The Cholesterol Wars


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Today, in the era of the statins (cholesterol lowering drugs), there is no longer any doubt about the value of lowering blood cholesterol levels. The Cholesterol Wars chronicles the controversy that swirled around the 'lipid hypothesis' of atherosclerosis for so many years. In fact, 'the lower the better' is the position of many clinicians. However, getting to this point has been a long uphill battle marked by heated debate and sometimes violent disagreement. The history of this controversy is told here for its own sake and because remembering it may help us avoid similar mistakes in the future. Dr. Steinberg and his colleagues have published over 400 papers relating to lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis reflecting the prominence these authors have in the community Chronicles the miraculous power of the statins to prevent heart attacks and save lives, of great interest to the many manufacturers of these drugs Discusses new targets for intervention based on a better understanding of the molecular basis of atherosclerosis




The Cholesterol Wars


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Statin Nation


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Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and for decades conventional health authorities have pushed that the culprits are fat and cholesterol clogging up coronary arteries. Consequently, lowering cholesterol has become a hugely lucrative business, and cholesterol-lowering Statin drugs are now the most prescribed medication in the world, with clinical data showing one billion people eligible for prescription. However, these cholesterol guidelines have been heavily criticized, and increasingly, doctors and researchers have been questioning the role cholesterol plays in heart disease. We now know that people with heart disease often do not, in fact, have high cholesterol, and even the strongest supporters of the cholesterol hypothesis now admit that no ideal level of cholesterol can be identified. Large-scale studies have proven that statins are not generating the benefits that were predicted, and new research shows that high cholesterol may actually prevent heart disease. Worse still, millions of people in the United States and worldwide are taking statins preventatively, at great cost to their health. A complete reevaluation of the real causes of heart disease is long overdue, not to mention an inquiry into why the pharmaceutical industry continues to overprescribe statins (and market them aggressively to consumers) despite this evidence. Statin Nation offers a new understanding of heart disease, and Justin Smith forges an innovative path away from the outdated cholesterol myth with a viable alternative model to address the real causes of heart disease. Statin Nation provides detailed examinations of nutritional alternatives that are up to six times more effective than statins, and other interventions that have been shown to be up to eleven times more effective than statins. But all of these methods are currently ignored by health authorities. Smith provides a heart disease prevention plan that anyone can use, providing hope for the future of heart-disease treatment with a purpose.




Win the Cholesterol War


Book Description

Combines inspirational profiles with dozens of suggestions for managing and reducing cholesterol, incorporating both nutritional strategies with such non-traditional methods as stress management, prayer, and mind-body techniques.




Win the Cholesterol War


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The Cholesterol Controversy


Book Description

The Cholesterol Controversy recounts the long-running debate surrounding the relationship between cholesterol and coronary heart disease. Focusing primarily on events in the UK and the personalities involved, the story is unraveled here, from the origins of the controversy in the 1950s, to the discovery, development and trials of statins in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, culminating with recent concerns over the efficacy of ezetimibe and safety of torcetrapib.




The Cholesterol Delusion


Book Description

Approximately one-half of the adult population of the United States are being told that they harbor within their bodies a silent killer. This "killer" is cholesterol. Millions are prescribed cholesterol lowering drugs making these pills the most prescribed (and most profitable) medications in the history of American medicine. They are told that these drugs will protect them from the ravages of heart disease. This is patently untrue and can be easily demonstrated by critical analysis of the data presented in the very medical studies that purport to show their benefit. The cholesterol mania that has gripped the country and dominated mainstream medical thought for the past 40 years is based on widespread acceptance of a set of closely related theories variously called the Cholesterol Theory, the Lipid Hypothesis, or the Diet-Heart Theory. The Cholesterol Delusion systematically refutes these prevailing theories that link diet and blood cholesterol levels to coronary heart disease and heart attacks. The Cholesterol Delusion traces the development of these theories from their origins and shows that each step in their evolution was based on faulty evidence and unscientific reasoning. The book then takes it one step further and attacks the very foundation of the "risk factor" paradigm that has dominated cardiovascular research in particular and much of medical research in general for the past 50 years. Written in plain language for the intelligent layman, the arguments are presented in a way that can be easily understood by readers with a limited medical or technical background. The Cholesterol Delusion is must reading for anyone that has been told they have elevated cholesterol levels and/or must take medication to lower them.




Cholesterol and Beyond


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“Only once in a great while does a book come along that really does the job in addressing a major medical issue. When this happens, all can be joyful... Readers will find ALL their favorite dietary puzzlements dealt with... With consummate scholarship, clarity and brevity, Truswell sifts out the chaff and identifies the critical questions, the responsible investigators, and the key studies.” So says Emeritus Professor Henry Blackburn from the University of Minnesota in the foreword to this remarkable concise book on the history of research on diet and heart disease. This was a theme of scientific, medical and public interest in the 20th Century, a century marked by the rise and fall of coronary heart disease as the major cause of death in the first world, followed by the rise of this cause of death in the developing world. There is obviously much to learn, and this book is an excellent starting point, tracing dietary factors and their role in heart disease one by one: fats, sugar, salt, alcohol, coffee, trans-fats, etc. Without an understanding of the role of diet and the changes that have been seen in the North American and NW European diet, the story of the decline in the heart disease death rate may have been very different.




Lipitor, Thief of Memory


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