The Cholesterol Wars: Steinberg Strikes Back
A Review of The Cholesterol Wars: The Skeptics vs. the Preponderance of the Evidence by Daniel Steinberg, MD, PhD.
Academic Press, 2007
January 16, 2008Book Review by Chris Masterjohn
Daniel Steinberg can be called nothing short of a true expert on cholesterol. He started his medical training in 1941 and spent over forty years researching atherosclerosis and producing hundreds of publications on the topic. He is one of the prime architects of the lipid hypothesis -- the idea that elevated levels of cholesterol and especially LDL in the blood cause heart disease.
In his new book, The Cholesterol Wars: The Skeptics vs. The Preponderance of the Evidence, Dr. Steinberg argues that cholesterol and lipoproteins have been "indicted, tried, and ultimately found guilty" of causing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. He takes us through the entire history of this century-long trial and tells it from the perspective of one who was intimately involved in shaping it.
The majority of the science in the book is solid, and the arguments are generally well reasoned. So how is it that this conclusion can seem so far off?
