That a relation exists between lipids/lipoproteins and coronary artery disease is no longer an arguable point. However, the complexities associated with this relationship, and the number of factors that can impact and alter circumstances and clinical status, are many and diverse. Consequently, this relationship continues to receive a great deal of

Ever since the publication of Ancel Keys’ watershed ‘Seven Countries Study’ in 1970, medical thinking has posited a causal link between the intake of animal fats and coronary heart disease. The research of Prof. Harumi Okuyama and his colleagues presented in this new publication suggests that this link is in fact tenuous. It goes beyond that to suggest that current medical wisdom regarding lipid nutrition may actually be counterproductive. This ground-breaking analysis is likely to be debated for many years to come. The ‘Seven Countries Study’, which identified the specifics of the Mediterranean Diet and awarded it a central position in combating coronary heart disease, triggered significant changes in Western diets. Most notably, it stimulated a widespread attempt to reduce animal fats and replace them with vegetable fats. The low-density lipoprotein (LDL) element of the cholesterol naturally present in animal-source foods was dubbed a killer, and a significant industry developed around the provision of plant-based oils and fats. The clinical consensus on cholesterol was further strengthened in 1987 by the introduction of statins, an innovative class of drugs that reduce LDL production in the liver and are designed to help guard against coronary heart disease. Thirteen Nobel Prizes have been awarded to scientists who devoted major parts of their careers to cholesterol research. It is therefore a brave research team that dares to challenge the link between animal fats and coronary heart disease. This, however, is precisely what Prof. Okuyama and his team set out to do in this book. They actually recommend increasing the intake of cholesterol and animal fats, to an extent that does not lead to obesity. This recommendation is based on the discovery by Prof. Okuyama and his team that common vegetable oils such as canola and hydrogenated vegetable fats have toxic effects. They demonstrate that hydrogenated vegetable fats and oils are important culprits in atherosclerosis and other lifestyle diseases, and suggest that high total or LDL-cholesterol is not the cause of atherosclerosis or cardiovascular disease. Further, they argue that current medical guidelines on lipid nutrition conflict with evidence-based research, and that persistently focusing on LDL-cholesterol as the cause of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is counterproductive. Key findings Some types of vegetable fats and oils exhibit stroke-inducing and endocrine-disrupting activity. Their inhibition of the vitamin K2–osteocalcin link is the major cause of ASCVD and related diseases. In the current food environment, the balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids is too much in favour of omega-6, and therefore lowering the omega-6/omega-3 ratio is recommended for the prevention of allergic and inflammatory diseases including ASCVD and cancer. Atherogenesis can develop without elevated LDL-cholesterol levels and/or in association with decreasing LDL-cholesterol levels. Increased intake of vegetable fats and oils with stroke-inducing and endocrine-disrupting activities in countries with restricted intakes of animal fats and cholesterol has led to the critical situations surrounding physical and mental health currently seen in Japan, East Asia, and the Mediterranean countries. Medical care professionals continue to insist on actively reducing LDL-cholesterol levels. This approach will only heighten the extensive health problems that Japan and some countries are at present facing. Many aspects of current medical practice in Japan are indeed likely to be in conflict with that country’s Medical Care Act. This thought-provoking analysis of one of the major health syndromes of our day demands serious consideration by professionals interested in cardiovascular health in particular and in public health more widely. Its implications are far-reaching – for medical practitioners, medical insurers, nutritionists, food producers and pharmaceutical manufacturers alike, as well as for individual patients.

'Fast Facts: Hyperlipidemia' provides a crisp and accurate summary of lipid disorders using clear language and illustrations. Directed at a broad range of healthcare professionals, from primary care physicians to specialists, this updated fifth edition addresses the importance of considering lipoprotein particles, not just their lipids. The authors, renowned experts from the UK and USA, interpret clinical trial evidence in the context of pathogenesis and provide practical solutions to the routine problems encountered in the clinical management of hyperlipidemias. Contents: • Lipids and lipoproteins - structure and physiology • Epidemiology and pathophysiology • Familial (monogenic) hypercholesterolemia • Polygenic hypercholesterolemia and combined hyperlipidemia • Hypertriglyceridemia • Familial dysbetalipoproteinemia • Dyslipidemia in insulin resistance, the metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus • Secondary hyperlipidemia • Dietary treatment • Drug treatment • When to treat • Biochemical tests • Useful resources

Fats in foods and fat on the body have become national obsessions. With due cause. Research is showing the far-reaching deleterious effects of obesity as well as relationships between lipid (fat and oil) consumption and a wide range of health concerns. In this seminal book, Dr. Wysong brings a surprise and reveals that fats are not the nutritional demons popularly assumed. The key to health is not to avoid dietary fat and jump on the cholesterol checking and drug band wagon. Lipids are a part of every cell and are essential components of hormones and body regulators. Even cholesterol (in its natural state) is critical to health. If it is not eaten, the body produces it. Dr. Wysong provides the understanding necessary to avoid such popular and professional myths.Natural fats are not something to avoid, but rather to seek and cherish. The real villain is food processing. Heat, light, air, hydrogenation, and time are the enemies of healthful fats. Not only does processing destroy important fats and oils, but it can convert them to dangerous disease-producing toxins. Dr. Wysong explains how to choose foods that are protected from these dangers.Read carefully, Lipid Nutrition can be one of those rare books which replaces the reading of dozens of others. Whether you are a person just concerned with better health and nutrition, or a professional seeking keys to prevention and treatment, Lipid Nutrition will prove to be a wonderful aid to understanding and a valuable resource for making healthy decisions.

Plasma Lipids: Optimal Levels for Health compiles reports on optimal blood lipid levels. This book discusses the optimal levels of blood lipids that suffice for optimal physical and mental development of man while at the same time does not detrimentally affect human health. Clinical, epidemiological, and experimental evidence agrees that the ideal (optimal) serum cholesterol level for children aged 10-14 should be 120 mg% and that the ideal (optimal) cholesterol level for adults should be 160 mg%. This text stresses that if these are indeed the optimal levels, and so many people have levels far above these values, then it is evident why a large proportion of the population succumbs to cardiovascular disease. This publication is intended for physicians and scientists concerned with the optimal values of health.

The role of lipids in nutrition science has evolved considerably in the past decade with new concepts following new discoveries. Lipids: Nutrition and Health reviews the role of dietary lipids in maintaining health, bringing the latest knowledge from a myriad of sources into one convenient resource. Taking a combined approach that integrates lipid