Customer Reviews (1)

Missing Ingredients for Optimal Health
Review of "The Omega Plan" by Artemis Simopoulos & Jo Robinson
This book argues that Omega-3 fats, along with the antioxidants and phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables are the missing ingredients for optimal health, and that consuming significant amounts of fat is healthy as long as the harmful fats are replaced with beneficial fats. The Omega Plan suggests seven dietary guidelines, starting with eating foods rich in Omega-3s such as fatty fish, walnuts, canola oil, flaxseeds and green leafy vegetables, or take Omega-3 supplements.Use olive oil and canola oil.Eat seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day.Eat more vegetable protein including peas, beans and nuts.Choose lean meat and low fat milk.Avoid oils high in omega-6, including corn, safflower, sunflower, soybean and cottonseed oils.Reduce your intake of trans-fatty acids. The book provides useful summaries at the end of each chapter. The book is highly recommended as a source of information about Omega-3s and their benefits, and includes a comprehensive table of the essential fatty acid content of many foods.However, while the book is very strong on outlining the benefits of Omega-3s, the book does not make clear that some improvements in health resulting from increasing the Omega-3 ratio may have a significant lag time, especially if consumption of Omega-3s has been deficientfor many years.In "The Queen of Fats", the author notes that humans store up significant amounts of fat, and it may take many months of increased Omega-3 consumption to significantly alter the Omega-3 composition of the stored fat. This factor may be an argument for overcompensating for the years of deficiency by increasing the intake of Omega-3 foods as suggested by "the Omega Plan" and in addition taking fish oil supplements until the body returns to balance.
The book cites studies which indicate eating a very low fat diet can signal the body to produce fat from carbohydrates, but (since the body cannot manufacture essential fatty acids, the body instead produces saturated fat (palmitic acid) that is linked to increased heart disease.The book hypothesizes that one major factor in the imbalance in the modern diet of Omega-6 fats to Omega-3 fats is that early humans got most of their nourishment from fish and meat, fruits and vegetables. The other two food groups (cereals/breads and dairy products) were a minor part of the Paleolithic diet. Grain based products were nonexistent until the agricultural revolution. Dairy products were virtually unknown until the domestication of animals about 10,000 years ago, (and the consumption of dairy products requires the enzyme to digest lactose).The fact that our ancestors ate more greens and less (or no) grains, helps explain the imbalance in the modern diet. LNA (alpha-linolenic acid, parent Omega-3) is concentrated in green leafy vegetables (and a few grains such as flaxseed and canola), and LA (linoleic acid, parent Omega-6) is concentrated in seeds, beans and grains (wheat, corn, safflower and soybeans).Reducing the amount of grains in our diet would help return to a more balanced diet.Wild animals ate lots of greens also, and thus have high ratios of Omega-3 to Omega-6.However, domesticated animals are usually grain fed, and thus meat from those animal sources would also have to be reduced in our diet to arrive at a diet with a better Omega-3 balance.Many chronic diseases are related to an overproduction of Omega-6 inflammatory eicosanoids, such as asthma, allergies, psoriasis and colitis (and menstrual cramps), while Omega-3 eicosanoids have a much reduced inflammatory effect.An Omega-3 eicosanoid reduces artery constriction, and the inflammation reduction effect also helps prevent artery inflammation, a contributor to heart attacks.The book also suggests that consumption of monosaturated fats, (such as olive oil) will help lower LDL cholesterol, which is a heart attack risk factor.With regard to cancer, eating high amounts of fruits and vegetables lowers the risk of cancer, and a diet low in Omega-6 and high in Omega-3 reduces cancer risk.An improved Omega-3 balance increases insulin sensitivity.The brain has a high DHA content (an Omega-3 fat) and DHA improves brain function and low levels of DHA are linked to depression.An improved Omega-3 balance lowers the risk and lessens the severity of inflammatory and autoimune disorders.The last half of the book provides shopping and recipe and meal plan suggestions to put into practice the seven dietary guidelines mentioned at the beginning of the book.For more details see [...]
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Product Description
More than three out of five deaths from heart attack occur simply because people don't immediately go to the hospital, waiting instead to see if symptoms persist. Now a pioneer of modern cardiology draws on fifty years of patient care to explain that the majority of heart attacks don't just happen spontaneously but are preceded by early warning signs--including little-known signs that go unrecognized by most people. If people would get proper treatment within the first sixty minutes of symptoms (the Golden Hour), they should suffer little or no damage to heart muscle. Dr. Turner also presents the early warning signs of stroke and instructions on how to respond, as well as what people can do to help prevent the occurrence or recurrence of heart attack and stroke. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Most deaths by heart attacks can be prevented with proper medical treatment
Most deaths by heart attacks can be prevented with proper medical treatment - but all too often that treatment is not administered in time. "Recognizing and Surviving Heart Attacks and Strokes: Lifesaving Advice You Need Now" is a compilation of invaluable and vital information for those who are in serious danger of heart attack. Claiming that if one acts on the early signs of the disease, one may escape the heart attack with no long lasting damage, "Recognizing and Surviving Heart Attacks and Strokes: Lifesaving Advice You Need Now" is a must for anyone in danger and for community library health collections.

This book could save your life.
Having survived a heart attack in 1998 I must admit that had I read Recognizing and Surviving Heart Attacks and Strokes by Glen O. Turner, Tim Bade and Mark Bruce Rosin before the event I might have avoided the event altogether.As pointed out, there are significant warning signs well in advance of the attack or stroke that the informed individual can heed and avoid possible death or disability.

Recognizing and Surviving Heart Attacks is written for the layman.Organized with short chapters, the book is easily scanned for specific information.Chapters such as What is a Heart Attack; How a Heart Attack is Treated; Coronary Artery Surgery; Heart Attack Early Warning Signs, You Key to Survival; How to Recognize and Respond to the Early Warning Signs of a Stroke or "Brain Attack"; Brain Hemorrhage Strokes; and the list goes on.Many chapters are only three pages long making the information easy to get at and not overwhelming."Doctor speak" is kept to a minimum and definitions and illustrations are provided.

If coronary artery disease runs in your family you must check this book out.Ask you library to buy it.

Peace and good luck.
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Product Description
Over one million people suffer heart attacks each year in the United States alone. Heart disease is our number one cause of death. But many heart attacks are preventable, and heart disorders can be treated. If you or your loved ones have been touched by cardiovascular disease, 100 Questions and Answers About Heart Attack and Related Cardiac Problems offers help. Renowned cardiologist Edward K. Chung, MD, draws upon decades of clinical experience to offer authoritative, practical answers to your questions about causes of heart attacks, heart attack prevention, treatment options, post-treatment quality of life, sources of support and much more. Written in plain language for the lay reader, and including an actual interview with one of Dr. Chung's patients, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone coping with the physical and emotional turmoil of this frightening disease. ... Read more

Product Description
"As I walked away with my refreshments, I felt something peculiar. It was so strange it stopped me mid-step. I was forty-five years old, and I had felt many things, but never before this particular feeling: I felt a click deep inside. The image the sensation produced in my mind was of a BB, a small round piece of copper-colored lead, falling into a socket. It was a very clear image. A BB is tiny, but the one I imagined felt infinitesimal, microscopic. Yet I felt it, a click, metal on metal—like an expensive, microscopic gear had slipped, some exquisite piece of machinery falling out of alignment. Some medieval example of craftsmanship, a gyroscope, something intricate, needing fine balance. The feeling, the event, was located in my chest, below my left breast. It was thoroughly interior, as if a signal had been sent and registered, what those giant satellite dishes are poised waiting for, a transmission from deep space." —from chapter 1

That was October 26, 1991, in what became a singularly awful day in the life of William O'Rourke. Minutes later, at the beginning of a Notre Dame football game, he began to suffer his heart attack. O'Rourke's account of that day, and everything that followed, is personal, informative, humorous, and highly literate. With its extended description of what an MI feels like and how people around the patient react, his memoir provides a bedside view of his experience and all of the emotions—both extraordinary and quotidian—that accompanied it.

What is startling is how that momentous event, the heart attack, divides life irretrievably into a "before" and "after." Gone are the assumptions of what is safe and healthy; replacing them is a newly-forged relation of mind and body, a treacherous one which breeds a physical paranoia that only lessens after months. O'Rourke vividly describes the extreme pain of the attack, the forced inactivity of recuperation, and the melancholy of embracing life anew while accepting a heightened awareness of mortality. He knows his luck in having supportive family and friends, and uses his time away from normal routine to examine his family history for likely genetic proclivities for heart disease.

Through his description of his experience—from MI, to angioplasty, to cardiac catheterization to, fourteen years later, a quintuple bypass and a second round of cardio-rehabilitation—he asks us to change behaviors we can affect and pay attention to our health.

Enriched with a medical glossary and selected bibliography, this is a helpful compendium for other recuperating patients and their families, or anyone concerned about heart disease, or interested in memoir.

"O'Rourke' s book and its long description of having a heart attack may scare the bejesus out of you, but it certainly sheds a lot of light on the subject. He's writing about what he knows and he knows a lot. His book is full of life—full of heart—and necessary reading for anyone who's ever thought twice about the tough organ that keeps us alive." —Malachy McCourt, author of A Monk Swimming and Bush Lies in State

"The story of William O'Rourkes's heart attack is as compelling as a thriller because it is a thriller. As always, O'Rourke's prose is crisp, witty, and wholly original. The chronicle of his recovery demystifies a frightening illness, leaving a reader enlightened and, unexpectedly, cheered." —Valerie Sayers, author of Brain Fever and Due East

"In the first few pages of William O'Rourke's gripping book I learned what it feels like to have a heart attack and how the press or pleasure of daily events can keep us postponing the visit to the Emergency Room. Now, I tell myself, I'll be prepared even in the middle of the night or at a sports event. Thanks to my husband's many years of MS, I did have an idea of how important a good doctor, a ready wife or husband, an eagle eye for proceedings, and even chance can be in determining one's future—but the uninitiated in such mysteries will find On Having a Heart Attack to be full of first person insights." —Maggie Strong, author of Mainstay: For the Well Spouse of the Chronically Ill

"For anyone who has ever had a serious medical crisis, or been close to someone who has, William O'Rourke's book is essential reading. O'Rourke takes us on a fascinating, compelling journey into the literal and figurative heart of a gloriously full and fragile life. He illuminates much about our vitality and our mortality, and the ways in which fortune and modern medicine can collaborate in our individual and collective fates. This is a rich tale by a splendid storyteller—a most unforgettable, informative, and deeply moving memoir of one man's struggles and triumphs." —Jay Neugeboren, author of Open Heart: A Patient's Story of Life-Saving Medicine and Life-Giving Friendship ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Read this book!
This book could save your life or the life of someone you care about. It's lively and intelligent, and it's actually an entertaining narrative (if you can imagine a book about having a heart attack being entertaining.) This is a book that's witty and anecdotal, a book you won't be able to put down. It's a short book, but it tells you everything you need to know. It has an excellent glossary and a brief, smart list of things to do in order to avoid having a heart attack. ... Read more

Product Description
Living with Restenosis is a 2-in-1 book including Surviving a Successful Heart Attack -and- Chronic Total Occlusion: After the Heart Attack, the Statins and Restenosis. They compliment each other; they convey the whole story. 'Surviving' covers the period of discovering that my first 50 years of personal dietary guidelines were based on mass-media advertising and bad science (lipid hypothesis). It ends after recuperating from both the physical heart attack and the statin-induced side effects; however, what next? Chronic Total Occlusion (previously published in 2007 as 'The Next 20,000'), is that new direction, which includes living with stent restenosis. To the casual reader, the lifestyle changes I have made may be construed as radical. That is what makes 'Chronic Total Occlusion' incomplete. Without experiencing the emotional scars described in SASHA that have remained following those two statin-induced side effect years, the reader of 'CTO' will not be able to appreciate a lifestyle I now accept as totally normal. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

S U P E R S E D E D
Living with Restenosis 2-in-1 book including 'Surviving a Successful Heart Attack' -and- 'The Next 20,000: After the Heart Attack, the Statins and Restenosis- has been superseded
by
Living with Restenosis 2-in-1 book including 'Surviving a Successful Heart Attack' -and- 'Chronic Total Occlusion: After the Heart Attack, the Statins and Restenosis'

Thanks for your interested.
Mike Stone, author
May 2010 ... Read more

Product Description

Millions of Americans follow the "best" medical advice every day to prevent heart attacks -- eating the standard low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet so widely recommended by doctors -- but in fact they are placing themselves at greater risk for heart disease. In Syndrome X: Overcoming the Silent Killer That Can Give You a Heart Attack, Dr. Gerald Reaven, the world-renowned physician who identified and named this silent killer, explains why the standard heart-healthy diet can be dangerous and lays out a simple six-step program to reduce the risk of heart disease for everyone.

The problem stems from a little-known cluster of metabolic abnormalities known as Syndrome X. The insulin resistance that lies at the heart of the syndrome can turn normal rules of good health upside down and dramatically increase the risk of heart disease. Fortunately, Syndrome X can be cured.

This important book explains how to identify the disorder and provides a program of diet and exercise (plus medication when necessary) that can render Syndrome X harmless. Tested in carefully controlled research settings and in practice, this remarkable new approach has the ability to reduce the risk of heart attacks and heart disease for all of us.

Dr. Reaven shows how eating a diet relatively high in "good" fats (40 percent of calories) can dramatically lower the risk of heart disease if you have Syndrome X. The approach seems paradoxical: Everyone "knows" that fat is bad, so how can more fat possibly lead to better health? The answer lies in the type of fat and the body chemistry of the people who consume it. If you have the abnormal metabolism called Syndrome X, eating a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet to lower your LDL and blood fats won't protect you. In fact, doing so will increase the odds of heart disease.

Millions of Americans have the potentially deadly, yet easily identifiable signs of Syndrome X -- but few cases are detected in time, because most physicians don't know what to look for. This trailblazing book will change that, making doctors and patients aware of the problem -- and its easy solution, an integrated program of diet and exercise that simultaneously reduces all the risk factors for heart disease, including Syndrome X.

Dr. Reaven's discovery of Syndrome X has shown us that the standard approach to preventing heart disease is dangerous for many of us. Now, his safe, proven new approach explains how millions can drastically reduce their risk of heart disease. His program works not only for those who have Syndrome X, but also for anyone who simply wants to reduce the risk of heart disease.Amazon.com Review
The phrase "insulin resistance" entered the pop lexicon a few years ago.Unfortunately, few people understand what it means, and some of theprescriptions for dealing with the problem actually make it worse.

As Dr. Gerald Reaven, a professor of medicine at Stanford University, explains,insulin resistance is part of Syndrome X, a once-mysterious killer ofmillions. Someone with Syndrome X has very high insulin levels, along withhigh blood fats and unusually small and dense particles of LDL (low-densitylipoprotein)--the dangerous stuff. Diets high in carbohydrates orprotein--like the American Heart Association and Zonediets--actually lead to more insulin production. Reaven says this starts achain reaction in people with Syndrome X that leads to damaged arteries and eventually to heart attacks.

Since the late 1960s, Dr. Reaven has methodically assembled the variouspieces of the Syndrome X puzzle. Almost immediately, his research wasbastardized to promote the notion that insulin makes you fat. But, as Dr.Reaven emphasizes in Syndrome X, you don't have to be fat to haveinsulin resistance, nor are fat people necessarily insulin resistant.Although 25 to 30 percent of Americans have insulin resistance, it'sprobably not the people you think have it: those at greatest risk are ofnon-European origin.

The solutions to the problem start with a low-carbohydrate diet that's highin unsaturated fats--fish, nuts, oils, and margarine and mayonnaise madefrom safflower oil. Reaven also recommends the usual suspects: moreexercise, no smoking, less drinking.

The payoff? A longer, healthier life. And the superiority that comes withactually knowing what "insulin resistance" means. --Lou Schuler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (38)

Good information, but dietary guidelines not user friendly
This was the first book that explained to me what was happening with my health. I knew that my blood sugar was subject to highs and lows, and that I needed to lose weight, but when I tried, I would always fail. I was trying to follow the standard low fat, high carbohydrate diet advice, but was subject to carbohydrate cravings. When I tried high protein, I had kidney problems. This book showed me how to get on the right track.

There are problems with it though. It's not terribly user friendly. There are menus in the back of the book, but no instruction on how the translate them to your own menus and recipes. You have to figure that out on your own. A general guideline as to how much protein, fat, and carbohydrate to eat at each meal, for each calorie level, would have been helpful. I'd also like a listing of safe fats to consume. I was able to find this information elsewhere, but it would have been helpful if it had all been listed in this book. The diet is good, once you figure out how to follow it. I give this book five stars for the information, but only two stars for the dietary section.

E-Book:Diet Menus Illegible!
Do not buy the digital version of this book if you intend to use the Diet Menus.MS Reader will not allow you to magnify the Diet Menus so you won't be able to read them properly.
Buy the hard copy instead.

2 Major Booboos
While Dr.Reaven correctly challenges low-fat,high-carbo orthodoxy his book suffers from 2 major errors:

(1)In his discussion of dietary fats he fails to make a distinction between omega-6 fatty acids(doubling in use in U.S. since the 1960s)and omega-3 fatty acids(in U.S.1/10th consumed of the amount required for normal functioning;20% have O-3 levels so low as to be undetectable;World Rev.Nutr.+Diet 1991(66) 205-216).Essential fatty acids go on to form eicosanoids.These hormone-like substances are involved in every aspect of life.The current imbalance of the O-6/O-3 ratio in our fat consumption promotes "bad"eicosanoids ie.those promoting inflammation etc.

(2)He neglects to mention glucagon,one of the pancreas'other hormones besides insulin.This omission by the"inventor"of Syndrome X who has worked in endocrinology for 35 years is likely due,as another reviewer has suggested,to this book being a rush job to cash in.Glucagon is influenced by dietary protein. Its action should be understood by anyone undertaking a self-help program.The Protein Power books by the Eades thoroughly cover this.

For a better understanding of the importance of essential fattyacids and the omega-6/omega-3 ratio good sources are The Omega Plan by Artemis Simopoulis and the Zone books,principally the Anti-Aging Zone by Barry Sears.

The ommission of information about glucagon may explain why Reaven sets his protein percentage at 15% and labels the Zone's moderate recommendation of 30% as being high.

Reaven doesn't put much emphasis on the variation in carbohydrates.For a fine explanation of why grains and grain products should be de-emphasized in favor of more nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables one should check thedrsears web site and search for glycemic load.

Sour Grapes
Over the last year I have dropped from 262 to 185 following a ketogenic/calorie restricted diet. While losing this weight I have gained both muscle mass and strength through weight lifting and running (yes I know that is supposed to be impossible). I have read, I think, every "low carb" diet book on the market.

This book could be re-titled, "Sour Grapes - How I Never Cashed In On The Low Carb Diet" Dr. Reaven did the research on the health evils of high carb diets that Atkins/Eades/Sears have used to pad their books out. That said, this book ads nothing to the discussion and contains an a description of "Syndrome X" which is inferior to that offered by Eades.

If you have read any of the above authors you already know what's in this book. If health is your goal it's OK. If weight loss is your goal it's lacking, and actually has some surprising errors. The content of this book would fit in about 30 pages. Poor Dr. Reaven apparently hoped to cash in as well, but though he did the original work, this book is pretty bad..

Again, having "done it," and having spent countless hour's reading these books I can recommend two:

The Ketogenic Diet by McDonald and the Protein Power Life Plan by Eades

Amazon has both, suggest you read Eades first. The Zone books seem to be written by a staff, and are sometimes contradictory, but for the long haul the "Life Extension Zone" is probably worth reading.

Finally getting a handle on my weight has been the single best thing I have done for myself. These two books were the key.Do make sure to take mineral supplements, calcium, potassium and magnesium- not optional.

Excellent material
As a medical writer (author of EAT FAT, BE HEALTHY: When A Low-Fat Diet Can Kill You), I found Dr. Reaven's book highly informative on this specific cause of heart disease.In many cases, insulin resistance causes the symptom of small-particle LDL syndrome which dramatically increases heart attack risk.The good news is that this blood lipid anomaly can be reversed more easily for patients with Syndrome X than with other forms of heart disease.Weight reduction, exercise, and diet changes usually reverse Syndrome X.

However, it's important for readers to realize that only a fraction of lipid disorders are caused by Syndrome X.Roughly 25% of the population carries the genes that cause a more serious form of small-particle LDL syndrome that usually requires multiple-drug intervention to reverse.The normal lipid panel is highly innaccurate in diagnosing this serious condition.A more accurate form of blood test called cholesterol subclass testing is helpful in diagnosing and treating Syndrome X, but is absolutely essential in diagnosing the more dangerous forms of small-particle LDL syndrome.END ... Read more

Product Description
Based on research - published in "The Lancet" - which showed that fish oil lowers blood fat levels and dramatically reduces the risk of a heart attack. The book aims to show how to prevent heart attacks, recognise the warning symptoms, cut cholesterol to a safe level and reduce blood pressure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Worth Reading
This is definitely worth reading. The research approach is unique - identifying the soft side of things, less of a plumber approach to medicine.

Where is further research in this direction. I give the book a 3 star rating only because the research is dated. Would like to see a funded effort in this direction to identify stress managing techniques because that is truly what is unique about the Western Life.

Changing that, we can change our social ills. ... Read more

Product Description
Learn to beat the 1-in-2 odds of dying from fat-blocked arteries. Follow this complete low-saturated fat, low-cholesterol, no-niacin program. Easy-to-use charts and a simple formula help you calculate the saturated fat content in the foods you eat. Over 200 recipes encourage you with delicious snacks, entrees, side dishes, breads and desserts. Includes suggestions for recipe substitutions. (Fisher Books) ... Read more

Product Description
Heart disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States since 1910. According to estimates made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 57 million Americans currently live with some form of cardiovascular disease.

The new edition of Heart Diseases & Disorders Sourcebook supplies the tools people need to maintain healthy hearts. It provides basic information about the human heart and how it works, including facts about such common heart disorders as heart attacks, angina, rhythm disorders (arrhythmias), heart failure, valve disease, and congenital heart disorders. Special sections focus on prevention issues and rehabilitation for cardiac patients. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Read it!
It simply saves your life ...

This book could save your life.
Animals don't get heart attacks but people do because most animalsmanufacture vitamin C in their bodies but humans do not have this ability;and vitamin C is ESSENTIAL for strong, healthy arteries, as well as for ahealthy immune system. Animals -- except for humans, other primates(monkeys and apes), guinea pigs and a few fruit-eating birds and bats --not only manufacture vitamin C every day, they manufacture a lot of it. Atypical animal manufactures 20 mg or more every day PER POUND OF BODYWEIGHT. If your cat or dog, for example, weighs 10 lbs, he or shemanufactures 200 mg or more of vitamin C daily. Yet the officialrecommended daily intake of vitamin C for humans is only 60 mg. That's onlyenough for a 3 lb. animal, but it's supposed to be enough for a 125 lb.woman or a 175 lb. man. It's supposed to be enough, but it isn't. Humansneed as much vitamin C as animals, we just can't manufacture our own likemost of them can. Most 125 lb. women need at least 2,500 mg of vitamin Cdaily and most 200 lb. men neeed at least 3,500 mg. You may think that aglass of orange juice every day meets all of your need for vitamin C but,in fact, it falls far short. Given our shortage of vitamin C, it's notsurprising that humans get cardiovascular diseases -- including heartattacks -- that most animals don't. Read this book and learn how withappropriate vitamin C supplementation you can virtually eliminate your riskof having a heart attack. This book could litterally save your life.

why animals dont get heartattack but people do
i have found this book the best of all the books concerning alternative medicine for preventing and healing all the kinds of heart diseases .as an orthomolecular-nutritionist, i can tell you that this book is very useful,scientific ,and workable. this book will give you an easy reading andunderstanding ,and i can guarantee that it is gona work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Aspirin Helps Prevent 850,000 Deaths In USA Each Year
This book helps the reader discover the reasons that Aspirin has been called the pharmaceutical bargain of the century. The author clearly explains to you why and how aspirin works to prevent deaths. Millions of Americans who might benefit from Aspirin are not taking it. This is a tragedy since Aspirin costs less than one penny per day. ... Read more