Diet, Life Style Are Key Factors
The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure by Robert E. Kowalski (Harper & Row: $15.95); Save Your Arteries; Save Your Life by Charles Klieman MD (Warner Books; paperback, $4.50).
“Spare the mayo,” said the slim woman in the cafeteria line. “My cholesterol level’s way too high.” These days, informed people not only count calories but also watch their total cholesterol level, a combination of several factors.
Essentially, the problem caused by cholesterol in the blood is fatty deposits, or plaque, which can clog vital arteries leading to the heart. This condition currently is considered the villain in heart disease, stroke and possibly poor circulation.
Robert E. Kowalski’s book, which was a best seller for many months, promises a 40% reduction in total cholesterol level without the use of drugs. (Patients treated with cholestryaamine, the most commonly prescribed medication, experience a substantial decrease in their blood-serum readings).
Kowalski, who is in his 40s, had already undergone two by-pass operations and had found that traditional diet-drug therapy failed to bring his count down significantly. Therefore, he proposes his own diet, based on little fat, lots of vegetables, chicken and turkey, combined with very large amounts of oat bran, ingested in the form of muffins, bread and as additives to the numerous recipes he includes. The resulting high-fiber bulk moves food quickly through the body, yet leaves one feeling satisfied, he claims.
Additionally, Kowalski proposes megadoses of the B vitamin niacin (up to three grams a day) so that “bad” (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol is excreted. Many people, he admits, tolerate niacin poorly, initially suffering a burning or prickling sensation on the skin.
Citing medical studies and charting the progress of people who followed his regimen, Kowalski comes up with impressive results in his enthusiastic “cure.”
Charles Klieman’s book outlines an improved life style that “reduces the known risk factors of vascular disease.” His more rigid program of combined exercise and diet promises improved muscle tone and strength, “reduced chance of osteoporosis” or softening of the bones, and even nights of refreshing sleep.
An excellent chart helps figure out your cardiovascular risk: Cholesterol reading should be below 199; blood pressure less than 140/90 and weight within the parameters indicated on the Metropolitan Life Insurance Desirable Weight Table.
Any enjoyable exercise--aerobics, biking, walking, jogging--is permitted, just so it’s not competitive. And the most heartening part of “exerdieting” is the slow phasing in of calorie reduction and increased exercise. Finally, both of these books post the “No Smoking Allowed” sign up front.
