The Great Cholesterol Con

The Truth About What Really Causes Heart Disease and How to Avoid It

By: Dr. Malcolm Kendrick

Narrated by: Simon Whistler

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Statins are the so-called wonder drugs widely prescribed to lower blood cholesterol levels and claim to offer unparalleled protection against heart disease. Believed to be completely safe and capable of preventing a whole series of other conditions, they are the most profitable drug in the history of medicine. In this ground-breaking work, GP Malcolm Kendrick exposes the truth behind the hype, revealing: high cholesterol levels don't cause heart disease; a high-fat diet - saturated or otherwise - does not affect blood cholesterol levels; and, the protection provided by statins is so small as to be not worth bothering about for most men and all women.

Statins have many more side affects than has been admitted and their advocates should be treated with scepticism due to their links with the drugs' manufacturers. Kendrick lambastes a powerful pharmaceutical industry and unquestioning medical profession, who, he claims, perpetuate the madcap concepts of 'good' and 'bad' cholesterol and cholesterol levels to convince millions of people to spend billions of pounds on statins, thus creating an atmosphere of stress and anxiety - the real cause of fatal heart disease. With clarity and wit, "The Great Cholesterol Con" debunks our assumptions on what constitutes a healthy lifestyle and diet. It is the invaluable guide for anyone who thought there was a miracle cure for heart disease, an appeal to common sense and a controversial and fascinating breakthrough that will set dynamite under the whole area.

©2008 John Blake Publishing (P)2013 Prospero Media

Hilarious Debunking of the "Heart Healthy Diet"

Where does The Great Cholesterol Con rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best books on why high cholesterol blood levels are not the cause of heart disease, and how misleading modern medicine is in still promoting a low fat, hence high carbohydrate, diet. The best book so far about the harm done and uselessness in most patients of statin therapy, and why the pharmaceutical industry won't admit it, billions of dollars. Many people's health is being damaged by Statins, but the evidence, though piling up, is ignored.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Great Cholesterol Con?

On several occasions he would read the conclusion of a paper in a highly respected medical journal and contrast it with the study's actual results just presented, and then say,"To this I say, "BALLS!" (This is obviously a UK interjection meaning BS, but I had never heard the word used this way before. It reminded me of Monty Python, a bit.)

What does Simon Whistler bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A Scottish accent (at least some kind of British accent) and a witty sarcasm, which is how Malcolm Kendrick wrote it.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I often laughed out loud. Other times I just shook my head in disbelief. For instance when he discussed why Scots have a much higher rate of heart disease than the French, though they eat a lot less fat. The French make a celebration of food, while the Scots consider the act of eating akin to filling up their gas tank of their car, something you'd rather not do, but is necessary. Thus the French have much less stress in their daily lives, as opposed to the Scots. Apparently Scottish food is horrible, and not generally a good way to lower stress, though it is appreciably lower in fat than French cuisine.

Any additional comments?

The medical profession of which I am a member, an MD, should be ashamed of the promotion of statins and low fat diets, which are promoting Diabetes, obesity, probably even Alzheimer's (see the book Grain Brain) and even more heart disease.

He doesn't just debunk the low fat diet, he gives reasons why some groups of people have a higher rate of heart disease. The real killer is stress, not fat in the diet. In fact it appears that the higher fat diets often are associated with less heart disease.

Helpful for the doctor but not the patient.

If I was writing some kind of publication of my own, this to be really, really useful. However, as a patient it really doesn't solve my problem. there are plenty facts and statistics involved of alternative methods of cures . I would have done better looking into a book that actually gives me applicable methods of preventing mortality due to heart disease.

Listen to this book!

A fun & informative book that demolishes the cholesterol hypothesis.
It's argument is built on a sound understanding of science.

Great argument, poor delivery

The central argument is fascinating but the delivery is like that one might expect from Holden Caulfield. The author pauses after every point to make a sneering catty comment. It’s not that these are harsh, it’s just that they are repetitive, distracting, immature, patronizing to the reader, and really detract from the flow of the book. The second part where he develops his own explanation of heart disease is much better.

How to avoid a myocardial infarction

Excellent. Good for patients and doctors. I like the sense of humor. Detailed and clinically documented.

Was too technical for me

This book was informative but very technical. The readers voice was soft and soothing. Sometimes I felt very tired because it was so soothing. His research was extensive!

Best book on Cholesterol ever!!

I truly enjoyed the audio performance of this informative book. I actually listened to it twice and will buy the kindle copy for reference. Two thumbs up !!!

Very helpful and informative

The information is very helpful and accurate! However the sarcastic delivery of the information is very good and funny making it easy listening experience!

A must-read for everybody

What made the experience of listening to The Great Cholesterol Con the most enjoyable?

The author's sense of humor is great.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Great Cholesterol Con?

The author's description of Scottish cuisine.

What did you learn from The Great Cholesterol Con that you would use in your daily life?

How cholesterol protects people from various things, like cancer and infection. How cholesterol, LDL and HDL move about. How efficacious statin drugs are (or aren't).

finally the truth

The research in this book is so well examined, I defy anyone to contradict. No statins for this girl.

Everyone should read this!

This book was fascinating, informative and liberating in equal measure. No more statins for me. No more fear of food. I feel informed by someone who seems to know what he is talking about and who isn’t afraid to debunk the myths. If you are listening on audio, my advice would be to increase the speed to 1.2 as this is much more like a normal speech speed whilst still allowing time to digest the information.
Thank you for this...brilliant! X

Over 50? = Read it!

If you could sum up The Great Cholesterol Con in three words, what would they be?

Worth Every Penny

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Great Cholesterol Con?

When I dropped my own Cholesterol Reading by two full points without statins half-way through the book

What about Simon Whistler’s performance did you like?

I felt that I trusted him

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No but it has made me smile!

Any additional comments?

We each have to take responsibility for our health and our lives. Now that we have access to the internet it is beholden on us to do so. This is one book that gives a wealth of fact-based information, which enables us to have knowledge-based discussions with our medical professionals.

The biggest con in the title is this book

A doctor whose "findings" fly in the face of all known medical understanding, empirical studies and worldwide treatment and prevention of some serious and deadly medical conditions isn't original, and like all conspiracy-theorising books for sale, this should be listened to with the utmost caution before it changes your brain.

In the middle of carefully constructed, believable and even humourous ramblings, are missed facts, skewed facts and book-selling waffle.

I was beginning to be swayed by the convincing nature of The Great Cholesterol Con, so I had a little hunt around Dr Kendrick's work and peer reviews.

It's almost universally discredited!!!

The Carb-sane asylum blogspot article about this book (I just searched Kendrick), along with lots of other online pieces from lots of other places, should absolutely be read as a balance to the claims made in this book.

Which incidentally sounds as if it's being read out by a Julian Clary impersonator.

Overall, it's a potentially dangerous piece of quackery.

Brilliant book, wrong narrator.

I struggled initially with the narrator, but found by speeding up the book to 1.3 it was easier and his voice eventually grew on me.

As a nurse i found the contents of the book excellent, although the stats could have been condensed a little, especially in the first half.
If you do find yourself being sent to sleep with the stats in the book, please don't give up as the info in it is life changing. Especially the last third!

The Real Cause of Death and Ill health is not being treated because it cannot be measured

Fascinating (and worrying) insight into the modern health care industry and big Pharma.

It challenges whether the health care professional in front of you when you visit the doctor is knowledgeable and equipped to treat you.

In 100 years our descendants will snigger at how we are being treated in the same way we snigger at “piss sniffers” leeching and prescribing steam engine exhaust fumes to treat asthma etc.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in health generally or have underlying health issues.

A breath of fresh air at last

Dr Kendrick breaks apart the arguments on the rediculous theory that cholesterol causes heart disease, and boots the pieces into the long grass. He is a very brave man, as few will stick their heads up above the parapet.
Thank you for making sense of the dogma.

A fascinating insight!

Factual and insightful throughout. An interesting listen into the truths about heart disease and cholesterol, debunking many commonly believed theories along the way. Only downside is the narrator was a little boring and monotonous to listen to.

Strange choice of Narrator

This truthful ( and touch of sarcastic wit) book has given me so much insight into heart disease and how stressors in our life have much more influence on our overall health than cholesterol levels in our blood. Thank you Malcolm for this book and I can now understand that I could not have changed the path of my parents passing at relately young ages due to overprescribing of medications that eventually led to catastrophic health outcomes. I had to superimpose Malcolm’s humerus Scottish accent over the narrators. They could not have a more opposite dialect.

Totally Fascinating.

This book is informative, insightful and well researched. it's an absolute eye opener but it's incredibly entertaining and very funny too.

Shocking!

I can't believe how twisted the medical industry is in regards to cholesterol and heart disease. This is a must read if you have been told you have high cholesterol and told to take statins and if you want to know more about CHD.