Ignore the Awkward. [Paperback]

Adding value to his previous tomes, Dr. Uffe Ravnskov provides an accessible, logical, entertaining, factual, convincing, trustworthy, invaluable book that more than just summarizes the dogma to date on the lipid hypothesis amplified in his previous books; he arms the reader with straightforward, well-documented answers to the question "Why and how have we been deceived?"

In "Ignore the Awkward! How the Cholesterol Myths are Kept Alive," Dr. Ravnskov discusses the many abominable ways so-called scientists have used to seduce the world. His first six chapters spell out how pseudo-scientists, the cat's paws of Big Pharma, have built and maintained their sponsors' empires, which, in the sixth chapter, includes a summary of studies he more fully delved into in his previous book. But it's his new insights of these studies in the next eight chapters that make the book worthwhile. If you have read Dr. Ravnskov's other works, then the first part is a refreshing, fast-paced review; if you are new to the cholesterol myth, then his book serves as a great primer. Either way, you are sure to come away with deeper insight into the subject as a result of reading it.

Discussed in the book include the North Karelia project, the Helsinki Heart Study, the Oslo Trial, the angiographic trials of Greg Brown, the Lipid Research Clinics Coronary Primary Prevention Trial (LRC), the Coronary Drug Project, the WHO Trial, MRFIT, the Miettinen Trial, most of the statin trials including the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S), HPS, LIPID Trial, EXCEL, WOSCOPS, AFCAPS/TexCAPS, where 2.4% of the subjects died in the treatment group and 2.3% died in the control group, and JUPITER, where chances of staying alive after being 50 years old increased from 97.2% to 97.8% if you took a Crestor tablet every day, yet increased your chance of getting type 2 diabetes. Here Dr. Ravnskov subtly introduces us to the term "Number Needed to Treat (NNT)," by stating that 330 healthy people would need to take the drug everyday so one of their lives would be saved. Would you put ointment on a cut knowing that it would work on only one out of 330 applications?

Moreover, it is Dr. Ravnskov's explanation of the way that those who propagate the cholesterol myths get us to believe these things that is the reason you should get this book. Dr. Ravnskov explains those strategies in the middle eight chapters, and they include ignoring critics, ignoring alternative explanations, explaining away facts, outright lying, etc., ending a later chapter with a brief anecdote of his negative experience with industry "spoofing."

Without stealing any thunder from Dr. Ravnskov, let me compress his thesis by saying that cholesterol could very well be one of the most important molecules produced by Homo sapiens, that any benefit by taking statins is the result of anything but its cholesterol-lowering ability, and that, to reiterate the researches of Gary Taubes, Barry Groves, Malcolm Kendrick, David Brownstein, Marshall Deutsch, Duane Graveline, Björn Hammarskjöld, Paul Rosch, Morley Sutter, Glyn Wainwright, Nicolai Worm, Henry Lorin, Mary Enig, Joel Kauffman, Luca Mascitelli, Kilmer McCully, Michael de Lorgeril, and many others, while also bringing back many fond lyrics from classic rock tunes, cholesterol is not the devil; it is, in fact, one of the most important molecules in the body. No, the villain, better stated as villains, as he concludes the book, are the many microorganisms that call our body home--of the ten trillion cells in the body, only one trillion are ours--supported by too few vitamins, especially D and C, or copper in our diet, and too much iron or homocysteine in our blood. Dr. Ravnskov closes by describing the most likely mechanism for vulnerable plaques and true causes of this heretofore poorly described condition of being human. Enjoy your coconut oil, cheese, heavy cream, and real butter. Mmmm, butter... - lc

Laurence Chalem, Author

The book is the latest by a doctor who has done more than anyone else in the world to show the fallacy of Cholesterol Phobia.

He hi-lights the fact that there are no studies showing that avoiding saturated fat and cholesterol is beneficial. In fact, there are many studies showing that dietary replacements may make health worse. Interestingly, people in the low blood-cholesterol groups in most studies die first, and often from diseases with long periods of suffering.

He makes an irrefutable case that that many with drug, food, research or other financial interests ignore and suppress the global evidence.

He shreds the cholesterol-lowering statin studies and illustrates the soft science, the soft endpoints and the conflicts of interests that are the rule in these trials. Give this book to your doctor if he/she wants to put you on a drug to lower your cholesterol. A worthwhile investment especially if you read the book first.

I have read Dr Ravnskov's other books "The Cholesterol Myths" and "Fat and Cholesterol are good for you" which are OUTSTANDING and this one is also.He does a very good job explaining how we are mislead by the medical community into believing we are sick and need to be treated just because we have elevated cholesterol.It is astonishing to me that after reading this very well organized book how anyone could believe in the cholesterol theory but the medical community sure does.He adds a little humor from time to time also.This book is not Dr Ravnskov's opinion but a careful and lengthy summary of many scientific articles the author has taken the time to read and sort through.This process alone must have taken years to perform.He presents all the evidence much like a court prosecutor and lets you the jury decide if cholesterol is guilty of causing heart attacks.I know I would decide not guilty.It is very important for people like Ravnskov,Kendrick,McCully and THINCS to keep the pressure on the medical community and try to expose the many fallacies and falsehoods that are kept alive by drug companies and the medical community as a whole.The message is being heard because my doctor just retired and his replacement tried to statinize me and when I told him no he said there is a lot of negative publicity about statins these days but don't believe them, people who take statins live longer than people who do not.More and more articles are being written about the hazards of statins and I think things will change.This is a must read book with new information not contained in his last book.I highly recommend it!!!!!