Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Copyright -- Notes -- Introduction -- How to use this book -- Chapter 1 The toxic bulge -- Chapter 2 Fat, diabetesand heart disease -- Can you really prevent diabetes? -- What if you already have diabetes? -- We're all heading that way -- What is heart disease? -- Don's story -- What is a heart attack and why does it happen? -- What's angina? -- What is acute coronary syndrome? -- Are there different kinds of heart disease? -- How can I escape the epidemic? -- Chapter 3 The diabolic slide -- The epidemic -- Does that mean I needn't bother if my cholesterol's OK? -- You cannot judge risk by cholesterol alone -- Chapter 4 Cholesteroland lipids explained -- What is cholesterol? -- What do you mean by 'lipids'? -- Cholesterol on the move -- The good, the bad and the ugly -- What should the total cholesterol level be? -- Dangerously low? -- An important test of the drugs -- Should we all be taking a drug, then? -- Chapter 5 Fat -- A fatuous phrase -- Get your fats straight -- Animal, vegetable or mineral? -- More fat please. We're British -- A fat lot of good -- A lot of good fat -- What about 'trans fatty acids'? -- What are 'essential fatty acids'? -- If it's 'good fat', can I have as much as I want? -- Fat chance of enjoying a healthy meal then? -- Dairy products -- Milk -- Cream -- Cheese -- Meat and meat products -- Red meat -- Game -- Poultry -- Meat products -- Meat substitutes -- Fats and oils -- The new fat spreads - a spreading revolution? -- Middle-age spread? -- Nuts -- Snack foods -- Fat substitutes -- Chapter 6 Carbohydrate -- Chapter 7 Salt -- The salt of the earth -- The great salt scandal -- Won't salt restriction cramp my style? -- Assault on the taste buds -- What about salt substitutes? -- There's always pepper, I suppose -- Chapter 8 Fish -- A fishy theory.

What do you mean by oily fish? -- What's so special about these omega-3 fatty acids? -- More fish in the sea -- All fins bright and beautiful . . . -- How often? -- What about fish oil supplements? -- Benefits of fish oil in doubt -- Shellfish indulgence? -- Chapter 9 Antioxidants -- Chapter 10 Garlic -- There must be something in it -- Garlic and cholesterol -- Garlic and thrombosis -- Garlic and blood pressure -- Survival in stink? -- Chapter 11 Alcohol -- To your health! -- The J-shaped curve -- What's the limit? -- How can alcohol protect against coronary heart disease? -- What's your poison? -- Should I start drinking? -- Drinking to your heart's content -- Chapter 12 Coffee or tea? -- The mystery ingredient -- But we don't boil our coffee like the Scandinavians -- What about other types of coffee? -- What about tea? -- Isn't herbal tea more healthy? -- Hard to beat -- Chapter 13 Getting your balance -- On balance -- When you're getting on -- When you're expecting -- The balanced shopper -- What about the bank balance? -- Chapter 14 Eating in - eating out -- Eating in -- Eating in - South Asian style -- Eating out -- Chapter 15 Foreign food -- The Japanese diet -- The Mediterranean diet -- 'The French paradox' -- Chapter 16 Feeding children -- An early start -- Feeding an infant - the first two years -- Feeding an infant - the first two years -- From two to five years -- She hardly eats a thing! -- From five years -- Why start so young? -- Chapter 17 Moderation in all things? -- But we all need some fat, don't we? -- Surely there are dangers in making radical dietary changes? -- Chapter 18 Weight - dump your toxic waist! -- Mass hysteria? -- What is body mass index? -- A weighty problem -- Why are we getting fatter? -- The metabolic myth -- Fats and figures -- What a waist -- How big should my belly be? -- Dieting can damage your health.

What about drugs? -- How to take control of your weight -- Nothing to lose? -- Setting goals -- Reduce fat intake -- Choose well - go low-GL -- In praise of protein -- Check your balance -- A word of caution -- Akin to Atkins? -- Plan ahead -- Eaten plenty? Give it twenty -- Feast, don't fast -- Size doesn't matter. Or does it? -- On your marks. Get set . . . -- Congratulations! -- Keeping it up -- Chapter 19 Control your cholesterol -- Checking your cholesterol -- On the level -- Total cholesterol less than 5.0 mmol/l -- Total cholesterol 5.1-6.4 mmol/l -- Total cholesterol 6.5-7.8 mmol/l -- Total cholesterol above 7.8 mmol/l -- Getting the low down -- Keep saturated fat intake as low as possible -- Favour friendly fats -- Eat fish at least twice a week -- Eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day -- The secret combination -- Maintaining the high -- Where do triglycerides fit in? -- What about all the cholesterol in my food? -- I can't get my cholesterol down -- Chapter 20 Exercise -- Why bother? -- Are you a sitting duck? -- The object of the exercise -- Running the risk -- What precautions should I take? -- Take it gradually -- Take it easy -- Take notice of your body -- Take time to warm-up and cool-down -- Take your pulse -- Take plenty of fluids -- Take your doctor's advice if you have a medical problem -- Take the right equipment -- Take a couple of hours to digest your lunch -- Take a break if you're unwell -- Take heart -- How much exercise do I need? -- Does a half-hearted effort do any good? -- What sort of exercise should I do? -- Exercise your choice -- Fit in 30 minutes a day? -- Exercise is easy: you can walk it -- Chapter 21 Smoking -- Smoke alarmism? -- Are you putting up a smoke screen? -- The age of innocence -- Just a pipe dream? -- The big smoke -- Do unto others . . . -- Is it too late to stop?.

Kicking the habit -- Ready . . . -- Steady . . . -- Stop! -- You've given up now. Don't give up now -- Chapter 22 Blood pressure -- How can I tell if my blood pressure's high? -- Measurement of blood pressure -- Safety in numbers? -- What if my number's up? -- Could it be a wrong number? -- The mean machine -- Are you due for an age rise? -- What does high pressure do to you? -- Can treatment really help? -- To treat, or not to treat? -- What difference does diabetes make? -- Managing high blood pressure -- Drugs used to treat high blood pressure -- Diuretics -- Beta-blockers (beta-adrenoreceptor blockers) -- Calcium channel blockers -- ACE inhibitors -- Angiotensin receptor blockers -- Alpha-blockers (alpha-adrenoreceptor blockers) -- Side effects -- How does a doctor choose a drug? -- Should I take aspirin? -- A lifestyle to lower the pressure -- Salt -- Alcohol -- Fat -- Exercise -- The DASH diet -- Chapter 23 Stress -- Is stress a cause of heart disease? -- Psychosocial stress -- How does the body respond to stress? -- Can stress reduction lower the risk of heart disease? -- Stress busting -- Relaxation -- Respiration. Breathing is essential -- Relaxation of muscle and mind -- A relaxation session -- Replay. Got it taped? -- Recreation -- Retiring - to bed, I mean -- Exercise -- Strategies for stress reduction -- Stress diary -- Solving problems -- Social skills training -- Sex -- Stroking a pet -- Saving time -- Talk -- Talking it through -- Taking advice -- Talking therapy -- Chapter 24 The truth about women -- Why do women lag behind? -- The lipid link -- Don't forget your change -- The Iron Lady? -- Heart disease in women -- Hormone Replacement Therapy -- Oestrogen and progesterone - nature's double act -- Why replace what nature has taken away? -- Pause, O men -- Is HRT good for the heart? -- Why should HRT protect against heart disease?.

More bad news -- Should I take HRT? -- Chapter 25 Assessing your risk -- Relative risk -- Gene genie? -- The risk factors -- Young at heart -- Should I have my cholesterol checked? -- APT to underestimate? -- A ready reckoner of risk -- Measuring your risk in centimetres -- A change of heart -- It just doesn't add up -- Chapter 26 If you alreadyhave heart disease -- It's too late now, isn't it? -- Dealing with angina -- Heart attack! -- After a heart attack -- What drugs are used for coronary heart disease? -- Treating heart failure -- Controlling angina -- Preventing future heart attacks -- Drug treatment of raised cholesterol -- Trials and triumphs -- The lowest of the low -- Other drugs -- The stars -- What are we aiming for? -- Chapter 27 Looking forward -- The Polypill - poppycock or panacea? -- There must be something in it -- Why stop here? -- Making it happen -- Chapter 28 The 28-day plan -- The MUNCH method -- Balance your fats -- Vary your vegetables -- Cooking vegetables -- Using GL as a portion guide -- Pulses -- Fruit -- Pasta -- Thick and fast -- Sweet nothings -- Bitter regret -- A salt course for beginners -- Spice power -- Game for a laugh -- The grain, the whole grain and nothing but . . . -- Wet or dry? -- Oat cuisine -- A practical plan -- MUNCH yourself slim -- What if I'm losing too much weight on the plan? -- What if I'm not losing enough weight? -- Keeping hunger at bay -- Could I have a food allergy? -- What if my cholesterol level isn't going down? -- Time to get a move on -- The 28-day plan -- Chapter 29 Recipes -- Chapter 30 Action checklist -- It's only once a week, Doc -- Priorities, practicalities and precautions -- Glossary -- Appendix 1 Useful organisations -- Appendix 2 Useful publications -- Cooking and Eating -- Stopping Smoking -- General Health -- Stress -- Index.