Spitz says drugs will mar Games

When Mark Spitz stepped off the elevator on the fourth floor of the Deseret News building Wednesday afternoon, business stopped. Well, maybe not stopped, but at least slowed.

He had a half-dozen pairs of eyes, most of them female, following his every move.

Yes, if you're wondering, he still looks good at 50.

Same guy who looked so good at 22 that they sold millions of his posters with those gold medals splayed across his bare chest.

Fact is, Spitz feels good, too, which was the point of his visit.

Spitz, the most famous swimmer in history, is crossing the country in hopes of spreading the bad word about high cholesterol. If you're a pizza salesman, you don't want to read this; if you're a pizza eater, you might: 97 million Americans have cholesterol levels higher than recommended. More than half of those have levels that should have some sort of medical intervention.

The idea of enlisting Spitz as a spokesman was logical. He's the picture of health. He still works out several times a week. A decade ago, he made a serious run at making the U.S. Olympic team, 18 years after winning seven medals at the 1972 Olympic Games at Munich. To this day he looks as though he has never uttered the phrase "Super-size it!"

Still, even a good diet and exercise don't necessarily immunize someone from dangerously high cholesterol levels.

"Cholesterol isn't something you can see, taste or feel, and just because you exercise three or four times a week and look good in your clothes doesn't mean anything," he said. "That's not a good indicator."

Spitz learned as much first-hand. At age 45, after numerous urgings by his wife, he got a cholesterol test. He wasn't expecting any problems. After all, this is a guy who at 40 was turning in times that were 97 percent of those he clocked when he was hauling gold home by the caseload. Weight training and diet had turned back the clock. Even at that age he was working out 4 1/2 hours a day and living on a mostly vegetable diet.

He once told his doctor he'd never heard of anyone ever dying of scrambled eggs. In fact, about 23,000 people in the Salt Lake area die of heart disease each year, which is often associated with high levels of cholesterol.

But genetics are also a major factor. In Spitz's case, exercise and diet still weren't enough. After being diagnosed, he was placed on medication, which allowed him to lower his count from 303 to 187. In general, the desired total cholesterol level is below 200.