The Great Cholesterol Myth by Jonny Bowden, PhD & Stephen Sinatra, MD
This book is recommended as an antidote to the perpetuated groupthink that cholesterol is responsible for cardiovascular disease and the widespread inappropriate use of statins, when the truth is cholesterol is an essential molecule necessary for health. Published in 2012, Bowden and Sinatra fascinate the reader in a true whodunnit with heroes, villains, egos and the feckless as to why this myth still persists. They appropriately quote Upton Sinclair; “It is very difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”
Dr. Jonny (first names are California Etiquette) and Dr. Sinatra outline their disparate paths arriving at the same conclusion which can be summed up in the 2002 New York Times Magazine article by Gary Taubes “What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?”. 1 Johns Hopkins trained George Mann, M.D., PhD Biochemistry (1917-2013) of Vanderbilt Medical School who became an associate director of the Framingham Heart Study and conducted diet-cholesterol field studies on the Alaskan Eskimos, Congolese pygmies, and the Maasai of Tanzania and Kenya called the cholesterol-as-an-indicator-of-heart-disease “the greatest scam ever perpetrated on the American public.” Ancel Keys presented his diet-heart hypothesis to WHO in 1954 where he was humiliated. This prompted him to “cherry pick” seven countries (out of the data for 22 countries) supporting his hypothesis that dietary saturated fat was linked to cholesterol levels and heart disease. He simply ignored the fact that although saturated fat intake was equal on two Greek islands, heart mortality on Corfu was 17 times that on Crete.2 John Yudkin, professor of nutrition at University of London, looked at the all of the same data and came to the conclusion that it was sugar that had the strongest association with coronary heart disease.3 Danish scholar Uffe Ravnskov, M.D., Ph.D. reanalyzed the original Keys data and a plethora of scientific evidence finding no association that dietary saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease.4 Not letting the facts stand in the way, George McGovern underlings produced the Mottern-Hegsted document solidifying the idea that dietary fat causes heart disease into dogma despite the opinion from a distinguished expert in metabolism, Philip Handler, president of the National Academy of Sciences, that it was utter and complete nonsense. The die was cast. Hydrogenated margarine replaced butter and manufacturers replaced fat with tons of sugar and processed carbohydrates. Metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance have become epidemic in the United States with CHAOS: Coronary disease, Hypertension, Adult onset diabetes, Obesity and Stroke. Naturally occurring statins such as lovastatin from oyster mushrooms and a host of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors blocking cholesterol synthesis via the mevalonate pathway from red yeast rice became the basis of a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutic goldmine. Michel de Lorgeril, M.D., lead researcher in the Lyon Diet Heart Study (which decreased cardiovascular deaths by 76% with dietary and lifestyle changes) exposed the disruption of cholesterol based sex hormones by statins.5 Cholesterol is critical for not only hormones, but bile acids, cell membranes, the immune system, and Vitamin D. Statins deplete CoQ10, increase our chances of getting an infection, and may increase the risk of cancer and diabetes. As we convince you to become a disciple of David Perlmutter, the necessity of cholesterol and saturated fats (especially coconut oil- medium chain triglycerides) for brain health and growing new brain cells will become paramount to your Path to Health. Stephanie Seneff did us all a favor when her husband developed cognitive and memory problems, depression and muscle aches with the initiation of statin therapy; she documented why statins don't work.6
This books covers some common subjects in excellent fashion. HDL as good and LDL as bad needs to be replaced with:
HDL-2 Good
HDL-3 Bad
LDL-A Good
LDL-B Bad
Lp(a) Very Bad
One of the best sections is the Supplement Chapter covering:
CoQ10
D-Ribose
L-Carnitine
Magnesium
Niacin
Vitamin E
Omega-3
Pantethine
Vitamin C
Curcumin
Reservatrol
Cocoa Flavanols
as well as the Clot Busters: Nattokinase and Lumbrokinase !
Prescribers wanting a concise scientific summary are directed to the superb review paper by Mark Houston, M.D., et al, “Nonpharmologic Treatment for Dyslipideia” published in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases 52, No 2 (2009), 61-94.
References
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https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/what-if-it-s-all-been-a-big-fat-lie.html
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U. Ravnskov, Ignore the Awkward (Seattle: CreateSpace, 2010)
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J. Ludkin, Sweet and Dangerous (New York: Wyden, 1972) also Pure, White and Deadly
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U. Ravnskov, The Cholesterol Myths www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol
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M de Lorgeril, A Near-Perfect Sexual Crime: Statins Against Cholesterol (France: A4Set, 2011)
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S Seneff, https://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/why_statins_dont_really_work.html