I am confused on the cholesterol controversy, I would like to read more about the counter-evidence and see how extremely low cholesterol correlates with longevity.

I think this story is far from resolved... ( )

This is a relatively short book that is to the point about cholesterol. The author appears to be an expert and he is practical and moderate. The message is the same as most others - diet, exercise, and drugs, if necessary. A take home message is reduction of saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet. I strongly recommend this book. ( )

This book doesn’t just cover cholesterol, but heart health in general. It starts with what cholesterol is and how your body manufactures it and the mechanics of heart disease, then moves on to risk factors and what will happen when you visit your doctor about this. Then it goes to how to lower your cholesterol and, thus, your heart disease risk. Diet, exercise, medications. He includes special cases- children with high cholesterol, seniors, people with established heart disease and diabetics. He gives a chapter to alternative and complementary approaches- and doesn’t think much of any of them.

It’s a very thorough book- the explanation of heart disease is very good. High cholesterol is not a problem on its own- it’s the things it does to the arteries, and it works by several different mechanisms. Of course, even though the book is only five years old, the results of some of the studies he cites have been overturned by newer ones, but for the most part, it’s a good, solid book. ( )