The Great Cholesterol Myth

“The Great Cholesterol Myth
goes far beyond the standard information and advice for anyone worried about heart disease. The style is breezy and easy to read, but the information is solid and will surprise many readers. A must for anyone who needs to combat heart problems.”

—JOE GRAEDON, M.S., AND TERESA GRAEDON, PH.D.,
New York Times
best-selling authors of
The People’s Pharmacy

“The simplistic view that dietary and serum cholesterol are the primary causes of heart disease and heart attack is no longer tenable. Doctors Sinatra and Bowden provide all of us with a persuasive, fact-based interpretation and vision of the true role of cholesterol in cardiovascular illnesses.”

—MARK HOUSTON M.D., M.S., F.A.C.P., F.A.H.A., F.A.S.H., F.A.C.N.,
director, Hypertension Institute, Saint Thomas Hospital, Nashville, TN, and author of
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Heart Disease

“The Great Cholesterol Myth
is a remarkable book that will revolutionize the way in which heart disease is prevented, detected, and treated in this country.”

—ANN LOUISE GITTLEMAN, PH.D., C.N.S.,
best-selling author of
The Fat Flush Plan

“This book clearly explains the tragic and harmful cholesterol and statin myths, and gives readers insight into those factors that really do promote a healthy heart.”

—PETER H. LANGSJOEN, M.D., F.A.C.C.,
founding member, Executive Committee, International CoEnzyme Q
₁₀
Association

“Full of useful facts, backed up by the research literature, this book is entertaining and accessible to just about anybody who cares about their health. A must-read for those who are worried about their cholesterol levels and on the fence with statin therapy.”

—STEPHANIE SENEFF, B.S., M.S., E.E., PH.D.,
senior research scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

“Increasingly, doctors are questioning assertions that cholesterol is responsible for arterial disease, and that effective management requires lowering of cholesterol levels, especially with statins. At the same time, the noxious properties of the latter are being appreciated. It is therefore timely that Bowden and Sinatra provide this very readable explanation of why they think the way they do. Many readers will be persuaded.”

—HYWEL DAVIES, M.D., F.R.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.C.,
former chief of cardiology at the Denver VA Hospital

“[The authors] demonstrate with compelling logic backed by scientific studies that doctors are doing more harm than good by prescribing statins as if they were after-dinner mints, with the false hope that a lower cholesterol level will prevent heart disease when underlying inflammation and oxidative stress are the real root causes of heart disease.”

—TODD LEPINE, M.D.,
The UltraWellness Center

“Dr. Bowden and Dr. Sinatra do an outstanding job providing a deep dive into all the causes of heart disease, while clarifying the role cholesterol plays. I would encourage this book to be required reading for all health science students, nutritionists, and physicians who treat patients!”

—COLETTE HEIMOWITZ, M.SC.,
vice president of nutrition and education, Atkins Nutritionals, Inc.

“If you’re concerned about your cholesterol level and are thinking of taking a statin drug, this book is a must-read! It will change the way you think about heart disease—and it may save your life!”

—PRUDENCE HALL, M.D.,
founder and medical director, The Hall Center

“Be ready to be surprised, entertained, and to become healthy.”

—LARRY MCCLEARY, M.D.,
best-selling author of
Feed Your Brain, Lose Your Belly

“This book is well written with excellent scientific references and from extremely knowledgeable authors. Read this book so you can be armed with the knowledge you need to make an informed decision before you treat your high cholesterol!”

—JENNIFER LANDA, M.D.,
chief medical officer of BodyLogicMD, author of
The Sex Drive Solution for Women

“Jonny Bowden and Stephen Sinatra set the record straight on decades of bad science [and] put forth a far better solution about the true culprits that rob you of longevity: processed carbohydrates, insufficient vegetables, excess omega 6, and too many trans fats. Masterly, readable, and life-altering.”

—SARA GOTTFRIED, M.D.,
author of
The Hormone Cure

“The authors have done their homework, and rather than rotely ‘following the leader’ they have dug into the extensive research and correlated it with their wide clinical experience to reveal the truth. This book can save many lives, including your own!”

—HYLA CASS, M.D.,
author of
8 Weeks to Vibrant Health

“Thanks to the extensive scientific evidence provided by Bowden and Sinatra, the truth about cholesterol will hopefully end the utter madness that has plagued our society for far too long. Don’t even think about taking another statin drug, cutting your fat and cholesterol intake, or other ‘heart-healthy’ measures until you read
The Great Cholesterol Myth.”

—JIMMY MOORE,
author of
Livin’ La Vida Low Carb
and
A Patient’s Guide to Understanding Your Cholesterol Test Results

“This powerful new book will help the cholesterol test get the rest it deserves.”

—ALAN CHRISTIANSON, N.M.D.,
co-author,
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease

“If you want to know the truth about cholesterol, and what you absolutely must do to improve your heart health, this is the book for you. Jonny Bowden and Dr. Stephen Sinatra reveal the facts in a compelling and insightful way. This invaluable book belongs on the bookshelf of anyone who cares about the truth in medicine and healing.”

—DANIEL AMEN, M.D.,
CEO, Amen Clinics, Inc., author of
Use Your Brain to Change Your Age

“Got high cholesterol or heart disease? Get this book!”

—JACOB TEITELBAUM, M.D.,
author of
Beat Sugar Addiction Now!
and
From Fatigued to Fantastic!

“Finally! This timely book, written by the eminently qualified dream team of Dr. Jonny Bowden and Dr. Stephen Sinatra, exposes and unravels the great American cholesterol scam. Statin drugs sell in the U.S. for over $30 billion per year, but do they really prevent heart disease? No! This must-read book will tell you how to really prevent heart disease and live a longer, healthier, leaner, fuller life.”

—DEAN RAFFELOCK, D.C., DIPL.AC., D.A.A.I.M., D.I.B.A.K., D.A.C.B.N.,C.C.N.,
author of
A Natural Guide to Pregnancy and Postpartum Health

“The book you’re holding is dangerous, and may even upset you. That’s because everything you know about cholesterol is probably wrong. Doctors Jonny Bowden and Stephen Sinatra provide both the science to vindicate this unfairly demonized molecule and a plan of action so you can attain optimal health.”

—JJ VIRGIN,
best-selling author of
The Virgin Diet

WHY LOWERING YOUR CHOLESTEROL
WON’T PREVENT HEART DISEASE—
AND THE STATIN-FREE PLAN THAT WILL

JONNY BOWDEN, PH.D.

BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF
THE 150 HEALTHIEST FOODS ON EARTH

STEPHEN SINATRA, M.D.

BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF
THE SINATRA SOLUTION: METABOLIC CARDIOLOGY

FOREWORD

Chapter 1:
Why You Should Be Skeptical of Cholesterol as an Indicator of Heart Disease

Chapter 2:
“Cholesterol Is Harmless!”

Chapter 3:
Inflammation: The True Cause of Heart Disease

Chapter 4:
Sugar: The Real Demon in the Diet

Chapter 5:
The Truth about Fat: It’s Not What You Think

Chapter 6:
The Statin Scam

Chapter 7:
Help Your Heart with These Supplements

Chapter 8:
Stress: The Silent Killer

Chapter 9:
Putting It All Together—A Simple and Easy Blueprint for a Healthy Heart—and Life!

GLOSSARY

ENDNOTES

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INDEX

TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO
physicians routinely bled, purged, and plastered their patients. Bloodletting was the standard treatment for a host of diseases and had been so since the time of the philosopher-physician Galen almost 2,000 years before. The theory was that there were four humors—blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. Blood was dominant, requiring the most balancing for returning an ill patient to health.

Every doctor’s kit was equipped with a variety of lancets, brutal–looking scarificators, and, starting in the early nineteenth century, leeches. In fact, the latter were used so often that physicians were themselves commonly referred to as leeches. Learned physicians conferred on the best veins to tap for given diseases and the optimal placement of leeches for the most therapeutic value, and countless protocols dictated the proper amount of blood to be let or number of leeches to be applied. Doctors wrote lengthy papers describing their own bleeding techniques and presented them at august medical conferences.

The whole idea was nonsense, of course, and has been shown to be so in the early 1600s by William Harvey, the discoverer of how the circulatory system actually works. But the fact that the “scientific” basis for bloodletting was nonexistent didn’t give pause to physicians 200 years ago, some of whom applied as many as fifty leeches to a single patient and, in the case of George Washington, relieved him of almost two quarts of blood in an effort to treat the throat infection that, coupled with the physician-caused anemia, ultimately killed him.

We look back today and can only shake our heads. And be thankful we, ourselves, don’t have to worry about getting bled by lancet or leech or that with today’s modern, truly science-based medicine, we would ever be exposed to such nebulously grounded treatments. Surely with all the scientific studies performed in great institutions the world over, today’s doctors would never ignore the actual evidence and pursue unnecessary and possibly even harmful treatments. Would they?

Sadly, many doctors today have the same herd mentality as those doctors of yore. By the tens of thousands, they treat a nonexistent disease with drugs that are far from benign. And they do so based not on any hard scientific data, but because they, like
their colleagues of 200 years ago, are firmly in the grip of group think. What is the nonexistent disease? Elevated cholesterol.