[.ca] The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure: How to Lower Your ... (ISBN 006109773X)

Too old:
This book was published in 1987. It is out of date, and for the most part, useless. The cholesterol drug he talks about has been supplanted by many newer and better drugs. The dietary suggestions are okay, but nothing new. Some recipes in the back are okay. All in all - don't buy it.

The 8 Week Cholesterol Cure:
This book was a real eye opener for me. I learned so much from reading it. I have high choplesterol and didn't want to take meds for it and decided to give this a try instead of putting pills in my system. My cholesterol has gone down abit so far and I hope to get it down even lower. I worry about this because there is alot of heart disease in my family. I was shocked to know I had high cholesterol because I watch what I eat and exercise every day and thought I was in the safe bracket. I recommend it as a read for people with cholesterol problems.

It works:
A dozen years or so ago, my cholesterol was skyrocketing, well above an already too-high typical level for me. I read this book, followed it with care except that I took (with doctor's ok) only 500 mg. of niacin daily, NOT the much larger and much riskier doses advocated by Kowalski. In less than two months my total cholesterol dropped by 112 points, to the edge of the normal range, and it kept on dropping after that, even after I relaxed my very strict eating habits. Triglycerides also dropped sharply. But I was doing EVERYTHING right -- strict adherence to low-fat (*VERY* low saturated fat), cholesterol-free eating habits, high in fiber, including oat bran, plus significant daily exercise (escalated to 90 minutes a day on stair-climber/rower -- which is a LOT of aerobic exercise, and way more than I have the patience for now). All of it. When I slacked off the regimen some time later, the cholesterol did rise, but not as high as formerly. Kowalski is very big on oat bran, and that turns out to be the easy part because it is a pleasant hot cereal. A half cup of oat bran, some raisins or chopped dates, one cup of water, stir, heat in microwave oven on high (use a large enough bowl to avoid boiling over) for 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Stir, add some skim milk if you like. Very tasty. At worst it is a nice hot breakfast, and at best may actually contribute significantly to lower cholesterol. (You can also bake oat bran into muffins. A bit dry, but not bad. Kowalski offers a recipe.) You can search the Web for my little paper on "Fitness in One Lesson," which comments further on helpful ideas in this vein. In any event, my doctor at that time told me that "there is no such thing as an eight week cholesterol cure" when I told him I was reading and following the book. After I had dropped my cholesterol level by more than a third in 7 weeks, I found a new doctor. (There were other issues with him anyway.) But his point really was valid: this is not a one-time fix. You have to make permanent improvements in eating and exercise habits. That is why "diets" are a bad idea. Like vacations, "diets" are temporary. Proper eating and exercise should be forever. Kowalski provides a clearly written, inspirational, informative guide to valuable steps to take. Discuss it with your doctor.

It Truly Works:
This cholesterol cure truly works. I can attest to it. My cholesterol is now in line with what it should be and I had my brother on it and now his is in line also.

Don't buy this one - there is a newer version:
Robert Kowalski has a new updated version, called "The New 8-Week Cholesterol Cure"