I wasn't prepared to wait until the publishers made this book available in the UK so ordered my copy from the US, where it was on sale months earlier. The author claims to be a certified nutrition and anti-aging specialist (I write "claims" because I have yet to be convinced there is anyone or any group knowledgeable enough - read "Trick and Treat" to learn why). The book appears to be technically sound and explains how food and oxygen intake are converted into energy.
The author provides detailed explanations of what he calls the awesome foursome: CoQ10, l-carnitine, ribose and magnesium and claims great success in the use of these proven supplements (as supported by scientific studies) in his cardiology practice. This is not an easy book, however. I read it twice and still did not feel I had understood it properly.
Thanks to the summaries towards the end, which suggest what and how much to take for various health challenges, running the gamut from serious heart diseases to high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, insulin resistance and diabetes type 2, I did work out a programme of supplements. The cost of an order for just three months was in the hundreds of pounds, as the best CoQ10 turns out to be Q-Gel and each 100mg capsule costs about 50p. This was in addition to the best form of l-carnitine, which turned out to be GPLC (a "revolutionary new supercharged form of l-carnitine") and the 1g capsules were again about 50p each. You are recommended to take at least one of each daily (many of the summaries recommend more), plus the d-ribose sugar (also not cheap) and the magnesium.
I tried the regime for over a month, then had to stop everything because of heart flutter issues (mostly traced back to xylitol - not part of the Sinatra programme - but still had to work on identifying at least one of the "awesome foursome" supplements as I again started to get flutters when I went back to that programme). The D-Ribose works amazingly well to provide long-term energy (by which I mean it lasts all day and into the evening) but gave me insomnia until I both cut back by half and only took it before noon. I've known magnesium is important for a long time but have failed to see measurable benefits whenever I've added it to my supplements (sometimes taking it for over a year and in quite large amounts of up to 1g). I still haven't decided whether CoQ10 is helpful for me. [later note: after about 3 months I developed a problem with the CoQ10 too.]
So I had to re-start the Sinatra programme and then back off several times over a few weeks. By a process of elimination of each of the "awesome foursome" I've discovered that the L-Carnitine also gives me heart flutters (perhaps I should be grateful to have such an "early-warning" system in my body). Internet research reveals that some reported L-carnitine side effects include vomiting, nausea, headache, diarrhea, stuffy nose, restlessness and sleeping difficulty. Some serious side effects may include fast heartbeat rates, increase in blood pressure and even fever! Why does Sinatra's book not give any warning about this? Surely some of his patients reported side effects?
Perhaps it's just my cynicism from decades of reading endless books singing the praises of so-called miracles such as vitamin D (having read 8 books on this subject alone during 2009/10), DMSO, MMS, DHEA, vitamin C, magnesium, iodine, omega 3 EFAs, breathwork, oxygen therapy, hydrogen peroxide, water, thyroid hormone, adrenal hormone, liver cleanses, detoxes, fasts, exercise, neutralising electromagnetic stress, juicing, mangosteen, noni juice, superfoods, organic foods, wholefoods, celiac diets, dairy-free diets, veggie diets, protein diets, carb diets, food combining, acid-alkaline balancing diets, Glycaemic Index diets, high fibre diets, raw food diets, candida/fungus elimination, parasite cleansing - oh dear, the list of my gullibility seems endless.
Yes, I've tried all of these; yes, thoroughly and sometimes repeating them in various combinations and on each occasion with enthusiasm and bright-eyed hope but I saw no measurable benefits. "Trick and Treat" by Groves explains in detail just why so many of my efforts were doomed. Nowadays, when I read about health wonders - as in this book and all the books on vitamin D - I wonder how many claims of success are made up or at least tweaked - and I wonder what proportion of actual patients were successful in any way, much less miraculously so, as is always claimed by books touting single strategies.
So, apart from the D-Ribose, this book's recommendations do not seem to have worked for me. It may be worth knowing that another sugar with health benefits is D-Mannose. Curiously, little or nothing has been written for laymen about D-Mannose but it has already become known as very effective for cystitis and actually it is also a brilliant anti-fungal sugar. There is usually both low energy and fungal overgrowth with all poor health.
Creatine is worth considering too; the best book is probably the research-based but expensive and jargon-ridden "Essentials of Creatine in Sports and Health" by Stout, Antonio and Kalman. Warning: Xylitol is now being pushed hard but beware: in my experience it interferes with the electrical system of the body - I got heart flutters, as mentioned earlier.
Finally, I recommend these books, all of which should be on the "top 10" of any list of books on health:
- "Trick and Treat", which turns upside down everything governments have told us to eat for health
- "Outsmart Your Cancer", a well-researched book on alternative therapies - anything that can HEAL cancer is also a general healer and should be able to help much else in the body
- "Never Fear Cancer Again" by Raymond Francis, a brilliant distillation of what is truly needed for health
- "Transdermal Magnesium Therapy" by Sircus on the amazing benefits of magnesium - a fundamental supplement for a healthy body - particularly magnesium chloride flakes (transdermally), available comparatively cheaply, and
- "The XXL Syndrome", basically a booklet, about the essential part potassium plays in health - and food grade potassium bicarbonate powder is also available cheaply.