Read The Great Cholesterol Myth Online
Authors: Jonny Bowden
JONNY BOWDEN, Ph.D., C.N.S.
, is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition, and health. He is a board-certified nutritionist with a master’s degree in psychology and the author of twelve books on health, healing, food, and longevity, including two bestsellers,
The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth
and
Living Low Carb
. A frequent guest on television and radio, he has appeared on, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ABC, NBC, and CBS as an expert on nutrition, weight loss, and longevity. He is the nutrition editor for
Pilates Style
, and is a regular contributor to
Clean Eating, Better Nutrition
, and
Total Health Online.
He has contributed to articles for dozens of print and online publications, including
The New York Times
,
The Wall Street Journal, Forbes
,
O (The Oprah Magazine)
,
The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, Vanity Fair Online
,
Time
,
Oxygen, Marie Claire, Diabetes Focus
,
GQ
,
US Weekly
,
Cosmopolitan
,
Self
,
Fitness
,
Family Circle
,
Allure
,
Men’s Heath
,
Prevention, InStyle, Natural Health
, and many others. He appears regularly as an expert on ABC-TV Los Angeles. He is a member of the American College of Nutrition and the American Society for Nutrition.
He lives in Woodland Hills, California, with his dogs Lucy and Emily.
Follow him at
www.jonnybowden.com
and @jonnybowden.
STEPHEN T. SINATRA, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.C.N., C.N.S., C.B.T.
, is a board-certified cardiologist and assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He is the author of many books, including
The Sinatra Solution: Metabolic Cardiology
,
Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever, Reverse Heart Disease Now
, and
Lower Your Blood Pressure in Eight Weeks
. Certified as a bioenergetic psychotherapist and nutrition and anti-aging specialist, Dr. Sinatra integrates psychological, nutraceutical, and electroceutical therapies in the matrix of healing. He is the founder of
www.heartmdinstitute.com
, an informational website dedicated to promoting public awareness of integrative medicine. He is a fellow in the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Nutrition. He is also the editor of a national newsletter titled
Heart, Health and Nutrition
. His websites include
www.heartmdinstitute.com
and
www.drsinatra.com
.
FIRST AND FOREMOST
I need to acknowledge the utterly brilliant people whose writings on the subject of the cholesterol myth paved the way for this book. Without them, this book would very likely not have been written—or at least would not have been nearly as good: Dwight Lundell, M.D.; Anthony Colpo; Russell L. Smith, Ph.D.; Malcolm Kendrick, M.D.; Ladd R. McNamara, M.D.; Duane Graveline, M.D.; Ernest N. Curtis, M.D.; and of course, the king of the hill, Uffe Ravnskov, M.D., Ph.D., whose pioneering work started it all. An additional shout-out to Chris Kresser, L.Ac., and Chris Masterjohn, Ph.D., for consistently thoughtful and intelligent work.
I’d also like to acknowledge my brilliant and dedicated coauthor, Steve Sinatra. Steve has been a leading light in the integrative medicine community, and has the distinction of being board certified in both cardiology and nutrition, not to mention his training in psychotherapy. He’s always been outspoken, on the right side of issues, and is one of the most knowledgeable and compassionate practitioners I know of. It’s been a joy and a pleasure to collaborate with him.
And a special thanks to Stephanie Seneff, Ph.D., and John Abramson, M.D., who were kind enough to read “The Statin Scam” and offer much–appreciated suggestions. A special thanks also to Karger Publishing, which graciously donated invaluable texts for our use in preparing this book.
To Will Kiester, my visionary publisher who saw the value of this controversial book; to Jill Alexander, who first proposed it; to my inveterate, much-beloved, and underappreciated editor, Cara Connors; and to my magnificent agent, Coleen O’Shea.
Christopher Loch has been a rock and an anchor through nearly a decade, helping to shape my Internet presence, overseeing everything from Web design to marketing to joint ventures, and always being there when I needed him, which has been frequently. Enormous thanks are due. So thank you. Many times over.
I’m thankful on a daily basis for the outstanding work of nutritionist Jason Boehm, M.S., C.N.S., and the tireless efforts of “the hardest working man in PR,” Dean Drazin, and his staff at Dean Draznin Communications.
A number of years ago, I found myself crossing paths with a brilliant and talented man named Marc Stockman and frequently told my friends, “I wish I could work with that guy!” Five years and several successful projects later, we now own a company together: Rockwell Nutrition. I could not ask for a better partner.
There’s no way to express adequate thanks to this incredible brain trust of medical and scientific star power that I have been able to count on—year in and year out, book in and book out—to respond swiftly, graciously, and generously to my every-email, question, or phone call: Larry McCleary, M.D.; Mike Eades, M.D.; Mary Dan Eades, M.D.; Mark Houston, M.D.; Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D.; Beth Traylor, M.D.; Barry Sears, Ph.D.; C. Leigh Broadhurst, Ph.D.; Jeff Volek, R.D., Ph.D.; John Abramson, M.D.; Keith McCormick, D.C.; and JJ Virgin.
To my friends and family, blood and chosen: my brother Jeffrey, my sister-in-law Nancy, my nephew Pace, and my niece Cadence; my L.A. family: Sky London, Doug Monas, Bootsie, Zack, Lukey, and Sage Grakal; my son Drew Christy; and my friends—lifelong and new—Peter Breger, Jeannette Lee Bessinger, Susan Wood, Christopher Duncan (and Charlie Ann, Brock, and Miles), Janet Aldrich, Lauree Dash, Randy Graff, Kimberly Wright, Scott Ellis, Ketura Worthen, Ann Knight, Diana Lederman, Gina Lombardi, Kevin Hogan, and Jerry White. Oh, and Sky again, just for good measure.
And to two little girls who completely own my heart: Zoe and Jade Hochanadel.
And to my beloved canine family, Emily Christy-Bowden, Lucy Bowden, and Bubba Mosher.
And to the writers: Robert Sapolsky, whose science writing remains the impossibly high standard by which I judge my own work; William Goldman, who is constitutionally unable to compose an uninteresting sentence; and to all the rest of my favorites who frequently have me shaking my head at the sheer wonderfulness of what they put on the page: Ed McBain, Jess Walter, Adam Davies, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Merrill Markoe, Lee Child, James Frey, Jim Nelson, Gail Collins, Peggy Noonan, and Aaron Sorkin.
To Howard, Artie, Gary, Fred, and Robin for putting a smile on my face daily for more than fifteen years—and with undying gratitude for September 11. Thank you again.
To Werner Erhard, who contributed more to my life than he will ever know, and to Robyn Symon for rescuing his reputation in her wonderful movie,
Transformation: The Life and Legacy of Werner Erhard.
See it.
Lots of thanks to Richard Lewis, Ph.D.
And most of all, to three incredible women without whom I can’t imagine life:
Amber Linder, my assistant, right-hand (and left-hand!) person, and dear friend;
Anja Christy, my best friend, soul mate, muse, and advisor; and . . .
Michelle Mosher, my life partner, lover, and friend. Now I finally understand what “made for each other” really means. Thank you.
—Dr. Jonny
A
AACE Insulin Resistance Syndrome Task Force,
61
Abbott Northwestern Hospital,
122
accidents,
48
acute inflammation,
43
–44
acute stress,
148
adenosine triphosphate (ATP),
128
,
131
,
132
,
134
adhesion molecules,
53
adrenal glands,
147
,
149
,
150
,
152
adrenaline,
56
,
147
–148,
149
,
150
,
152
–153,
162
advanced glycation end products (AGEs),
58
,
63
,
70
Adventist Health Study,
184
,
185
Agus, David,
108
ALA (alpha-linolenic acid),
90
–91,
142
alcohol consumption,
27
,
114
–115,
154
,
188
allicin,
190
alpha-tocopherols,
140
American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists,
61
American Biogenetic Sciences,
172
American College of Cardiology,
175
,
177
American College of Nutrition,
20
,
22
American Heart Association,
17
,
35
,
76
,
81
,
139
,
175
,
177
,
179
American Heart Journal,
143
American Journal of Cardiology,
120,
187
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
64,
87
,
88
anabolic hormones,
56
angiograms,
22
Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial–Lipid Lowering Arm (ASCOT-LLA) study,
115
–116,
123
animal studies,
33
,
64
,
70
,
71
,
151
–152,
168
anthocyanins,
183
antidepressants,
110
anti-diuretic hormone (ADH),
157
Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) study,
115
,
123
antioxidants
astaxanthin,
182
–183
berries,
183
coenzyme Q
10
(CoQ
10
),
103
,
105
,
129
definition of,
45
garlic,
190
L-carnitine,
133
–134
nuts,
184
–185
red wine,
188
resveratrol,
188
statins as,
116
vegetables,
184
apolipoprotein,
172
Archives of Internal Medicine,
40
,
64
,
119
,
177
,
189
arginine,
185
arteries
brachial reactive testing,
178
cortisol and,
148
endothelium,
46
–47,
52
,
53
,
171
,
174
,
178
,
185
“fatty streaks” in,
53
fibrous cap,
54
homocysteine and,
174
inflammation of,
68
insulin and,
58
magnesium and,
136
MGmin-low-density lipoprotein,
51
oxidation and,
52
plaque,
52
,
53
,
66
,
120
,
158
,
183
,
190
stress hormones and,
150
sugar and,
58
thrombus clots,
157
Atkins Center,
85
autonomic nervous system,
161
–162
B
Baltimore, David,
94
beans,
185
–186
beef,
183
–184
Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine,
191
berries,
183
Blackburn, Henry,
34
Blaine, David,
104
bloodletting,
13
blood pressure
cocoa flavanols and,
145
Coenzyme Q
10
(CoQ
10
) and,
129
cortisol and,
153
dark chocolate and,
186
massage and,
194
meditation and,
191
olive oil and,
189
omega-3 fatty acids and,
141
,
142
resveratrol and,
143