Sokolof, Phil
SOKOLOF, PHIL
SOKOLOF, PHIL (1921–2004), U.S. health crusader. Sokolof, who was born in Omaha, Nebraska, went into home building after four years with a band as a song-and-dance man. He found a way to produce certain construction components less expensively and started producing them himself. He founded the Phillips Manufacturing Company in 1955 and became a millionaire several times over. But in 1966, after a heart attack, he educated himself to the dangers of high cholesterol and began bombarding food manufacturers and others. His campaign gained ammunition from evidence linking cholesterol with clogged arteries and heart disease. He founded the nonprofit National Heart Savers Association in 1985 and supported free cholesterol screenings around the country. His organization's tests of cholesterol levels helped to persuade Congress to proclaim a National Know Your Cholesterol Month and to persuade food processors to cut down on the use of highly saturated coconut and palm oils. The foundation was also credited with helping to pass legislation strengthening requirements for listing cholesterol content on food labels. He wrote Add Years to Your Life (2002).
[Stewart Kampel (2nd ed.)]