The Cholesterol Hoax - Sherry Rogers, M.D.

The fundamental point from this book is that high cholesterol is a warning sign of damage happening in the body. In line with other books I am reading, the damage is a result of trans fatty acids, pesticides, plastic chemicals (phtalates, BPA, PCBs, Teflon, etc), and heavy metals. Combined with a processed food diet that lacks natural nutrients (synthesized vitamins for fortifying, colors, preservatives can also contribute to the toxic load in your body), the body is not able to purge the toxins, which accumulate in the body until they produce disease.

Another interesting point is cholesterol is an incredibly poor predictor of heart attack. However, it is pushed to the forefront because the pharmaceutical companies have patented drugs that affect cholesterol. More predictive molecules in the body can only be affected (currently) by proper nutrients, which can't be patented and sold for a huge profit.

There are a lot of details in this book. It probably could have been half as long, but Sherry likes to make sure we get things in our head by repetition. I would recommend it for people that might have high cholesterol and especially if you are on a statin drug (if you have a drug for your cholesterol it is probably a statin). If you don't have high cholesterol, then I would recommend Detoxify or Die by Sherry Rogers, as it is probably more general and should help prevent high cholesterol (I haven't read it yet, but I am going to).

Take-Away Points

• At top research universities, scientific studies have shown proper nutrients are more effective at reducing cholesterol than statin drugs (the medical field has apparently chosen to ignore these studies).
• Statins and other drugs work by poisoning biochemical pathways that produce the symptoms. They do not address the underlying causes (unless it is a deficiency of that particular drug :P ) but almost always have a number of crappy side-effects because they are messing up the natural processes.
• Proper nutrients can regulate the cholesterol production pathway and help detoxify the chemicals that are causing high cholesterol in the first place.
• The body is a biochemical system that is designed to be nourished by correct foods. When the proper nutrients are available, the body can actually fight cancer and other diseases without all the side-effects. Each individual must own their health and not give it over to the pharmaceutical controlled, medical field that loves the profits it gets from cranking people through a doctors office, giving drugs to mask symptoms, and then providing additional drugs for the symptoms brought about by the side-effects.