Non-Fiction Book Reviews

Book Review: The Cholesterol Delusion

By Sandy Amazeen Feb 21, 2011, 16:19 GMT

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 ...more

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with either high cholesterol or heart disease then run, don’t walk to your nearest bookseller and request a copy of this title. With thirty-two years experience in private practice and a Fellowship in Cardiology, Dr. Curtis presents a well-reasoned, persuasive argument that far from being the boogeyman, cholesterol plays essential roles in maintaining human health. Dr. Curtis effectively demonstrates how those crucial early studies upon which so much of the current medical thinking is based, was flawed to such an extent that the conclusions drawn are either invalid or worse, purposely distorted to further pet theories. The author advocates examining those studies for yourself and provides the tools to be able to look at the evidence with objectively.

Instead of trying special diets that have been shown to provide only marginal results or assaulting the body with unnecessary drugs, pushed by pharmaceutical companies to increase their bottom line, Dr. Curtis offers a simpler and likely more effective solution. At the same time, he points to the critical need for further research into the reasons plaque formations which are found in all age groups at particular points in the circulatory system, suddenly break apart thus causing heart attacks.

As the author found while lecturing before his colleagues, there is considerable resistance to these ideas. However, put aside everything you thought you knew about heart disease and reexamine the evidence as presented in this lucid, thoroughly researched yet approachable guide that should be required reading for cardiologists and their patients.