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Books: The Cholesterol Myths

Facts

Author: Uffe Ravnskov
ISBN: 0-9670897-0-0
Paperback: 305 pages
Publisher: New Trends Publishing

The back cover

Dr. Ravnskov has done a magnificent service with a scholarly book that gathers a vast body of impressive evidence and will surprise many with the true facts from research studies. The book is a must reading for all interested persons and certainly should be required reading for nutritionists and all physicians who treat patients.
- Ray H. Rosenman, MD
Former Director of Cardiovascular Research, SRI

Whether diet plays a major role in heart disease is a question that interests us all. Author Ravnskov has a mission: To inform his readers that there is another side to his questions than the view usually presented to us… Many with establishment views will regard Dr. Ravnskov as a crank. That would be a grave mistake. He has done his homework, he is not a lone voice in the wilderness and he deserves to be taken seriously. Above all, this book will make us think more deeply about the true role of diet in heart disease and about the quality of information that we receive.
- Michael Gurr, Ph.D.
Renowned Lipid Chemist

“But what about heart disease?” This is the response of many Americans when advised to consume the foods of their ancestors, foods like butter, whole milk, eggs, and meat. Fear of saturated fat and cholesterol has put a solid brick wall between the consumer and satisfying, nutritious food – and filled the coffers of the food processing industry. Dr. Ravnskov’s measured and clear-eyed analysis actually serves as a sledgehammer that breaks down barriers to healthy, sensible eating.
-Sally Fallon Author of Nourishing Traditions

Author’s Foreword (in part)

When the cholesterol campaign was introduced in Sweden in 1989, I was very surprised. Having followed the scientific literature about cholesterol and cardiovascular disease superficially for a number of years, I could not recall any study showing that high cholesterol was dangerous to the heart of the blood vessels, or that any type of dietary fat was more beneficial or harmful than another one. I became curious and started to read more systematically.

Anyone who reads the literature in this field with an open mind soon discovers that the emperor has not clothes, and so did I. I also soon learned that the critical analyses or comments that I sent to various medial journals were of little interest to the editors. The reviewers sent me mocking answers. Besides, the inaccuracies, misinterpretations, exaggerations and misleading quotations in this research area were so numerous that to question them all demanded a book.

The first edition of The Cholesterol Myths was published in Sweden in 1991 and in Finland in 1992. The books made little impact. In Sweden, the science journalists usually lost interest in the subject when, after reading the book, they consulted the researchers or the health authorities I had criticized. In Finland, the book was the subject of a television program on Channel 2 where it was belittled by some of the Finnish proponents and then – literally – set on fire!

The indiscriminate acceptance of the cholesterol campaign in Sweden was most probably due to its promotion by large American health and research institutions, such as the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the American Heart Association, along with their influential members. Evidently, the Swedish health authorities must have thought that such prestigious authorities could not be wrong. But Sweden and Finland are small countries. I thought that perhaps I could reach more discerning and independent journalists and researchers by publishing the book in English. Many queries to publishers and literary agents were rejected, however: the book was considered of no commercial interest.

With the advent of the Internet, I saw a way to inform the public, and in 1997 I published selected sections of the book on the web. According to the search engine Direct Hit, my website soon became one of the top ten most popular sites about cholesterol, and from email letters I learned that many laymen and researchers were just as skeptical about the cholesterol campaign and the diet-heart idea as I was – or at least they became skeptical after having read my website.

One of the correspondents was Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions. She had encountered the same problems in finding a publisher for her book, with its controversial emphasis on foods like butter and cream, and eventually set up her own publishing company to take the book to press. She asked whether she might publish The Cholesterol Myths.

Why we like this book

You hear a lie long enough and from enough people, and it's hard not to believe it. Such is the case with the causes of the rising rate of heart disease in this country. Here is the unpopular truth that major food manufactors don't want you to know.

Lastly, though we don't agree with every point the author makes or some of his/her suggested methods, we have found this book to be informative and worth recommending. However, by selling this book, we are not recommending other works by the author or his/her chosen lifestyle.

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