The Great Cholesterol Con: The Truth about What Really Causes Heart Disease and How to Avoid It

If you've somehow managed to sidestep the pressure to go on statins, this book will provide you with justification. Kendrick walks you, step by step, through your own physiology and bio-chemistry, and backs his contentions that cholesterol can not be the cause of heart disease by citing and summarizing published studies that bear this out. The book is technical but highly readable thanks to an easy conversational style (if your high school biology teacher had been Kendrick, you'd have understood everything and gotten an A). If you don't really care about arterial plaques and exactly how they're formed (and exactly how they're not) the take-away message is pretty much this: statins are ineffective for women, especially for women over 50 years old, and for anybody over 70 years old. Further, statistical studies may indicate that lowering cholesterol encourages cancer. Many of the points Kendrick makes here are also borne out in Gary Taubes' excellent "Good Calories, Bad Calories." Both of these books are recommended. I also feel somewhat compelled to add this: While doctors will tell you they've rarely seen anyone with side effects from statins, among my own circle of middle-aged friends, I know 3 who've had serious problems with their livers, one who had some muscles permanently destroyed, one--a usually energetic tennis player-- who felt, for the few months he took statins, as though he had the flu, and could barely go to work-- and one who was left with ringing in the ears and a facial tic. All of these are listed as side effects of statins, as Kendrick points out.

Superb science/medical writing. I was already familiar with a lot of the story about cholesterol misinformation, but I still found it very useful to see the issues dissected one-by-one, with comprehensive references to the relevant research studies. The author is obviously extremely well-read in this area, far beyond the main dietary studies. His final chapter about stress and heart-disease is a must-read for anyone interested in these topics, and the fact that he had been so thorough in the earlier part of the book makes me take his speculations seriously. It comes with a good dose of quirky British (actually Scottish) humor, which I enjoyed a lot.

Rarely has such concise, funny [yes] and deadly serious book been written about the hoax of "bad cholesterol". Fear of -and the war on- cholesterol is the driving force behind poor quality foods and ineffective drugs with side-effects. We now know [and thanks Dr. Kendrick] that lowering cholesterol with drugs will never, repeat never, prevent a heart attack in or extend the lives of women and he smoothly presents the same case for the vast majority of [especially older] men. Pass this book on to your doctor, or send a copy to those you see promoting the fear of cholesterol on a next TV program, or other 'opinion leader' [my own copy will go to a top cardiologist]. No one can argue with the hard reality and logic of this book. Feel upset about having ignored the underlying causes of heart disease by the cholesterol distraction. The book is unfortunately silent about homocysteine, that artery toxin easily lowered with a daily multivitamin but Dr. Kendrick endorses omega-3 oil as beneficial, and he explains the evil role in the endgame of 'stress'. Debate about the causes of heart disease will continue to change with time and may differ for many of us but at least we now know what heart disease is NOT caused by, and that is "bad cholesterol". A 'must read' for the cost of a few 'cholesterol pills' but probably healthier, no doubt safer and certainly more entertaining!

Although Dr. Kendrick's writing style is witty and lighthearted, his logic is murderously accurate. He exposes not only the circular reasoning upon which the cholesterol theory of heart disease is based, but also the involvement of the pharmaceutical companies in perpetuating the scam. He points out, for example, that some of the recent published statin trials omitted total mortality data--an ominous omission. It is important that the public recognize the bad thinking that is driving the ongoing "statination" of the developed world, and it's even more important that physicians know it. So by all means read this book, and get one for your family doctor.

And here I thought I had read all the great books on the subject! Looking to my left, I can see my special Tasmanian oak bookcase, an anniversary gift; it holds only books of exceptional value. There are several titles by Dr. Abram Hoffer, then there are three on the subject of cholesterol and its colourful history in modern medicine. Those are: Ravnskov, U : "The Cholesterol Myths" Colpo, A : "The Great Cholesterol Con" Hartenbach W: "Die Cholesterin-Luege" They are framed by Skrabanek's "The Death Of Humane Medicine" and "Nutrition And Physical Degeneration" by Dr. Weston A. Price. After reading Dr. Malcolm Kendrick's book "The Great Cholesterol Con" I knew I had found another work worthy of occupying sacred space. Kendrick is a practicing doctor who freely shares his considerable wisdom on the internet, in organisations such as The International Network Of Cholesterol Skeptics[...] and in various publications such as Red Flags. Once you read something Kendrick has written, you become hooked in a subtle way; his ability to convey the meaning of complex material in a user-friendly manner would have made him a superb teacher. However, I am glad he became a doctor instead as he can do so much good with his insight and with his often idiosyncratic style and demeanour; his patients can only benefit from this skeptic who does not accept things the way they are alleged to be, without question. The book contains a wealth of information and bucketfuls of the truth. It will no doubt raise hackles in certain quarters and it may receive some scathing critiques. But it is certain to join the other noble works mentioned above in disseminating that what the establishment does not want to be disseminated. It will spread the word ! No, I don't agree with all of his statements but this is mainly a matter of assigning importance to various facts of life. His views on nutrition are more right wing than mine but that's okay. We can differ. The book still is a must read. How sad that in today's doctor's surgery one is unlikely to find a genuine effort to heal the patient. Or to prevent disease through suggestions of how to live and what to eat in order to ensure good health. No, Medicine has become the Sickness Industry, married to that loose woman called Big Pharma and the couple are united in greed. The cholesterol hypothesis has been a very profitable Milchkuh for decades now. From the days of Ancel Keys and his very selective reporting cum scare-mongering, through the invention of medication to combat the evil thing called cholesterol, to the culmination of frantic and self-altruistic efforts to market the lifesavers called statins, this has been a nice ride for those who are clever enough to achieve perpetual wealth transfer from patient to doctor. Dr. Kendrick points out how the game is played, it's not only the genuine sick but everyone is requested to listen to the Church of Medicine and submit to its ministrat