-practitioner, nutritionists and social worker, were based on the most recent and rigorous research findings on heart disease and reduction in risk.

That same information and tone is a part of this book. There is both the perspective that reduction in risk is altogether possible and that surgery can not only be avoided but is not necessary when adherence to a sound diet and exercise is used to reduce blockage in clogged coronary vessels. While acknowledging that staying with the diet and exercise prescriptions is not easy, knowing that one is making progress through asking one's physician to share changes in lab values and other signs helps tremendously. This principle (they call it "Knowing Your Number") is a regular part of treatment at the Clinic.

There is one factor with which I am especially impressed. In other books on disease and reduction of risk, I have been frustrated in noting that the recipes, provided as assistance, sometimes do not really conform to the principles espoused in the more technical parts of texts. It has almost seemed that the recipe section was written by a totally different person or entity. In this text, it is clear that the recipes are those used in the practice and probably have come from the nutritionists' daily work with patients.

In summary, I am impressed with the book and know that many people worried about their own risk for disease would find it useful. I realize that my remarks relate as much to the practice of one of the authors as the book itself. Knowing, however, that he actually applies the principles in the book with the patients who whom he works (and I have no reason to doubt that Dr. Griffin does not also share the same commitment) gives the book extra validity and credibility.

This book is a good companion to Dean Ornish's wonderful book on Reversing Heart Disease. In that pioneering work, Dr. Ornish portrayed how going to extemely low levels of fat consumption along with other helpful lifestyle changes can unblock arteries and recreate coronary health for those with problems.

In Good Fat Bad Fat, Drs. Castelli and Griffin show how those who are at statistical risk of heart disease can change their habits to stay healthy, and not have to reverse heart disease.

The book is filled with valuable advice about what all of those ratios mean that your doctor will describe to you (cholesterol levels, HDL/LDL ratio, triglycerides, etc.), how you can tell if you are at risk of having heart disease, and simple steps you can take to avoid developing heart disease.

Unlike many books I read, this one gives you a simple formula for changing your diet (10 or 20 grams of bad fat intake a day, depending on your risk of heart disease). Bad fat is saturated fat and trans-fatty acids. You get to pick your poison. There's lots of information on what the amounts of these fats are in various foods, and suggested menus and items with low levels. I'm not very handy in the kitchen, so I cannot tell you how easy or hard these recipes are to prepare. You'll have to size them up yourself.

I think you could eat very well and stay in this diet. You just won't be eating many double cheeseburgers with large fries and a milkshake at the local fast food stand.

There's also important advice about smoking, alcohol, exercise, diet, aspirin, and drugs for reducing cholesterol.

The main things that I thought were missing related to some research that I read shows that those who have taken tetracycline have fewer heart attacks (suggesting that bacteria play a role in arterial plaque formation), that you have to watch the type and timing of sugars (see Sugar Busters! and Eating Well for Optimum Health) if you want to keep your weight at the right level, and the role of relationships (outlined by Dean Ornish in Love and Survival) in extending life and avoiding heart disease. But you can read those books and add their perspectives to this one, and be even healthier.

Now let me give you the personal part of how I came to read this book. My internist for many decades just retired, and I had a physical today. The new man told me bluntly that I was at risk of heart disease and needed to do something about it if I wanted to keep writing all those books I want to write. He outlined a program and told me I would be measuring my blood cholesterol as often as every 3 months, and suggested a stress test. I can tell you that I changed my diet in a heart beat. I had a little turkey with mustard and lettuce and tomato for dinner. I hit my goal on bad fat for today, and plan to do it every day from now on.

As he said to me, "You're a smart guy. Tell me what advice you would give you if you were me." I got the message. I hope you will, too. Over half the population needs to make the same changes. Overcome your disbelief stall that it cannot happen to you. By changing your behavior, you can turn your hope into reality in this area.

Live long and prosper! Health must precede happiness, peace and prosperity for the best results!

I looked a a lot of books before buying Good Fat, Bad Fat and I made the right choice. It is easy to understand and very informative. In addition, Drs. Castelli and Griffin briefly share their personal experiences with high cholesterol. They explain that there is no cure for high cholesterol, but there are many ways to control it. This book will show you how.

I had very bad eating habits and in March of this year participated in a cholesterol screening at work. I found out that my cholesterol readings put me in the "high-risk" category for heart disease. So I decided I would attempt to make a change in the way I eat. I spent a short time researching on the internet when I ran across this book. After reading the reviews, I decided to give it a shot. I found the book to be very well written, easy to understand and it seemed to make a lot of sense. Plus the authors appeared credible. I began to monitor my intake of "bad" fat, sticking to the "high-risk" recommendation of 10 grams of "bad" fat/day. Two months later I had my cholesterol checked again. My improvement was evident. I went from: Overall Cholesterol: 229 to 210 LDL (Lousy Cholesterol): 176 to 150 HDL (Healthy Cholesterol - higher is better): 26 to 39 Ratio (Under 4.5 considered healthy): 8.8 to 5.4 Weight: 224lbs. to 211lbs.

This in only 2 months! If I keep this up who knows????????????? Buy the book if you are concerned about your cholesterol and heart disease. It's cheap and it makes sense.

When William Castelli speaks, the heart community listens. Dr. Castelli is the long-time director of the famed Framingham Heart Study, and as such is an undisputed expert in this field. His book, Good Fat, Bad Fat; displays his expertise in a way that is easy to read and easy to comprehend. This is one of the best books ever written about heart disease prevention, and is at the top of our recommended reading list at Heart Risk Evaluations.

I can't stand it when I read a book that sounds like it's for a 5 year old. The way the text is written insults my intelligence. Virtually no references are provided to support the claims and recommendations that the authors make. I suggest checking out Kilmer McCully's books for a more informative reading session.

These so-called doctors are misinformed. One needs to read Mary G. Enig's "Know Your Fats", Bruce Fife's "The Coconut Oil Miracle," Enig's and Sally Fallon's "Eat Fat Lose Fat" as well as Fallon's book, Nourishing Traditions. These books will give scientific information on what the real deal is concerning saturated fats, cholesterol and tropical oils. Enig is a PhDed lipid biochemist, and she has the correct scientific data regarding the true nature of fats. Castelli, one of the directors of the Framingham studies, admitted in the Archives of Internal Medicine, July 1992 that "the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the lower the person's serum cholesterol...." This sounds like a contradiction to what's offered in this book. Typical of the misinformation they offer, they put on coconut a virtual label of dietary poison, while the latest research is mounting that coconut and its oils are the healthiest, most beneficial fats of all.
If still in doubt, go to www.westonaprice.org and find out the lowdown on fats, saturated fats and heart disease. It will contradict a good deal of what's presented in this book.

There was once an excellent book on fats by Erasmus something. This later book by the same title is terrible "crapola". It got tossed into the trash can immediately upon looking in it.

Thankfully the book was written for the lay person which made it easier to follow. The material may have been a bit redundant at times but they did drive home a point. I couldn't make much sense out of the graphs but I suspect my physician will explain that to me since he was the one who recommended the book. Over all it has me more focused on what is listed on the package and the amount of fat I'm putting into my system.