Robert E. Kowalski
Encyclopedia
Robert E. Kowalski was a noted American
medical journalist
and best-selling author
.
Kowalski came to national prominence in 1987 with the publication of his New York Times best-selling book - On the list for a record-breaking 115 weeks - "The NEW 8-Week Cholesterol Cure". Kowalski also wrote "The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure Cookbook", "Cholesterol & Children", "8 Steps to a Healthy Heart (a guide to recovery from heart attack and bypass surgery)", "The Type II Diabetes Diet Book", and "The Blood Pressure Cure: 8 Weeks to Lower Blood Pressure Without Prescription Drugs".
Kowalski was 35 when he suffered a major heart attack and multiple-bypass surgery
. He had inherited the tendency for heart disease from his father, who died too young several years before.
Doctors assured him the problem was fixed. At that time, surgery was considered the only solution. Within six years, Kowalski was back on the operating table for another set of bypasses, following yet another major heart attack.
Determined not to leave his two young children without their father, he used his medical and journalist training to find the solution to saving his own life. The result was a heart-health program which he practiced and popularized in his books. He was a pioneer advocate for quitting smoking
, reducing saturated fat
and cholesterol
, increasing moderate exercise, and adding oat bran and fish oil
to a heart-healthy diet.
Kowalski received his education at Iowa State University
, where he was a dual major in biology
-chemistry
. He received his bachelor's in journalism
, then a master's in journalism and physiology
. He also completed the course work for a doctorate in physiology at Iowa State but did not finish his dissertation for the degree.
Kowalski died November 9, 2007 in Southern California
at the age of 65 from a pulmonary embolism
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
medical journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and best-selling author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Kowalski came to national prominence in 1987 with the publication of his New York Times best-selling book - On the list for a record-breaking 115 weeks - "The NEW 8-Week Cholesterol Cure". Kowalski also wrote "The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure Cookbook", "Cholesterol & Children", "8 Steps to a Healthy Heart (a guide to recovery from heart attack and bypass surgery)", "The Type II Diabetes Diet Book", and "The Blood Pressure Cure: 8 Weeks to Lower Blood Pressure Without Prescription Drugs".
Kowalski was 35 when he suffered a major heart attack and multiple-bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
. He had inherited the tendency for heart disease from his father, who died too young several years before.
Doctors assured him the problem was fixed. At that time, surgery was considered the only solution. Within six years, Kowalski was back on the operating table for another set of bypasses, following yet another major heart attack.
Determined not to leave his two young children without their father, he used his medical and journalist training to find the solution to saving his own life. The result was a heart-health program which he practiced and popularized in his books. He was a pioneer advocate for quitting smoking
Smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them...
, reducing saturated fat
Saturated fat
Saturated fat is fat that consists of triglycerides containing only saturated fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids have no double bonds between the individual carbon atoms of the fatty acid chain. That is, the chain of carbon atoms is fully "saturated" with hydrogen atoms...
and cholesterol
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a complex isoprenoid. Specifically, it is a waxy steroid of fat that is produced in the liver or intestines. It is used to produce hormones and cell membranes and is transported in the blood plasma of all mammals. It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes...
, increasing moderate exercise, and adding oat bran and fish oil
Fish oil
Fish oil is oil derived from the tissues of oily fish. Fish oils contain the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid , and docosahexaenoic acid , precursors of certain eicosanoids that are known to reduce inflammation throughout the body, and are thought to have many health benefits.Fish do not...
to a heart-healthy diet.
Kowalski received his education at Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
, where he was a dual major in biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
-chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
. He received his bachelor's in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, then a master's in journalism and physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
. He also completed the course work for a doctorate in physiology at Iowa State but did not finish his dissertation for the degree.
Kowalski died November 9, 2007 in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
at the age of 65 from a pulmonary embolism
Embolism
In medicine, an embolism is the event of lodging of an embolus into a narrow capillary vessel of an arterial bed which causes a blockage in a distant part of the body.Embolization is...
.