131 of 133 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Agatston hits a home run, February 15, 2007
Several years ago, my doctor put me on the South Beach Diet after tests showed high cholesterol. Having a roll of fat around my belly didn't help either. I was hesitant to go on a diet, because everything I heard had led me to believe that they don't work, and that I'd just end up putting the weight back on, and adding several pounds beyond that. But the diet said that I could eat normal portions, and indeed did not have to limit how much I ate of most things, so long as I stuck with healthful foods. Since getting my blood chemistry right was the issue, not losing weight, I figured I'd give it a try. And I figured that if my love handles went away, so much the better.
As it turned out, following the South Beach Diet book, by the same author, not only got my cholesterol into the normal range, where it has stayed for years, but had a side effect of my waist size dropping by five inches. Although the diet worked well, I thought that the diet book could have been written better.
This new book represents a focus and maturity that his earlier books lacked. It deals with the broader area of heart health, not just diet and exercise. Although it is still repetitive in some places, it does a good job driving home the points that it sets out to make. Just as his earlier book showed me that most of what I learned about diet while growing up was just plain wrong, Agatston shows that what most people knew about heart attacks and related conditions, including what cardiologists knew, was wrong.
What was lacking in the earlier book was a clear path for the dieter whose goal was to improve health more than lose weight. This new book gives a better framework in that respect. Although it's not a comprehensive diet book, it gives a good enough understanding that a person needs to eat better and how to do it. Buying his diet book would still be helpful, but that's not a fault with this book, which has diet as only one of its concerns.
Many people have come to view his diet as a fad, a gimmick, or something that sidesteps good eating in order to lose weight. Yet since its publication, the US Government's "Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005" has been released and affirms that his book's dietary framework is in line with the latest scientific understanding of what constitutes good eating and proper nutrition. Yet Agatston needed not worry about political ramifications and compromises, while the government's position is a bit softer on its goals to give up some bad habits.
Likewise, would be readers might be skeptical of a book that questions conventional wisdom and wonder if the author will be preaching junk science. Agatston is a renowned cardiologist and the principles presented in this book are in line with the latest generally understood ideas from cutting edge cardiology. These may be ideas that go against prior understanding, but are not ones that are contradicted by myriad recent studies.
To the contrary, Agatston shows by common sense example why the old understandings never made sense. Patients often left their cardiologist's office with a clean bill of health, only to have a heart attack within a week, showing that past methods were not very good predictors of cardiac problems. Likewise, theories about gradual arterial blockage leading to heart attacks after a certain threshold didn't make sense either. If the purpose of stress tests was to ascertain the degree to which the body was impaired, then there should have been a correlation between the degree of arterial plaque buildup and the way patients performed on those tests. But there wasn't.
This book covers the basics of how and why heart attacks and strokes really happen. It covers how diet and exercise affects things, and how medications change the picture. It discusses medical procedures and surgery, and why some surgical procedures often do nothing to enhance the quality or length of life. Diet and exercise advice is realistic, rather than overambitious advice that people will follow for a few weeks and give up on. The book covers the medical tests that are actually helpful in preventing heart problems, and offers sound advice on understanding medications. Rather than targeting arbitrary numeric goals, Agatston explains how specific medical tests can determine whether your blood chemistry levels are appropriate and how to to prevent future problems.
Ultimately, this book is readable, accomplishes its goals of explaining its program in an understandable way, and can arm the reader with the knowledge necessary to avoid heart problems and expensive (and often unnecessary) surgery. Although the medical community at large, not to mention the insurance industry, can be slow to adapt to changing scientific understanding, this book will arm you with the knowledge you need to understand and guide your medical care in an appropriate manner.
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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A "Must read" for all adults!, May 8, 2007
I've been overweight my entire life but my blood chemistry tests have always been excellent so I took good heart health for granted. That is, until my dad had quintuple bypass surgery last summer. That was a major wake-up call for me and my search for information led me to Dr. Agatson's book.
Dr. Agatson explains that we have the knowledge and technology to almost eliminate heart attacks and strokes. In the book, he outlines a four-part program to protect yourself from heart disase. The four parts, in no particular order, are as follows:
Part One: Diet. Not surprisingly, Dr. Agatston recommends his South Beach Diet to prevent cardiovascular disease.
Part Two: Exercise. Again, no surprise here. A sensible program of cardiovascular and strength training is included in the book.
Part Three: Diagnostic tests. This was the most surprising part of the book for me. Dr. Agatston describes several critical but rarely used tests that can give your physician a great deal of information about your chances of having a heart attack. He also discusses some more commonly used tests, such as the new calcium scoring heart scans (which, incidentally, Dr. Agatston developed...it rates your calcium as an "Agatston score").
Part Four: Medication and supplements. Dr. Agatson discusses over-the-counter supplements that are beneficial as well as prescription medications. Several of the prescription medications are used based on the results of the diagnostic tests described in part three.
Perhaps the most eye-opening part of the book is the explantion of how a heart attack occurs. The notion of plaque gradually building up in your arteries until it blocks the blood flow is incorrect. This blew my mind because it contradicts everything I thought I knew about heart disease.
Overall, I rate this book as one of the best and most important I've ever read. Every adult should read this book and utilize it's principles.
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49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well written, compliments You: On a Diet, January 16, 2007
This book clears up the fallacies of the old "plumber's model" of how the heart works and explains the difference between hard plaque and soft plaque. I learned a lot about how diet and exercise affect triglicerides, insulin, abdominal fat, diabetes, and heart disease. Dr. Agatston goes into a lot of detail about lipid profiles, heart medications, invasive procedures and preventative measures. It is well-written, not condescending at all, and dispells some old myths about heart disease.
In the exercise section I have a problem with the Pilates knee pull, leg pulls and lifts, and bicycle, which can put a lot of strain on the lumbar spine, since there is no mention or picture showing lumbar support. I base this on experience and on Stuart McGill. Ph.D's research on spine biomechanics. Sometimes an exercise is great for muscles but not so healthy for the spine.
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You may think that the title of this article is a mistake and that I meant to say, "What Number Is Your Cholesterol?" But the fact is that the size of your cholesterol is just as important as the total number. If that surprises you, there is a good chance that much of what you think you know about cholesterol is wrong and that what you don't know about cholesterol could be killing you.
