Sharing Success Stories - People Who Wanted More Than a Prescription to Increase Their Odds of a Healthy Future - They've Made Lifestyle Changes "For Life!"

Real LIfe Adventures-Gary Wise and Lance Aldrich 2/5/2011

 

"Folks with high cholesterol often are overweight, and if they deal with their cholesterol through medication only, they leave themselves open to such other chronic health problems as diabetes, high blood pressure, and arthritis." 

"The thought of controlling cholesterol solely through medication is an unfortunate point of view.  There are a lot of other factors, especially when it comes to body weight, that the medications won't help. 

"The idea that 'I'll just take medications' isn't a very healthy option, especially for the long term."

Dr. Alice Lichtenstein, director and senior scientist at the Cardiovascular Nutrition Lab at Tufts University, December 28, 2010.

 

If you received this post via email click here to get to the web version with photos & links. 

For every 8.8 pound increase in the weight portion of one's BMI--the risk of developing ischemic heart disease increases by more than 50%. Three recent Danish studies, based on 81,000 Danish men & women found a direct cause & effect between elevated BMI (body mass index) and raised heart disease risk--the more weight a person gains, the greater the risk of developing narrowed heart arteries & reduced blood flow to the heart.   Dr. Borge Nordestgaard, the University of Copenhagen.  Presented at the AmericanHeart Association Meeting, November, 2010.

 

  "Stents & bypasses are just temporary patch jobs.  If you have blockages in one place assume you have them everywhere--and unless you radically change your diet, stents, bypasses, and statins are no guarantee that you won't have a future cardiovascular event."  from "What I Learned at Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease School"

 

"Multiple studies show that if you have one ruptured plaque you have many."  -Dr. Steven Nissen, chairman of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic-

"We can't cure this disease until we address the fundamentals of lifestyle."  -Dr. Eric Topol-

 

Why not just take a statin instead of following a strict diet? 

• Most lipid-lowering studies show a slower progression of cardiovascular disease---slower PROGRESSION is still PROGRESSION
• Most lipid-lowering studies show 30% fewer new heart attacks.  What about the other 70%?
• Most lipid-lowering studies show 30% fewer heart attack deaths.  What about the other 70%?
• Most lipid-lowering studies show 30% fewer surgical interventions will be needed.  What about the other 70%?
• And don't forget that statins increase the risk of developing diabetes by 9%.
• There are documented cognitive problems when statins are used in high-doses.
• As age & dose increases muscle pain & weakness increases in statin users.  70% of statins users who do not have muscle pain are shown to have microscopic inflammation in their muscle cells.
• Read more about the side effects in:  What The Experts Say About The Side Effects Of Statins. What Are They? What Causes Them? Who Is Most At Risk? How Are They Treated?
• Statins inhibit the HMG-coA Reductase, the enzyme in our body that makes cholesterol in our liver.  Our bodies need a certain amount of cholesterol to properly function--and to inhibit an enzyme can produce serious side effects.  Why take a statin, when a plant-based diet can lower cholesterol & inflammation without needing to inhibit HMG-coA reductase?

from "What I Learned at Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease School"

 

So What's the Goal?  Feeling Great, Getting Healthy and Improving the Numbers? Or Just Lowering the Numbers and Hoping That Works?

 

Think about this.  Have you ever heard anyone who is on statins, high blood pressure meds and diabetes drugs say: "I feel fantastic!  I've got tons of energy, I'm losing weight, my skin glows, and my joints no longer ache!"???

Probably not!  But I know people who switched to a no-oil plant-based diet, started to exercise--and whose doctors were able to lower or stop their medications, and they say:  "I feel amazing!  I've had to buy all new clothes because my weight dropped effortlessly, I've got energy that lasts all day long, I'm finally able to exercise without being breathless or my legs aching,  and  I can even get down on the floor to play with my grandkids."

 

Hearing Success Stories from Real People Motivates Us!  We Just Need to Keep On Hearing Them!

 

In January 2011 Dr. Thomas Houston of the University of Massachusetts published an article in the Annals of Internal Medicine about African-American patients who were motivated to make their own lifestyle changes to lower their out-of-control blood pressure after hearing others share their own success stories on a DVD.  Read the NYT essay "When Patients Share Their Stories Health May Improve"--here.

One big problem:  One good story wasn't enough to keep them motivated long-term to continue with the lifestyle changes they needed to make.  Why?  It turns out that some of us need continual support to stay motivated--we need to keep on hearing the success stories of others--and get support from others to sustain that change.   I know I do!

 

Nothing Beats Hearing Joey Aucoin & San'Dera Nation Tell Their Health Turn-Around Stories

 

San'Dera and Joey are two of my favorite health make-over stories in Forks Over Knives.  This morning a physician friend sent me the link to Oprah's site where some genius film editor put together a two minute clip of these two sharing their "get-pumped" motivational stories :  Go San'Dera & Joey!    Click here hear them (just 2 minutes)--too bad there's a 30-second ad you have to watch first.

 

I'm Healthy, I Exercise, I Eat Right - I'm Heart-Attack Proof.  Maybe Not.

 
I received this story 2 weeks ago from a professor who is the director of quantitative/psychometric methods at a major university.  It certainly motivates me--and he gave me permission to share this with you. 

 

Dear Healthy Librarian,

I just wanted to give you a "heartfelt"  thank you for your time and effort in putting together my favorite blog.

Approximately 2 1/2 years ago I had a very unexpected heart attack.

Although I am in my early fifties, I am slim, I bike to work (or walk when its snowing -- which is often in my neighborhood) -- i.e., I am not your typical poster boy for stents.

Nevertheless, one evening after enjoying a plate of chicken wings (from Trader Joes) I collapsed to the ground.

 

An hour of so later I had two stents in my heart (the so-called "widow maker" was blocked) and was told that I would be swallowing 8 pills a day for the rest of my life.

My first thought was "NO WAY am I listening to this overweight and puffy-looking doc."

The day after returning home I went to Barnes and Nobles and LUCKILY found Esselstyn's (the senior) book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease (I am sooo jealous that you actually know the Esselstyn's -- he is my number 1 hero).

 

I truly believe that this book saved my life.  My wife and 6 year old son (yeah, I was a very late starter) have been tremendously supportive of my new eating habits (jumping on the bandwagon) and we are now an oil free, vegan household (actually, my son, who was 4 at the time of my heart attack -- cried a very sympathetic wail when he heard that daddy was no longer going to eat ice cream).

Soon afterwards I found your blog and I have been a regular reader ever since.  In fact, I send your url to all of my middle-aged, paunchy friends (we are a bunch of Type I professors who find it amazing that we are no longer the young slim profs in the dept).

 

So THANK YOU very much for your wonderful blog.  I have learned a great deal from your writing.  I am also eating gourmet meals each night thanks to your recent cookbook tip.

And I am no longer on _any_ meds (although I do take vitamin D and Co-Q 10 each day). My blood work looks great and I thank you and Esselstyn for that!

Thanks again for your long distance support, encouragement, and teachings.

BTW - if you and your husband are ever in this part of the country, and long for a yummy vegan pizza, our freezer is stocked with Sami's whole grain pizza crusts.  We would love to make one (or two, or three) for you.

Best,

The Healthy Professor

 

I'm Young, I'm Veganish, Heart Disease Isn't Anything I Need to Think About!

 

Five days after I heard from the professor, I received this email with a similar story--but with a twist.

Jeff had been a vegan for 13 years before he got the surprise of his life.  Hey, we all know that not all vegan diets are the same.   You can eat a heart-attack proof high-nutrient no-oil plant-based diet.  Or you can load your shopping cart with Daiya (vegan) cheese, Earth Balance margarine, Amy's Frozen Dinners, Veganaise (vegan mayo), French fries,  and faux fatty vegan "meats". 

If any of you caught Kathy Freston on Oprah's "Let's Get Healthy & Go Vegan" show that aired on February 7, 2011.... you'll know why that show was so frustrating for me.   If the point of her vegan challenge is to promote a vegan diet for ethical reasons, OK, eat fake or fatty foods---but don't go on national television & let people think that Kathy Freston's version of vegan is the way to superior health.  It's not!  Check out Kathy's "Helpful" Shopping List here and you'll see what I mean.   This is how I used to eat--and I never lost a pound, & my lipids didn't improve.  Then reads this!

 

Dear Healthy Librarian,

 

I just wanted to take a minute and thank you for your blog. It's a great source of information that I found this summer when I was looking for answers.

Here's my story:  I'm 37 years old, and last July I received a stent at the young age of 36. It was frightening to say the least. I went to the cardiologist because I wasn't able to ride my bicycle with the same power and speed I was used to

They ended up finding a 70% blockage in my LAD.   If I would have known everything I know now, I may have probably declined the stent and changed my lifestyle, but there's nothing I can do about it now (except take every step I can to make sure it doesn't happen again).

The interesting thing about my story is that I was Vegan for about 13 years.  Of course, I was a very unhealthy vegan.   I ate a lot of processed vegan food and was a bad overeater.

About 1.5 years before I got my stent, I decided I was going to 'downgrade' to being vegetarian.  I'm almost positive this move is what led to the blockage.

Anyway, I've been on the Esselstyn train since a few days after my stent (side note: in the hospital the morning after my procedure they gave me an omelette covered with cheese - which I couldn't bring myself to eat).

To date I've lost about 45 pounds and I feel great. I admit that I've slipped here and there - mostly while out - with things like regular hummus or white pasta (and the gravy that had olive oil in it that my mom bought me for Thanksgiving),  but over the last few months I've really come to understand how important it is to be faithful to this way of eating.

The nice part is that since I was vegan for so long it doesn't really feel too restrictive to me.

They did start me on statins while I was in the hospital, so I'm not sure what my cholesterol was prior to the stent. I did have my cholesterol tested a few weeks after the stent and it looked like this:

Component	Your Value	Standard Range	Units
CHOLESTEROL (LAB)	111	< 200	mg/dL
TRIGLYCERIDES	82	< 150	mg/dL
HDL CHOLESTEROL	29	> 40	mg/dL
LDL CHOLESTEROL, CALCULATED	66	< 100	mg/dL
VLDL CHOLESTEROL, CALCULATED	16	< 31	mg/dL
NON-HDL CHOLESTEROL	82	< 130	mg/dL

I had it tested again about a month and a half after the stent and my change to a plant-based no-oil diet and it looked like this:

Component	Your Value	Standard Range	Units
CHOLESTEROL (LAB)	70	< 200	mg/dL
TRIGLYCERIDES	28	< 150	mg/dL
HDL CHOLESTEROL	29	> 40	mg/dL
LDL CHOLESTEROL, CALCULATED	35	< 100	mg/dL
VLDL CHOLESTEROL, CALCULATED	6	< 31	mg/dL
NON-HDL CHOLESTEROL	41	< 130	mg/dL

Pretty dramatic!  My cardiologist was pretty blown away by these numbers.  He asked what I did.  I said "I've radically changed my diet" and he replied,  "You've definitely done something!"

He cut my statin in half and I'm about due for another test. It'll be interesting to see if I can quit taking the statin altogether.

I have some more weight to lose (about 30 or so pounds - I'm 6'1" - I was about 260 in July and I'm about 210 now) and I'm hoping the extra weight loss will allow me to discontinue that medication as well

It's been quite a journey. I'm just glad that through this experience I was able to reclaim my health. This is definitely a change for life. Why would I ever want to change when I've seen and felt the results!?  It's amazing.

Thanks so much and I look forward to reading your blog for years to come!

Jeff

 

After the Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment--What's Next?  When Your Doctor Says You Can Just Return to Your "Normal Life"

 

Dear Healthy Librarian,

I just wanted to let you know, how much I appreciate your generosity.  I was a slim, otherwise apparently healthy woman in her early forties (good blood pressure, cholesterol etc.) who got a shock when she was diagnosed with aggressive cancer.

After I completed treatment (surgery, chemo and radiation) my doctors told me to go back to my "normal" life. I did not feel comfortable with that.

I resolved to change my habits but how???--finding reliable information is very difficult.  I started reading everything I could get my hands on and a few months after I commenced my search I stumbled on your blog when I read a comment that you made on the New York Times website.

As soon as I started reading your site,  I felt as if I had stumbled into a wonderland of useful life changing information.  Since I found your blog in Autumn 2009, I have radically changed my diet, exercise etc. and I have also encouraged my father to change as we ll.

People are always asking us now what we are up to. We look so different. I look and feel totally different. I feel much better than I did before the cancer. I have introduced your blog to many people. I want you to know how grateful I feel for your efforts. Truly, you are a force for good in the world. I think of you affectionately every morning when I am making green smoothies with my VitaMix. I hope you can feel the love! Best wishes for your health and happiness, OL

 

As I finished writing this post yesterday, I heard from my friend Joyce who's been 95% following plant-based no-oil for a few months.  She just got her latest lipid panel back--and it was stellar!

I also just heard yesterday from a reader from New Mexico who has made major lifestyle changes over the past year & she, too, just got back her doctor's report.  What a success story she has to share!  But, I'll have to save that one for another day.

 

 When it comes to our health (and happiness is a part of it), all of us want to be in control--and to know that there's something (in addition to--or instead of only pills & procedures) that we can do for ourselves to get there.  

 

Your thoughts?  I'm kind of, sort of, maybe, thinking about taking the plunge & creating a Happy Healthy Long Life Facebook page so I can better share quick links to articles/books I'm reading, news, tips, recipes, quick answers to common questions readers ask me, etc--that I never have a chance to share on the blog.  And better yet--you all can more easily share your tips/comments/recipe photos.   I'd love your feedback on this.   Will it be a huge time abyss??

Recipe Feedback:  I've heard "thumbs up" for the Vindaloo Tofu Curry from readers--it is spicy--but just right.  And a reader's tip to add kale instead of spinach  to the Savory Cheezy Oatmeal.   He says the savory keeps him full and feeling better than the fruited sweet variety. 

 

Comments

[Mina]

Definitely make a facebook page! Also, can you email me your black bean brownie recipe?

Mina

[The Healthy Librarian]

OMG, Mina! This is FIRST for you! Must be a good idea. Want to help me?

[claire]

We would LOVE to see you do a facebook page - it will be a great opportunity for readers to create a community and forum, as well as specific Q&A's...and to provide the support and inspiration that you just wrote about.
It was MADDENING to see the 'vegan shopping list' that was posted - fruits and veg were way down the list, and got very short shrift -- her list looked more like a processed food junk diet...it's sad to see this kind of 'information' disseminated!

[Bonnie]

I would love to see a Facebook page. My husband and I have been following the Esselstyn diet for nearly six months. Our primary motivation was to lower cholesterol without statins. As soon as we started the new diet for life, both of us saw our weight drop lower than it was when we were fairly slim high schoolers. Cholesterol numbers are improving. I am so grateful that I discovered your blog. I love trying the recipes and appreciate the scientific as well as the anecdotal information you post.

[Happy]

ANYTHING you want to communicate to us is something I will read and try to use for myself and my family. I'm on Facebook; that would work for me. But I love your blog posts! Would they get shorted if your attention is diverted to Facebook?

Speaking of wanting quick communication -- Forks Over Knives was supposed to be released last October, then this March, and now not until May. That's withholding powerful information for a long time from audiences who could be benefiting from it. When am I going to actually see the whole thing?

[The Healthy Librarian]

Oh, Happy, so nice to hear from you! It's been awhile. Hope you're doing well--and planning your garden. Not at all sure why the delay in FOK. Let's hope it will come out in May. If I did Facebook--it would be secondary--and not a blog replacement. Thanks for your sweet words!

[Jen]

I am not on Facebook. I hope (and pray) that if you do start a Facebook page, you will continue with the same blog posting that we have all come to love. Your blog has become my "go to" site! Thanks from the bottom of my heart for all the selfless, time consuming devotion you give to the rest of us. I am so glad to "know" you.

By the way, your little grandson is one precious guy!

[surfsalterpath]

....yes, to FB

[Jane Esselstyn]

I almost had a tear reading those stories.
Huge thanks! And I am serious, I still want your Granny Smith cilantro salsa!

[Sonja]

Ok, facebook is a huge time sink for me to just try to figure out. I need a lesson (I have an account to track my kids, but I don't check it often). So, I'm one that says I FAITHFULLY read your blog (thanks for the emails) and I really don't want to have to go to FB to find you.
And I LOVED today's post... I just had some rather oily vegan pot-stickers... with my otherwise good dinner. So, it puts me back on track. THANKS.

[Leslie]

RE: Facebook - it could expand your reach, but it is also a huge time suck. I'd be happy to help you if you go that route - it's not too hard.
DIL

[Georgia Kinninger]

Yours is the ONLY blog I go to. I am not on Facebook and can hardly find time to do my emails. Please do keep the blog a priority.

Like you, I turned 60 in 2010 and with it came remarkable changes. It started with a positive diagnosis for breast cancer and (after a lumpectomy and radiation) ended with the blessings of finding The China Study and your blog. Over the past nine months of eating mostly vegan and plant based, my husband dropped from 200 to 180 lbs. and I dropped 10 lbs. from my 5'9" frame. It hasn't been hard making the food transition, but it has been a big step. We've gone from most meals having some form of dairy and meat to plant based with no dairy and almost no meat. Our focus has mostly been anti-cancer, but now I'm seeing the benefits of moving it up a notch to getting more serious about heart health and brain function. So, why not?

I get inspired by your blog and I thank you so much for all your effort and the information you share with us. We call you Happyhealthy. "Have you read Happyhealthy's most recent blog?" we ask my sister or each other. We are so grateful. You have given us access to resources we couldn't/wouldn't have found and your enthusiasm for life and love and family really shines through.

[Hank]

http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/meeting_abstract/24/1_MeetingAbstracts/948.2

data from 2-year old ... mice ... support our hypothesis that dietary fermentable fiber mimics many of the effects of diet restriction on health span and longevity.

[Willow]

Even if you start a facebook page (which I would read) please keep posting here! I'm encouraged by these stories to keep on going!

[Ginger]

I love your blog. I have learned so much important information I would not have received otherwise. I am not a member of facebook orecisely because of the time-sink issue. If you do choose to go down the facebook path I (selfishly) ask you to please keep this blog as your main focus. Thanks again for all you have shared to date.

[Healthy Librarian]

Thank you to everyone for sharing your opinions about whether or not I should add a FB page.
If I did Facebook it's NOT to replace the blog. That would not change!

It's like a place for "overflow"--a quick easy way for me to share things I learn about that I can't just put into a blog post--you guys would kill me if sent out an email post just to share quick chit-chat about Dr. Neal Barnard's new cancer cookbook, the scanpan, the 3 amazing articles that passed my desk at work today, the spicy blue potato corn recipe I just made last night, Dr. Gilbert Welch's interview with Ira Flatow on Science Friday, and on & on.

And its a way for you all to also share tips & reactions instantly.

[Healthy Librarian]

Jane,

Here's the link to the Red Lentil Mulligatawny with Granny Smith salsa

http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/red-lentil-mulligatawny-w.html

Mina: no link to the Black Bean Brownies--I'll email it to you.

[Healthy Librarian]

Georgia,

Your story is "IM" an inspiration & a motivation! Wow! Years ago I heard Dr. Mladen Golubic (when doing cancer research) said the best way to "clean" up your diet is in one fell swoop as you did--that way you see how dramatically better you feel and the changes it makes. I laughed out loud when I read what your husband & sis call me! BTW--whatever you're doing for you cancer--is the same as for your heart & brain. Thanks for writing!

[Gael in Vermont]

What a wonderful posting today! For me, reading other peoples' stories and how they managed to overcome big pharma and serious medical issues is very motivating. We don't get this kind of information from our regular primary care docs. It's unconscionable that there is an alternative way to overcome these diseases that stem from the standard American diet, and our doctors are not shouting it from the rooftops! Between the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society, we don't stand a chance! And, btw, I'd love a quick check-in on FB and the opportunity to talk to others who frequent this life-saving blog. Thanks Deb!

[Ken Leebow]

Quotes that say it all . . .

Exercise is better than any drug or anything else we have for aging. There's no downside. If this were a drug, it would be the safest, most effective drug in the universe. - Dr. James O. Hill

Food is the most powerful clinical intervention against chronic disease doctors have. We should be able to write recipes on prescription slips, just like prescription medication. And every doctor should know how. - Dr. John La Puma

[Michele (Betty)]

In case you haven't located a source for wheat groats, I found one at:

http://www.barryfarm.com/

This is a good company that I have delt with in the past. The other thing they have that I have ordered id julienned sundried tomatoes. I have been doing the knife work myself in the past.

Only thing against ordering is that the shipping is steep. I don't think any other website for such products has lower shipping though. It's just that grains are heavy. I have no other choice though, no one carries them locally.

[Carol]

Re: your comment above - we wouldn't kill you.

More of all this sounds neat, but I'm one of those who has avoided joining Facebook, and I'd hate to miss anything.

[Charles J Huebner MD]

Dear Healthy Librarian,
I have been a regular reader of your website, which is outstanding. I have followed Dr. Esselstyn's program for over one year. I found out about his work from The China Study. He graciously invited me to attend his program in Cleveland and I was impressed with the results that he has achieved and the effort and commitment he put into his study. He has proved something rather astounding, that heart disease can be REVERSED with diet. I have lost 30 lbs. And stopped my cholesterol and blood pressure medications. My cholesterol and blood pressure are as god or better than with rx. In addition to my Rheumatology practice, I have started a Lifestyle Center and we are counseling patients on embracing vegan, no oil eating.

[Caroline M. in L.A.]

Please start a Facebook page. I would love to follow your quick posts. From one librarian to another...

[Jeff]

Great article (as usual)! I agree with The Healthy Professor - Dr. Esselstyn is my hero too. His level of compassion and dedication is really inspiring. I'm so glad that I found his book and this blog. My life has definitely been changed for the better.

[Pam Mayne]

Another fabulous post -- thank you, this one's a keeper! Have you ever heard Dr Esselsytn mention cancer rates in his patients? Someone on the McDougall board mentioned a while back that in a talk he'd heard by Dr E in 2008, Dr E said that in the 22 years of following the patients that participated in his study that they had only one instance of cancer. That just blows my mind when I stop and think about it -- 18 people, 22 years, *one* instance of cancer??? Compared to our national rates??? Not what he was studying, but wow, what a side effect!!!

Just tossing it in there as more motivation. :)

Pam

P.S. Oh, and as an addition to the blog and a way to potentially get more recipes :), yes indeedy to FB!!!