The Great Cholesterol Myth: Why Lowering Your Cholesterol Won't Prevent Heart Disease-and the Statin-Free Plan That Will


Jonny Bowden - 2012
    However, traditional heart disease protocols--with their emphasis on lowering cholesterol--have it all wrong. Emerging science is showing that cholesterol levels are a poor predictor of heart disease and that standard prescriptions for lowering it, such as ineffective low-fat/high-carb diets and serious, side-effect-causing statin drugs, obscure the real causes of heart disease. Even doctors at leading institutions have been misled for years based on creative reporting of research results from pharmaceutical companies intent on supporting the $31-billion-a-year cholesterol-lowering drug industry.The Great Cholesterol Myth reveals the real culprits of heart disease, including:InflammationFibrinogenTriglyceridesHomocysteineBelly fatTriglyceride to HCL ratiosHigh glycemic levelsBestselling health authors Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., and Stephen Sinatra, M.D. give readers a 4-part strategy based on the latest studies and clinical findings for effectively preventing, managing, and reversing heart disease, focusing on diet, exercise, supplements, and stress and anger management.Get proven, evidence-based strategies from the experts with The Great Cholesterol Myth.MYTHS  VS. FACTSMyth–High cholesterol is the cause of heart disease.Fact–Cholesterol is only a minor player in the cascade of inflammation which is a cause of heart disease.Myth–High cholesterol is a predictor of heart attack.Fact–There is no correlation between cholesterol and heart attack. Myth–Lowering cholesterol with statin drugs will prolong your life.Fact–There is no data to show that statins have a significant impact on longevity. Myth–Statin drugs are safe.Fact–Statin drugs can be extremely toxic including causing death. Myth–Statin drugs are useful in men, women and the elderly.Fact–Statin drugs do the best job in middle-aged men with coronary disease. Myth–Statin drugs are useful in middle-aged men with coronary artery disease because of its impact on cholesterol.Fact–Statin drugs reduce inflammation and improve blood viscosity (thinning blood). Statins are extremely helpful in men with low HDL and coronary artery disease. Myth–Saturated fat is dangerous.Fact–Saturated fats are not dangerous. The killer fats are the transfats from partially hydrogenated oils. Myth–The higher the cholesterol, the shorter the lifespan.Fact–Higher cholesterol protects you from gastrointestinal disease, pulmonary disease and hemorrhagic stroke. Myth–A high carbohydrate diet protects you from heart disease.Fact–Simple processed carbs and sugars predispose you to heart disease. Myth–Fat is bad for your health.Fact–Monounsaturated and saturated fats protect you from metabolic syndrome. Sugar is the foe in cardiovascular disease. Myth–There is good (HDL) cholesterol and bad (LDL) cholesterol.Fact–This is over-simplistic. You must fractionate LDL and HDL to assess the components. Myth–Cholesterol causes heart disease.Fact–Cholesterol is only a theory in heart disease and only the small component of LP(a) or “bb shot” LDL predisposes one to oxidation and inflammation.

10% Human: How Your Body's Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness


Alanna Collen - 2015
    For every one of the cells that make up the vessel that you call your body, there are nine impostor cells hitching a ride. You are not just flesh and blood, muscle and bone, brain and skin, but also bacteria and fungi. Over your lifetime, you will carry the equivalent weight of five African elephants in microbes. You are not an individual but a colony.Until recently, we had thought our microbes hardly mattered, but science is revealing a different story, one in which microbes run our bodies and becoming a healthy human is impossible without them.In this riveting, shocking, and beautifully written book, biologist Alanna Collen draws on the latest scientific research to show how our personal colony of microbes influences our weight, our immune system, our mental health, and even our choice of partner. She argues that so many of our modern diseases—obesity, autism, mental illness, digestive disorders, allergies, autoimmunity afflictions, and even cancer—have their root in our failure to cherish our most fundamental and enduring relationship: that with our personal colony of microbes.Many of the questions about modern diseases left unanswered by the Human Genome Project are illuminated by this new science. And the good news is that unlike our human cells, we can change our microbes for the better. Collen's book is a revelatory and indispensable guide. It is science writing at its most relevant: life—and your body—will never seem the same again.

The Circadian Code: Lose Weight, Supercharge Your Energy, and Transform Your Health from Morning to Midnight


Satchin Panda - 2018
    Like most people, you probably wake up, get hungry for meals and doze off in bed around the same time every day. If you’ve ever experienced jet lag or pulled an all-nighter, you know that this schedule can easily be thrown off kilter. But for some people, that imbalance—difficulty sleeping at night, hunger at odd times, or sudden fatigue at noon—is a constant. If you're one of those people, Dr. Satchin Panda, one of the leading researchers on circadian rhythms, has a plan to reset your body clock.Beginning with an in-depth explanation of the circadian clock—why it’s important, how it works, and how to know it isn’t working—The Circadian Code outlines lifestyle changes to make to get back on track. It's a concrete plan to enhance weight loss, improve sleep, optimize exercise, and manage technology so that it doesn’t interfere with your body’s natural rhythm. Dr. Panda’s life-changing methods show you how to prevent and reverse ailments like diabetes, cancer, and dementia, as well as microbiome conditions like acid reflux, heartburn, and irritable bowel disease.

Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life


Thich Nhat Hanh - 2010
    But somehow we get stalled. We start on a weight-loss program with good intentions but cannot stay on track. Neither the countless fad diets, nor the annual spending of $50 billion on weight loss helps us feel better or lose weight.Too many of us are in a cycle of shame and guilt. We spend countless hours worrying about what we ate or if we exercised enough, blaming ourselves for actions that we can't undo. We are stuck in the past and unable to live in the present--that moment in which we do have the power to make changes in our lives.With Savor, world-renowned Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and Harvard nutritionist Dr. Lilian Cheung show us how to end our struggles with weight once and for all.Offering practical tools, including personalized goal setting, a detailed nutrition guide, and a mindful living plan, the authors help us to uncover the roots of our habits and then guide us as we transform our actions. Savor teaches us how to easily adopt the practice of mindfulness and integrate it into eating, exercise, and all facets of our daily life, so that being conscious and present becomes a core part of our being.It is the awareness of the present moment, the realization of why we do what we do, that enables us to stop feeling bad and start changing our behavior. Savor not only helps us achieve the healthy weight and well-being we seek, but it also brings to the surface the rich abundance of life available to us in every moment.

Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution


Robert C. Atkins - 1972
    Atkins' New Diet Revolution "is still the safest, easiest, most effective weight-loss program available! You've tried all the rest--from the Beverly Hills Diet to the South Beach Diet--Atkins is the proven one, the weight-loss plan that works!"

Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To


David A. Sinclair - 2019
    But what if everything we’ve been taught to believe about aging is wrong? What if we could choose our lifespan? In this groundbreaking book, Dr. David Sinclair, leading world authority on genetics and longevity, reveals a bold new theory for why we age. As he writes: “Aging is a disease, and that disease is treatable.” This book takes us to the frontlines of research many from Dr. David Sinclair’s own lab at Harvard—that demonstrate how we can slow down, or even reverse, aging. The key is activating newly discovered vitality genes, the descendants of an ancient genetic survival circuit that is both the cause of aging and the key to reversing it.

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art


James Nestor - 2020
    Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences.Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The answers aren't found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of Sao Paulo. Nestor tracks down men and women exploring the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long-held beliefs about how we breathe.Modern research is showing us that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can jump-start athletic performance; rejuvenate internal organs; halt snoring, asthma, and autoimmune disease; and even straighten scoliotic spines. None of this should be possible, and yet it is.Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head. You will never breathe the same again.

The Paleo Approach: Reverse Autoimmune Disease and Heal Your Body


Sarah Ballantyne - 2013
    If you're among them, you may know all too well how little modern medicine can do to alleviate your condition. But that's no reason to give up hope. In this groundbreaking book, Sarah D. Ballantyne, Ph.D., draws upon current medical research and her own battle with an autoimmune disorder to show you how you can become completely symptom-free—the natural way.The Paleo Approach is the first book ever to explain how to adapt the Paleo diet and lifestyle to bring about a full recovery. Read it to learn why foods marketed as "healthy"—such as whole grains, soy, and low-fat dairy—can contribute to the development of autoimmune conditions. Discover what you can eat to calm your immune system, reduce inflammation, and help your body heal itself. Find out which simple lifestyle changes—along with changes in diet—will make the biggest difference for your health.There's no need to worry that "going Paleo" will break the bank or require too much time in the kitchen preparing special foods. In The Paleo Approach, Dr. Ballantyne provides expert tips on how to make the switch easily and economically. Complete food lists with strategies for the day-to-day—how stay within your food budget, where to shop for what you need, how to make the most out of your time in the kitchen, and how to eat out—take all the guesswork out of going Paleo. Simple strategies for lifestyle adjustments, including small steps that can make a huge difference, guide you through the most important changes to support healing.Do you have a complicated condition that requires medical intervention, medication, or supplements? Dr. Ballantyne also walks you through the most useful medical tests, treatments, and supplements (as well as the most counterproductive ones) to help you open a dialogue with your physician.Features such as these make The Paleo Approach the ultimate resource for anyone suffering from an autoimmune disease. Why suffer a moment longer? Reclaim your health with The Paleo Approach!

Diet Cults: The Surprising Fallacy at the Core of Nutrition Fads and a Guide to Healthy Eating for the Rest of US


Matt Fitzgerald - 2014
    Everywhere we turn, someone is preaching the “One True Way” to eat for maximum health. Paleo Diet advocates tell us that all foods less than 12,000 years old are the enemy. Low-carb gurus demonize carbs, then there are the low-fat prophets. But they agree on one thing: there is only one true way to eat for maximum health. The first clue that that is a fallacy is the sheer variety of diets advocated. Indeed, while all of these competing views claim to be backed by “science,” a good look at actual nutritional science itself suggests that it is impossible to identify a single best way to eat. Fitzgerald advocates an agnostic, rational approach to eating habits, based on one’s own habits, lifestyle, and genetics/body type. Many professional athletes already practice this “Good Enough” diet, and now we can too and ditch the brainwashing of these diet cults for good.

The Adrenal Reset Diet: Strategically Cycle Carbs and Proteins to Lose Weight, Balance Hormones, and Move from Stressed to Thriving


Alan Christianson - 2014
    Unsuspecting dieters cause more harm than good by reducing the number of calories or carbohydrates they consume, which can disrupt cortisol production and cause weight gain.     In The Adrenal Reset Diet, Dr. Alan Christianson provides a pioneering plan for optimal function of these small but powerful organs. His patient-tested weight-loss program is the culmination of decades of clinical experience and over 75,000 patient-care visits. In a study at his clinic, participants on the Adrenal Reset Diet reset their cortisol levels by over 50% while losing an average of over 2 inches off their waists and 9 pounds of weight in 30 days.  What can you expect?    • Learn whether your adrenals are Stressed, Wired and Tired, or Crashed and which adrenal tonics, exercises, and foods are best for you    • The clinically proven shakes, juices, and other delicious recipes, to use for your Reset    • New ways to turn off the triggers of weight gain with carbohydrate cycling, circadian repair, and simple breathing exercises    • An easy 7-day ARD eating plan to move your and your adrenals from Surviving to Thriving

The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter's 28-Day Save-Your-Life Plan that Lowers Cholesterol and Burns Away the Pounds


Rip Esselstyn - 2009
     Professional athlete-turned-firefighter Rip Esselstyn is used to responding to emergencies. So, when he learned that some of his fellow Engine 2 firefighters in Austin, TX, were in dire physical condition-several had dangerously high cholesterol levels (the highest was 344!)-he sprang into action and created a life-saving plan for the firehouse. By following Rip's program, everyone lost weight (some more than 20 lbs.), lowered their cholesterol (Mr. 344's dropped to 196), and improved their overall health. Now, Rip outlines his proven plan in this book. With Rip as your expert coach and motivator, you'll transform your body and lifestyle in a month. His plant-powered eating plan is based on a diet of whole foods, including whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds. This invaluable guide features: Dozens of easy, mouthwatering recipes-from pancakes to pizza, Tex-Mex favorites to knockout chocolate desserts-that will keep you looking forward to every bite Pantry-stocking tips will take the panic out of inevitable cravings and on-the-fly meals Guidelines on menu choices that will allow you to eat out, wherever and whenever you want Rip's simple, firefighter-inspired exercise program that will boost your metabolism and melt your fat away. Medically approved, easy-to-follow, and amazingly effective, this diet is designed for anyone who wants to make heroic strides in his or her health, weight, and well-being-all without heroic effort. "Want to be as strong as a Texas firefighter? Or as healthy as a professional triathlete? Then follow the wonderful advice of Rip Esselstyn, who is both. His book can save your life--whether you're a man or a woman. Highly recommended!" -Dean Ornish, M.D., Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Clinical Professor of Medicine, U of California, SF, author, Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease

What to Eat


Marion Nestle - 2006
    Praised as "radiant with maxims to live by" in The New York Times Book Review and "accessible, reliable and comprehensive" in The Washington Post, What to Eat is an indispensable resource, packed with important information and useful advice from the acclaimed nutritionist who "has become to the food industry what . . . Ralph Nader [was] to the automobile industry" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch).How we choose which foods to eat is growing more complicated by the day, and the straightforward, practical approach of What to Eat has been praised as welcome relief. As Nestle takes us through each supermarket section—produce, dairy, meat, fish—she explains the issues, cutting through foodie jargon and complicated nutrition labels, and debunking the misleading health claims made by big food companies. With Nestle as our guide, we are shown how to make wise food choices—and are inspired to eat sensibly and nutritiously.Now in paperback, What to Eat is already a classic—"the perfect guidebook to help navigate through the confusion of which foods are good for us" (USA Today).

Eat the Yolks: Discover Paleo, Fight Food Lies, and Reclaim Your Health


Liz Wolfe - 2014
    Avoid red meat. Worry about cholesterol. We live in an era of health hype and nutrition propaganda, and we're suffering for it. Thirty years of avoiding eggs, choosing margarine over butter, and seeking out "low-fat" versions of processed foods have left us with an obesity epidemic, ever-rising rates of chronic disease, and above all, total confusion about what to eat and why. This is a tragedy of bad information, food industry shenanigans, and cheap calories disguised as health food. It turns out that everything we've been told about how to eat is wrong. In Eat the Yolks, Liz Wolfe dismantles today's myths about fat, protein, carbs, calories and nutrients to finds the truths—truths like: Fat and cholesterol aren't bad for us. We need animal protein. Whole grains aren't healthy. Counting calories is a waste of energy. Nutrition doesn't come in a box, bag or capsule. With wit and grace, Wolfe makes a compelling argument for following a Paleo lifestyle. She takes us back to the foods of our ancestors, combining the lessons of history with those of modern science to uncover why whole, real food—the kind humans have been eating for thousands of years—holds the key to good health.

Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age


Sanjay Gupta - 2020
    Throughout our life, we look for ways to keep our mind sharp and effortlessly productive. Now, globetrotting neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta offers insights from top scientists all over the world, whose cutting-edge research can help you heighten and protect brain function and maintain cognitive health at any age. Keep Sharp debunks common myths about aging and cognitive decline, explores whether there’s a “best” diet or exercise regimen for the brain, and explains whether it’s healthier to play video games that test memory and processing speed, or to engage in more social interaction. Discover what we can learn from “super-brained” people who are in their eighties and nineties with no signs of slowing down—and whether there are truly any benefits to drugs, supplements, and vitamins. Dr. Gupta also addresses brain disease, particularly Alzheimer’s, answers all your questions about the signs and symptoms, and shows how to ward against it and stay healthy while caring for a partner in cognitive decline. He likewise provides you with a personalized twelve-week program featuring practical strategies to strengthen your brain every day. Keep Sharp is the only owner’s manual you’ll need to keep your brain young and healthy regardless of your age!

Prescription for Nutritional Healing: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements


Phyllis A. Balch - 1990
     With more than five million copies sold, Prescription for Nutritional Healing is the most trusted, comprehensive source on dietary supplements, vitamins, minerals, and herbs. A pioneer in the field of nutritional healing, Phyllis Balch passionately and meticulously researched and compiled this groundbreaking book. Now, a generation later, her message has more relevance than ever: consume fresh foods, avoid processed foods and those high in saturated fat, and optimize your intake of essential nutrients with the right supplements. Today's well-stocked vitamin and natural-health stores can be confusing, and people need Balch's clear, concise, landmark guide. To help them make sense of the mind-numbing array of choices that are available, readers of Prescription for Nutritional Healing will: - learn the basics of good nutrition; - find out how to balance vitamins and minerals so that the body can properly absorb both; - determine how best to treat 250 problems-from abscesses to wrinkles-using herbs, nutrition, and supplements; and - get the facts on other complementary therapies, like ayurveda, biofeedback, chiropractic care, and more. Prescription for Nutritional Healing is an essential resource for every health-minded consumer.