The New 8-Week Cholesterol Cure: The Ultimate Program for Preventing Heart Disease

by Robert E. Kowalski

Book Overview

Much has happened since The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure put oat bran in the diets of millions and changed the way Americans think about coronary heart disease. And while cholesterol is still a major risk factor for heart disease, the story is more complex than we once thought. Now, in The New 8-Week Cholesterol Cure , Robert E. Kowalski reveals the latest developments in what we know about preventing heart disease. Robert Kowalski's personal story is legendary. A medical journalist by profession, Kowalski suffered a heart attack and two coronary bypass surgeries by the age of forty-one. After the traditional dietary approach to reducing cholesterol proved only minimally effective, and faced with the unpleasant alternatives of drugs or severe dietary modification, he created a program that has proved astonishingly effective not only for himself but for the many others worldwide who have used it. That original program still works today, but over the years Kowalski has continued learning and making changes that reflect the latest scientific research. The New 8-Week Cholesterol Cure provides information on how to combat all the newly discovered risk factors, from homocysteine to the deadly cholesterol Lp(a). Kowalski offers special recommendations for women, children, and the elderly and describes the latest thinking on exercise. Included as well are wonderful up-to-date recipes, new information on cholesterol-testing methods, and new heart-healthy products. To this day, Kowalski has beaten heart disease by practicing what he preaches. He requires no prescription drugs, lives an unlimited and vigorous lifestyle, enjoys such foods as steak and eggs, and has been given a clean bill of health by his physician. With this new book, you too can follow his path and increase your chances for a long, healthy life.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060011327
• ISBN13: 9780060011321
• Release Date: December 2001
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

better eating

a lot of information to help with diet to lower levels.

Best book on the subject - and I've read them all!

My first reaction to the book was that the author was too wordy and a shareholder of Endurance Products (the on-line purveyor of the supplements he recommends in his book, who, by the way, are indeed the most reasonably priced source I've found for the products recommended by the author). Having read ALL the other popular books on this subject, I learned that the basic difference between this book and the 2nd best book on the subject (the Harvard Medical School Guide to Lowering Cholesterol by Freeman and Junge) are that Kowalski promotes niacin and phytosterols whereas Freeman and Junge prefer the use of prescription drugs. I made several of the dietery changes (in both books), added 750 mg of niacin to my daily routine, and popped a phytosterol tablet before indulging in a meal sure to contain cholesterol. The result was that I dropped my total cholesteral from 265 to 206, raised my HDL from 45 to 56, and lowered my triglicerides from 185 to 135 IN ONE MONTH! To boot, I lost 10 pounds so far while on the program. I am also enjoying Kowalski's recommended nightly quota of two glasses of red wine - cheers to raising my HDL! My doctor wanted me on Lipitor but agreed to let me try to control my cholesterol on my own for three months. He was surprised, to say the least, when he saw the dramaticly improved numbers in my last blood test. I can't wait to see the numbers at the three month mark. I do not agree with Kawalski's recommendation to attain your target weight via starvation diet (my term for his 800 calorie a day regimine - not his) then adding calories until you stabilize your weight. I don't think one in a hundred will be successful on such a severe program. Elsewhere in the book, he advocates moderation in the diet however, so read the relavant chapters more than once to get the big picture. Little changes made a big difference in my case and this book can show you how to make those changes for yourself.

If you only buy one health book, this should be it!

If you want to quickly and easily be able to speak with your doctor about heart disease on a PEER-TO-PEER basis, buy this book. You are looking at the only review I have ever written about anything. I am writing this after reading the very negative reveiw left by Gadgester. I do not know what "Top 50 Reviewer" means, but it sounds important. However, His/Her statements are so opposite of what is in this book, I did not what else to do, other than to write this. The book is purely scientific and presents the findings and shortcomings of virtually every medical study performed on heart disease in the past five decades. The Bibliography of the medical studies discussed in the book is 14 pages long! The information is presented in easy understandable and organized fashion. Proof positive - by following the guidelines of this book (actually it is the guidelines set forth by the hundreds of medical studies referenced, I reduced my cholesterol from the high risk category to the low risk category in four months and established habits that will keep it low for the rest of my life. The only problem is this books title - "8-Week Cholesterol Cure" makes it sound too fadish. This book is pure gold.

Detailed, comprehensive and accurate

This is a great book for those who want all the details on how to proect your heart, against cholesterol and other heart disease risk factors. The author is trained in both journalism and science, and after suffering one heart attack and thinking about leaving his kids fatherless, he "got religion." He now reads all the medical research on heart health, distilling it down and explaining it to the lay reader. He has the right attitude, only trusting studies that have good methodology and have been replicated. He considers diet, including fruits and vegetables, fats, meats, soluble fiber and alcohol. He goes over the research on antioxidents and other supplements, including the vitamin that works better than prescription drugs: niacin. He also covers stress and exercise. Heart disease is completely preventable. If you have high cholesterol or other risk factors, this book will set you straight on what works and what doesn't. My doctor agrees with the parts he's read, and the information here is in agreement with other sources like the American Heart Association website and webmd.com. If what you want is an owners manual for your heart, a book length treatment that mentions all the important studies and their results, then this book is for you. For me and my nurse mother-in-law, this is the bible on heart health.

Get it, read it, do it... it works!

After a routine physical, my doctor reported that my triglycerides were at 508 and total cholesterol was at 220. I was given 2 months to get the numbers down or go on prescription medication.This was the first book my wife checked out at the local library. I read it and followed the guidelines on "eating habit modification" (I don't like the word "diet"). I cut out all deep-fried foods, started walking with hand weights at least 3 times a week and started taking 500mg of Niacin daily.After 8 weeks my lipid profile reflected the results: total cholesterol went to 151 from 220; triglycerides went to 146 from 508. My doctor set the target triglyceride target at 150 to stay off medication. The other "side" benefit was that I was able to shelve my Ranitidine prescription (heartburn medicine) which I took daily... sometimes twice daily.Hence, my recommendation to get it, read it and DO IT!