Robert Kowalski and the 8-Week Cholesterol Cure

Robert Kowalski and the 8-Week Cholesterol Cure.

Robert Kowalski's book has been on the New York Times bestseller's list for over 100 weeks, and depending on when you read this paper, it may be at week 120. So successful is The 8-week Cholesterol Cure that some physicians now recommend that patients take Kowalski's advice.

That, however, was not always the case.

A medical writer, Kowalski, 49, was at first the subject of harsh criticism. At its 1987 annual meeting, the American Heart Association practically labeled him a quack. Without a medical degree, Kowalski-they thought-was not someone who should author a book on cholesterol and heart disease.

Today, physicians line up to shake his hand. His new book, 8 Steps to a Healthy Heart is already being called "a masterpiece...inspirational...required reading for all heart patients."

Changing the Way America Eats

One of his devoted followers is Darrell Sifford, columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer who recently interviewed the acclaimed medical writer. Kowalski introduced Sifford-who suffered a heart attack and bypass surgery-and millions of others, to magic of oat bran. His love for the earthy grain is based largely on his own experience with it and his cholesterol.

"My father died of a heart attack at 57, my mother at 72, my sister at 58, my brother in his middle 50s," he told Sifford. "I knew that I'd have a heart attack and I assumed it would come when I was in my 50s."

"I was very cavalier about it. I told people I intended to live fast, die young and be a good looking corpse."

Kowalski really believed he was going to die young. He even told his new employer not to bother with his...