Books to help with Stenosis

[COYW]

Hi all - I've posted about self help books before. I'm two weeks post stent fitting. There are so many books out there that promise many things inc 'reversing'' stenosis which I think is probably far fetched but I'm willing to have a go if the self help sounds reasonable

I know the BHF is a very important source of info but I think multiple sources of info is important too. Any recommendations please? Thanks

[jimmyq]

I find nutritionfacts.org/ very helpful and informative.

[Chappychap]

I'll reiterate what you've already said. The BHF have published lots of really useful material, and what's more it's all solidly researched and reliable...unlike a lot of the other stuff out there, much of which is away with the fairies! So before venturing off piste I suggest you ground yourself in the conventional wisdom of the BHF!

I've read about eight or ten books about managing your atherosclerosis. The one I keep returning to is "Beat The Heart Attack Gene" by Dr Bradley Bale.

Starting in about the 1970's a narrative began to take hold that heart disease was primarily a cholesterol problem. This dominated thinking right up until the present day, however there's an alternative narrative that's now gaining traction which says the key problem isn't cholesterol but insulin. The argument runs that our carb rich, highly processed western diet, with the constant temptation of snacking every hour or two, has led us to become increasingly resistant to insulin. Our bodies need to produce more and more insulin to get the job done, and all this insulin swilling around in our arteries damages the arterial lining. Small particle LDL then migrates through the cracks in the arterial lining, which then triggers an inflammation reaction. This creates plaque within the arterial wall. If liquid plaque ruptures and is released into the bloodstream it will form a clot. If the clot gets blocked within the heart cutting off oxygen then it's a heart attack, if it gets blocked in the brain then it's a stroke.

Dr Bale's book is largely consistent with this contemporary theory. But it's not so dogmatic as to say this is the the only possible source of heart disease. It recognises (and discusses in detail) that there many root causes of heart disease, and although insulin resistance (ie a kind of pre-pre-T2 diabetes) is by far the main cause, it could also be a wide range of alternatives including smoking, vitamin deficiencies, gum disease, exposure to pollution or heavy metals, excess drinking, etc. Furthermore, your individual genes will make you more or less susceptible to each of these possibilities.

It's a good book that's well rooted in solid science and gives verifiable research links for all the main assertions. So yes, I'd recommend it.

However, I wouldn't recommend it unreservedly. The author has tried to make complex issues more accessible via cartoon illustrations. These often confuse rather than enlighten, and in any event they trivialise the topic. The book also fails to follow a rational line of argument, it jumps about which doesn't help comprehension.

Good luck with your enquiries!

[COYW in reply to Chappychap]

Thanks - thats really helpful.

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

Pure White and Deadly written by Prof John Yudkin in the early 1970's

He was a British based physiologist and nutritionist. The book discusses the role that refined sugar plays in obesity, diabetes and heart disease. He was way ahead of his time.

[marypw in reply to Milkfairy]

Such a shame that book got so ignored for so long! Another golden oldie was the 'F plan diet' - essentially low GI, so way ahead of its time as well.

[COYW in reply to Milkfairy]

Thanks!