Controlling Cholesterol: Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper's Preventive Medicine Program

More than ten years ago, I joined forces with other medical leaders in a revolution that has exploded into the consciousness of the general public--a revolution that has required us to confront head-on the lethal danger posed by cholesterol to the human heart and blood vessels. Through my bestseller Controlling Cholesterol, published in 1988, I was able to share insights from my own three decades of clinical work with cholesterol with millions of readers around the world. Today, the revolution roars on. We now have learned that we can exert powerful control over cholesterol in natural ways that no one ever anticipated--through functional foods, or nutriceuticals, the terms now commonly used for table foods that have been specially designed to heal and prevent disease. As chairman of the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research, I elected to approve and supervise clinical trials on how certain functional foods behave in relation to harmful LDL cholesterol, beneficial HDL cholesterol, and other components of the blood lipid profile. These and related research projects--at such far-flung centers as the Mayo Clinic, the University of Helsinki, McGill University in Montreal, and the University of British Columbia--have broken much new ground. The startling findings have convinced those of us directly involved in the investigations that it is indeed possible to "eat your way to good health." Yet what continues to amaze me is just how many of my conclusions in Controlling Cholesterol have not changed--even though much of our understanding about the operation and treatment of cholesterol has changed. What Has Changed--and What Hasn't What has changed on the cholesterol scene in the past ten years? A detailed answer will emerge in upcoming chapters, but here are some of the highlights: Functional foods are revolutionizing our treatment strategies. Now it's so much easier to control cholesterol naturally, without having to resort to medications. Our understanding of "normal" total cholesterol has changed. Ten years ago "normal" total cholesterol for an adult in the middle or older years would have been a reading below 235 to 240 mg/dl. Today acceptable total cholesterol is a measurement below 200. Total cholesterol has taken a backseat to various cholesterol subcomponents. I can still remember when many labs provided only one cholesterol number for a blood test--total cholesterol. Patients and physicians had to request specifically a reading on the important subcomponents--such as the "bad" LDL (low-density lipoprotein), the "good" HDL (high-density lipoprotein), and the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol. Today every competent lab automatically reports these subcomponents because now we finally understand the serious danger posed both by low HDL cholesterol and by high LDL cholesterol. Triglycerides--blood fats related to cholesterol--have assumed increasing importance as a cardiovascular risk factor. Among other things, high levels of triglycerides are now regarded as a strong and independent predictor of the future risk of a heart attack--especially when total cholesterol levels are also high. More attention is being paid to treating the cardiovascular concerns of women--especially those who have moved past menopause. Although I warned in Controlling Cholesterol that postmenopausal women would lose the protection of estrogen and would become more vulnerable to heart disease, research into this subject was sparse ten years ago. Now we know that it's as essential to evaluate and treat women as it is to treat men. Antioxidants--especially vitamins E and C--are assuming increasing importance in cholesterol-control programs. Ten years ago the terms antioxidant and free radical were largely unknown to the general public or to practicing physicians. Today antioxidant vitamins hCooper, Kenneth H. is the author of 'Controlling Cholesterol: Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper's Preventive Medicine Program' with ISBN 9780553052541 and ISBN 0553052543.