Happy Healthy Long Life

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. 

 

The Pre-Release Screening of the Documentary "Forks Over Knives" Just Played in My Hometown - A Little Like a Rock Concert/Academy Award "Red Carpet" Event for Plant-Based & Plant-Strong Fans

 
The Plant Perfect Doctor and the Plant-Strong Fireman  (Esselstyns - Father & Son)

 

 

 

So Caught Up in the Energy of the Evening--This is the Only Photo I Took--My Half-Eaten Delicious Whole Foods Boxed Lunch

 

Our "To (not) Die-For" Plant-Strong Whole Foods Pre-Movie Dinner included:

Middlle Eastern style seitan kabobs with grillled red onion and cherry tomatoes

Wild rice & lentil salad with currants, citrus and pomegranate

Red pepper hummus with veggie dippers--potato slices (a most excellent dipper), peppers, cucumbers

Vegan cocoa date bon-bon rolled in shredded coconut

Air-popped popcorn with herbs & nutritional yeast (yum!)

 

Forks Over Knives National Release - March 11, 2011

 

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

For almost a year now I've been singing the praises of Lee Fulkerson's well-done & eye-opening documentary, Forks Over Knives. It tells the story of how our Western diet is responsible for the sky-rocketing rates of obesity, heart disease, hypertension, and type-2 diabetes in the U.S.  It pulls no punches in explaining how our chronic diseases are really "food-borne" illnesses that need never exist--and if they do exist--how they can be reversed.  

It's also the story of two pioneering crusaders, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr.--both raised on farms in the 1930's--who steadfastly put the food/disease research puzzle pieces together--and are on a mission to change the way we eat.  

Esselstyn is the emeritus Cleveland Clinic surgeon/clinician who supervised the longest-running heart disease reversal study in the world--and Campbell is the eminent emeritus Cornell University nutrition researcher who conducted the lab & epidemiological cancer research that discovered the correlation between cancer cell growth and animal protein consumption--namely, meat & dairy.

Thanks to the Esselstyns, I saw a preview of Forks Over Knives last spring--and was wowed.  My good friend Babs, watched it with us last year, and was equally wowed--while our husbands took a pass & watched some boring forgetable sport playoffs instead.  

A documentary that's intelligent, understandable, lays out all the facts, yet is entertaining at the same time, is quite a feat!  FOK does it all.  And it has all the elements of a great flick: food, sex, power, money, politics, and triumphs!

I've already written a lot about the film--click here to read about it, so I'm not going to rehash it.  Right now I just want to share the spirit of the evening--and the Q & A of the post-film panel--something you won't find anywhere else. The panel included:

• Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr.
• Rip Esselstyn
• San'Dera Nation, the young woman in the movie who reversed her type-2 diabetes.
• Evelyn Oswick, one of Dr. Esselstyn's original 18 heart disease patients.  In 1985, her cardiologist told her he was out of treatment options for her, because her heart disease was so severe.   Evelyn's been true-blue plant-based oil-free now for 25 years--alive & thriving.

 

Like a Cross Between a Rock Concert & the Academy Awards "Red Carpet" for Plant-Based Health Fans

 

This was the hardest ticket to get in town.  The screening "sold-out" quickly--and by the time I tried to get a ticket, there were none to be had.  Of my friends, only Mary, the librarian--with whom I work & who's now a plant-based fan--was able to score a ticket.  Here's Something about Mary--she's a librarian and a nurse, and she thought I was a tad wacky with my plant-based no-oil diet.  That is, until she took home our library's copy of Dr. Esselstyn's  Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease to read.  Her pantry's had a complete make-over.  She's also a dynamite creative cook--so check back for some her no-oil plant-based culinary inventions.

A week before the film, Ann Esselstyn generously found a ticket for me, when one of their guests couldn't make it.

The theater lobby was packed, as we all waited for a half-hour to get into the theater.  Looked like everyone had arrived early.  I was hoping to run into some blog readers with whom I've corresponded--and who were lucky enough to get tickets.  No way--not with a crowd of this size--in these tight quarters.

But then I did.  How crazy is that?  My Red Carpet Crew:

• The pediatric cardiologist:  Out of the blue, I heard my name called, & it was Dr. A--the pediatric cardiologist who has been enthusiastically eating plant-strong for 18 months, and somehow stumbled upon my blog.  Any plant-strong diet doubters out there, consider this--if a pediatric cardiologist has decided to switch his diet, and that of his family--that's a pretty strong statement & tells you something!
• Wendy, the creator of the Healthy Girl's Kitchen blog.  She's a dynamo, who's been eating plant-strong for 18 months, and as a former Weight Watcher, she's on a mission to share her discovery:  if you eat plant-based--the foods highest on the nutrient scale  (think ANDI Rankings--click here to read more) you can eat as much as you want, feel fabulous, get healthy, feel full, lose weight effortlessly, and look great, to boot!  I LOVE Wendy's blog--her enthusiasm is catchy--and she has delicious kid-friendly recipes, like all-fruit soft-serves, and even a killer dessert hummus--plus she's just plain fun to read!  Check out her blog now!
• Dr. Caldwell and Ann Esselstyn--I even got to make my way through the crowd to say hello to them before the film started.  I spotted their daughter Jane Esselstyn Hart, a nurse practitioner, from a distance.  Jane is a dynamo, who is passionate about plant-based eating for disease reversal.  She teaches healthy eating workshops for diabetes & erectile dysfunction. Click here
• Rip Esselstyn--ran right into him, while I made my way to my seat.  If you don't know who Rip is?  Click here to find out.
• Dr. Mladen Golubic & his wife.   As I left the theater, I ran into Dr. Golubic, who is a brilliant physician/researcher with the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Integrative Medicine at the Clinic's Wellness Institute. Eight years ago, when Dr. Golubic was doing cancer research he presented a lecture at the hospital where I work, all about the health benefits of a plant-based diet.  I remember specifically asking him about olive oil, "Isn't no-oil old-school?  Dr. Walter Willett says olive oil is good for us.  What's wrong with using it--especially, if you're already healthy?"   He patiently explained the problems with oil to me back in 2003, but I chose to not listen--didn't want to give it up.  It was Mladen who also told me about Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book, back in 2003, "Eat to Live".   To read an interesting recent NPR story about Dr. Golubic, click here.  
• Jim Perko, the executive chef for the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Center--and many of the staff at the Wellness Center were also at the screening, according to Dr. Golubic.   Mladen told me Dr. Michael Roizen wanted to be there, but had to be out-of-town on the night of the screening.   

That's it for my ala Joan Rivers "Red Carpet" spiel.

 

Nothing Beats Watching Forks Over Knives in a Group

 

Best part about watching this film in the theater was listening to the audience's reaction.  I had seen the film twice before, once with my friend Babs, and once by myself.   I loved hearing how everyone was grabbed by the same scenes as I was:

• When Dr. Esselstyn says: 

"Some people think the "diet" is extreme.  Half a million people a year will have their chests opened up and a vein taken from their leg and sewn onto their coronary artery.  Some people would call that extreme."

"The elephant in the room when we talk about stents and bypass surgery--those procedures don't protect from new heart attacks.   Stents & bypasses are used to treat large arterial blockages.  Yet according to many research studies only a small percentage of heart attacks are caused by the largest build-up of plaque.  The rest are caused by the more numerous newer blockages that are far more inflamed and much more likely to rupture than the larger older, more stable plaques.  So this is why those procedures don't treat the disease.  They are treating the symptoms."

• When San'Dera Nation, a thirty-something who was overweight, hypertensive & diabetic before switching to a plant-based diet, says: 

"When I approached my primary care physician about stopping my meds, the doctor asked me,  'What is that doctor trying to do?  Take you off your medication?' I said, 'Yeah.  I'm hoping that's the goal.'"

• When Dr. T. Colin Campbell explains his "light-bulb" moment when he realized that animal protein promotes cancer cell growth.  He had replicated both an Italian & Indian study in his own lab--but with a twist. 
  

Campbell knew from previous research that when animals were fed casein, a milk protein, at levels above 20% of the calories in their diet--cancer cells were turned on--and when they were fed animal protein at levels below 5%  of their total calories, the cancer cells were turned off.  

Campbell constructed a study that fed the same animals, first a diet of 20% milk protein, and then switched it to 5%--and kept it up--switching them back & forth.  His light-bulb moment:  "You could literally turn liver cancer cells on and off--like a switch--just by manipulating the level of animal protein in their diets.  But plant protein, even in excess of 20% of calories, did not turn on cancer cells nor affect their growth."  For a bibliography of Campbell's research, click here.

• When Anthony Yen, one of Dr. Esselstyn's original 18 patients explains one of the best--and little-known benefits of going on a plant-based diet. You'll have to see the movie to learn this one.  Definitely, a crowd-pleaser!

• When Dr. Doug Lisle, author of The Pleasure Trap, explains:

The 3 reasons we get into problems with food are because we're biologically programmed to:

1.  Seek pleasure--from food & sex 
2.  Avoid pain
3.  Do everything with the least amount of effort

So, bingo!  We're perfectly programmed to eat fatty, sugary, salty foods because we're pleasure-seekers--and we want delicious-tasting (who cares about how healthy it is?) food the fastest way possible--because we're lazy.  Hello, McDonald's & KFC!   And these highly processed foods are all addictive.  To learn more about this, click here.

 

 

The Best of the Q & A from the Post-FOK Panel

 

How long does it take before you can see the beneficial effects of eating a plant-based diet?

Dr. Esselstyn:  After 3 weeks on a plant-based diet the endothelial cells in the linings of our blood vessels can recover.  This can be seen on a very sensitive test after 3-4 weeks.  But the changes actually begin immediately.

 

San'Dera, at the time the movie was made you were eating plant-based for 20 weeks and had lost 45 pounds.  Can you give us an update?

It will be 2 years this May that I've been eating plant-based.  My diabetes is gone.  I've been off diabetes medication for 1 1/2 years, now.  My whole home is now plant-based--although in the beginning, I cooked separately for my children.   But, then I realized, how can I let my kids eat junk, while I'm eating healthy food.  I didn't want outlive my children!   So, now they eat like I eat.   Look, I'm the parent--I'm the one who shops & cooks.  My teen-age son is now a plant-based fan--the girls love his skin & his acne's all gone. 

 

Evelyn, tell us some more about how you got started in the study.

I'm one of Dr. Esselstyn's original patients & I've been eating plant-based now for 25 years.  Back in 1985 my doctor told me to just go home and prepare to die--but then, as an aside he told me about the study Dr. Esselstyn was conducting at the Cleveland Clinic.   When he told me about his crazy diet, I said,  "I'd rather die than eat that way."   But then I started to think--do I really want to die & leave all I've worked so hard for--a wonderful family--a beautiful home--to my husband?    And I knew he would remarry.  So, after a week of thinking about it, I called Dr. Esselstyn and said I wanted to participate in his study.  He told me that I was the last person he ever thought would call him back.  Essie, was fantastic, but you had to do things exactly as he prescribed, or he'd show you the door.  There were no half-way measures with Essie.  We met with him every 2 weeks--he looked at everything we ate--and checked our lipid levels.  He know whether or not we were following the program.

 

If this research on diet & heart disease is so compelling, why isn't this the first thing doctors tell us about?  Why doesn't everyone know about this?

Dr. Esselstyn:  Doctors have been cautious, and that was appropriate, until this heart disease prevention/reversal diet evolved and the proof was established.   Now, 25 years later we know it works.  Given the lack of time & the reimbursement issues that physicians have these days, it will likely become increasingly difficult for doctors to offer this option, because it involves behavior modification & needs hands-on support.  But, they shouldn't feel that they have to be the ones to supervise the behavior modification & provide the diet support necessary for this program.  There are others who can be trained, and are better able to provide the support necessary to help patients make these major lifestyle changes.

 

But, what about people with on low & fixed incomes?  People who couldn't possibly afford to pay for the kind of food you need on a plant-based diet?

Rip:  Rice and beans are cheap.  Eating plant-based is absoluely affordable.  I've worked out a $305/month food budget for two--eating plant-based & even shopping at Whole Foods.  That's $5/day per person.   That's affordable.  It involves buying in bulk, using some frozen fruits & vegetables--and I'm not talking about organics--conventional produce is just fine, if that's what you can afford.

San'Dera:  Eating plant-based is cheaper than even buying bulk chicken & pork chops.  You can easily spend more than $15 a day at McDonald's, Burger King, & Wendy's.  I don't spend anything like that on plant-based at home.

 

Do you think it's possible that some people are meant to eat meat?

Dr. Esselstyn:  emphatically, "NO!"

 

What about the supposed health foods, like non-fat yogurt, olive oil, and chocolate?

Rip:

1. Yogurt comes from a cow, and it's protein comes from casein, and at a level even greater than what's found in milk.  Read more here and here and here about dairy and yogurt
2. Olive oil is the most concentrated source of fat on the planet, at 120 calores per tablespoon.  20% of its fat is saturated, and as for its purported antioxidants, you can do much better with fruits & vegetables that are zero fat, and have far fewer calories.  Like berries & leafy greens.  The olive oil as "health food" story, is a great example of marketing over science!  If you think it's such a nutrient powerhouse, click here to see exactly what its nutrient content is. To learn more about olive oil's "issues" click here.
3. Chocolate should be reserved as something you eat occasionally, for entertainment--and not something you eat daily!   Unsweetened unprocessed cocoa can be a daily food. 

 

San'Dera, what do you eat daily?  How soon was it until you started to notice any changes?

I eat brown rice, pasta made from brown rice or whole wheat, lots of fruits, vegetables, beans, salads, and fat-free hummus.  I noticed a change in how I felt within 3 days of changing my diet.  Especially, the energy.  I stopped taking my diabetes medications after 3 weeks on the diet.

 

OK, what about people who are healthy, without diabetes, who aren't overweight?   Could they be on more of a flexitarian diet?

Dr. Esselstyn:  Certainly, a plant-based no-oil diet is a no-brainer for someone who is ill.  But look down the line--when exactly do people start to develop dementia or heart disease?   It's years before the event actually occurs.  Consider how the people in your family have died, or how they spent their final years.  We know that eating this way will prevent heart disease.  And we know from ample research that what's good for the heart is good for the brain.  There's nothing more troubling to see than someone who lives with dementia for 10-12 years.  My bias is to start eating plant-based now!  Recent research from the Mayo Clinic has also shown the importance of diet on the health of the brain's blood vessels--and how the brain's health is dependent upon nitric oxide.  Click here to read more.  

 

Mark Your Calendars for the National Release of Forks Over Knives on March 11, 2011

 

To read more about the program Dr. Esselstyn runs at the Cleveland Clinic, click here.

To read more about Dr. Campbell's research, click here.

To read more about Ann Esselstyn's plant-based pantry & cooking tips, click here.

 

"The greatest gift that you could possibly give to your family--you can make them aware of this incredible power to avoid life's most painful events.  You just don't have to have those kinds of events." 

-Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn-

 

Please be patient with me (brother-in-law Dave & others).  I've got lots of non-Esselstyn medical research to share--but I really wanted to post about this special FOK screening event first.  

And, boy do I have some killer recipes to share, too!  Last night's dinner was some of our best eating, ever! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Michael Roizen's Straight Talk About Chronic Disease - Lifestyle Changes Can Control Them and Bring Health Care Costs Down. Roizen's Thirteen Pearls of Wellness.

 

 

"The health choices you make will determine if we can compete for jobs against Europe and Asia. 

Why?  We are twice as expensive as Europe & 3 times as expensive as Asia--and that's because we have twice the chronic diseases of Europe, and three times the chronic diseases of Asia.

We will not have jobs in America the way we know it now if we have that big of a differential.  In 2009, 17.9% of our gross domestic product was spent on health care.  And the way we're going, we'll be at 24% in just 7 years. 

We are more expensive NOT because our procedures and medical care costs more--but because we have more procedures and we have more disease.

We either get more competitive--like spending 4% or 5% of our gross domestic product on healthcare, not the present 17.9+%--or we lose jobs & the kind of society we now know.  And that's possible only if we can get control over the Four Factors that determine 75% of of our health care costs."

• Tobacco
• Food choices and portion size
• Physical Inactivity
• Stress

--Dr. Michael Roizen, speaking to The City Club of Cleveland on December 3, 2010--

 

 

If you received this post via email, click here to get to the web version.

Two weeks ago, on a Saturday afternoon I'm in my car, on my way home, enjoying Marketplace Money on NPR.  Then, darn--the City Club comes on with an hour long broadcast of their Friday forum.  Not what I was interested in hearing at all.  I was just about to turn it off, until I heard that Dr. Michael Roizen was the day's speaker.  Not only did I listen to the entire broadcast, but I downloaded the podcast, listened to it again, and took notes so I could share it.

Everyone knows Dr. Roizen--he's a regular guest on Oprah, Dr. Oz's Show, an occasional host of PBS health specials.  He's the author of many best-selling health books, all part of his continuing You--An Owner's Manual series.  He also happens to be the Chief Wellness Officer of the Cleveland Clinic.  And, in a few weeks this poster child for healthy aging will be 65!

He's a tireless cheerleader for staying health, and now he's added one more super important reason to get healthy:  like JOBS, having a Manufacturing Base, & $$$$.  If we can make the "very doable" lifestyle changes that are needed to control 75% of our chronic diseases--we can cut 75% of our health care costs--and regain our competitiveness in the world market. 

Roizen speaks a mile a minute--and he covered a lot of ground in his City Club talk.  But here are some the highlights!

Note:  I apologize that I don't have the sources for the data or statements presented in this post.  They come from my careful notes of Dr. Roizen's lecture--I didn't have the benefit of his slides.  Where it was obvious to me what studies he was citing, I made some corrections.

 

Dr. Roizen's Tour of Our Health By the Numbers

75% of Chronic Disease in the U.S. is Caused by Four Factors That Can Be Easily Controlled with Lifestyle Changes:

• Tobacco Use
• Bad food choices/over-sized food portions
• Lack of exercise
• Stress

75% of Our Health Care Costs are Caused by Chronic Diseases that Could Be Controlled by Lifestyle Changes. In 2007 these conditions were responsible for:

• 81% of our hospital admissions
• 91% of all prescriptions
• 76% of physician visits
• A cost of  $1.4 trillion dollars dollars--about $6000 a year per person

Obesity is on the Rise and It's a Driver for Diabetes, Heart Disease, Hypertension, and Some Cancers

• In 1990 6.9% of the U.S. was obese--NO state had an obesity rate greater than 15%
• In 2008 27.9% of the U.S. was obese
• We quadrupled our obesity rate in 18 years
• Obesity is the PRIMARY UNDERLYING CAUSE of our rising medical costs
• The U.S. leads all other countries in obesity--and our rate is rising faster than all other countries
• Diabetes rates increase 17 years after obesity rates increase.  The South was the first to increase its rate of obesity--and its now seeing a corresponding increase in diabetes 17 years later.
• Heart disease rates increase 25 years after obesity rates increase.
• Cancer rates increase 35 years after obesity rates increase.

The U.S. has twice as much chronic disease as Europe.  Three times as much chronic disease as Asia.

• 80% more hypertension in the U.S.
• 110% more heart disease in the U.S.
• 40% more type 2 diabetes in the U.S.
• 800% more strokes in the U.S.
• In the 55-65 year old group for both men & women: Cancer in Europe is 5.5%; Cancer in U.S. is 12.2%; Arthritis in Europe is 21.3%; Arthritis in the U.S. is 53%

The Percentage of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product spent on treating Chronic Health Diseases  (GDP is the total value of all the goods and services produced in one year):

• 5.2% in 1960
• 7.2% in 1970 (in 1970, Roizen's epidemiology prof said, "At this rate, by 2000, we'll be spending 12% of GDP on medical care, & we'll be twice as expensive as Europe & Asia, & we'll lose our manufacturing base."  We beat his prediction--we got to 12% ten years sooner)
• 12% in 1990
• 17.9% in 2009 (twice that of Europe/3 times that of Asia)
• 24% projected by 2015 at the rate we are going
• If we could control our chronic diseases by eliminating tobacco use, making the right food & portion choices, exercising, and controlling stress the health care GDP could be at 4-5%.

 

We Have Control of Our Health - It's Not a Genes Thing - After 35 It's All Up to You!

"Most people think they've hit their peak quality of life at 25-35, and it's all downhill after that.  And it is!  If you do nothing about it--you hit your peak quality then, and then you start to decline.  Before you're 35 it's your genes that take you--but from age 35 on--it's your choices.  You  can  live at the top--prevent & reverse disease--it just not that tough."

-Dr. Michael Roizen-

The Physician's Health Study.  Roizen's favorite all-time medical study in the Physican's Health Study, run out of Harvard University since 1982.  And by the way--my (H.L.) personal favorite outcome from this 30+ year study is this factoid:  Men with healthy behaviors, including smoking abstinence, weight management, blood pressure control, and regular exercise, are not only more likely to survive to age 90 but also to have good health and function at an advanced age (Yates LB et al., Archives of Internal Medicine 2008; 168:284-90.

Roizen's fave has to do with IQ/cognitive decline.  As the physicians in the study got older--IQ went down in many, & it's not a trivial decrease--it declined about 5% every 10 years.

But here's the good part:  If you look at the ranges, you'll see some people in the study stayed at the top.  That's the key.  How do you stay at the top of the curve?  25% of the physicians didn't lose their sharpness.  Roizen says it's all about the health choices they made: diet, exercise, & not smoking!

Dr. Oz and Rocco, the Cowboy's Turn-around. You can read the whole story here.  According to Roizen, in 28 days Rocco "cured" his diabetes, got rid of his hypertension, and started to pull plaque from his arteries, just by changing his diet, and walking 12,000 steps a day.  Roizen says, "That's doable for everyone!"

On September 24th, 2009, 53 year old Rocco Wachman of Scottsdale, Arizona was overweight, diabetic, with the heart of an 85 year old.  On his meat-heavy diet he was eating the equivalent of 2 1/2 pounds of saturated fat a week!  If he kept up this lifestyle, he was headed for serious trouble.

Dr. Oz came to the rescue--challenging him to take on a 28 day vegan diet that cut out meat, dairy, and eggs.  He was coached and monitored by Dr. Oz's sidekick, Dr. Michael Roizen--known as the "Enforcer" for his caring, consistent, "positive pushiness".  To read more about "Dr. Oz's 28-Day Vegan Challenge for Cowboy Rocco - Heart Disease Reversal Through a Plant-Based Diet Goes Mainstream - Sort Of"  click here.

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's Heart Disease Do-Over for the sickest of patients.  Roizen credits Dr. Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic as the pioneer in reversing heart disease through diet.   One example of many on the Esselstyn program: A patient with an over 98% artery blockage--and not one normal artery that was usable for a coronary graft.  The patient says, "What can I do?  I'm going to die, right?"  Dr. Esselstyn replies, "No, you change your diet!"  2 1/2 years later the patient's artery is normal--no surgery--just changing his diet.  It's not impossible.  It's very easy.  Of Dr. Esselstyn's program, Roizen says, "If you have significant [cardiovascular disease] you need to do significantly tougher things to reverse it.  The Esselstyn program is a little tougher than the Cleveland Clinic's Lifestyle 180 program, but it's something that's very doable.  It's a great program, and it's run once a month at the Cleveland Clinic."

Turning Your Bad Genes Off.  Turning Your Good Genes On.  Ornish's Prostate Cancer Study

The red squares on the left represent the prostate cancer genes.  After 3 months of lifestyle interventons, they were down-regulated, showing up as green.

 

This is Roizen's favorite slide.  (not having the benefit of attending the lecture--I'm assuming this slide from the Ornish study is what he's taking about) It demonstrates how our lifestyle choices can literally change our genes.  Ornish took 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer tumors, and for 3 months put them on a low-fat (10%) plant-based diet, had them exercise for 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week, and participate in stress management sessions with yoga, stretching, and meditation for 60 minutes a day.   Before the intervention, their cancer genes are red--three months later, the cancer genes are turned off, and show green.   The men literally "turned off" the RAS family of genes--these are the ones that promote the growth of breast, colon and prostate cancer.  Yes, they turned off cancer genes with lifestyle changes.  And it gets even better--the also "turned on" the GSTM-1 genes--the protein-producing genes that cause breast, colon, and prostate cancer cells to commit suicide. 

They turned off the genes that promote cancer--and turned on the genes that promote its death. 

One year later: Roizen shows a slide of one patient's prostate tumor. It is smaller, and his PSA is lower.  Low-fat plant-based diet, exercise, stress management, quitting smoking.  That's the key.

The Four Fatal Foods Responsible for Our Health Problems - Or, Why You Want to Skip that Ice Cream Cone

Rocco, Dr. Esselstyn's heart disease patients, and Dr. Ornish's prostate cancer patients all avoided these big bad four fatal food groups.  You can, too.

• Saturated fat.  The kind found in meat, full-fat dairy, palm, coconut oils, poultry skin, and animal products.
• Trans fat.  It's poison for your body.  Found in hydrogenated & partially hydrogenated oils.  Think, fried foods, margarine, fast food, cookies, processed food, crackers, chips, and snack foods. Check labels carefully.
• Added sugars & syrups.  High fructose corn syrup (soda pop), malt, maple, agave, fruit juice concentrates, dextrose, maltose, molasses, raw sugars, table sugar.  "Added sugar does not naturally occur in food," according to Roizen.
• Any grain that's not 100% whole grain.  "Unless the grain you're eating is made from 100% whole grain, it's not much better for you than white flour, that has been stripped of the healthy outer shell and germ,"  says Roizen.

According to Roizen, if you have an ice cream cone tonight (that's saturated fat, combined with sugar, and white flour) the sugar from that cone is going to negatively affect the proteins in your body for the length of life of that protein--anywhere from 90 to 100 days--far outlasting the 10-30 minutes of pleasure you're going to get from that ice cream cone.

Yes, that "extra sugar causes the proteins in your body to be less functional and as a result, directly ages your immune and arterial systems and even your joints (hello, arthritis). The joy of the food might last 10 minutes.  The protein change lasts months,"  says Roizen. Click here for more info.

Here's how a sweet innocent thing like sugar can eventually damage your arteries.  When sugar gets inside of a protein called "phosphokinase-3", it weakens it, causing a rift or tear between the cells that line our arteries.  When those tiny rifts/tears occur in our blood vessels, the body tries to repair them with LDL (our lousy cholesterol) and bingo--plaque begins to form in our blood vessels.  Next thing you know, if your blood pressure is high, your blood comes pounding against the blood vessels, further damaging them.  Then throw in more saturated fat from your food--like ice cream cones--and over time you've got some nice inflammation going on--which can bring on a rupture of some of your squishy plaque--which sets you up for blood clots to form--and before you know it...you've got a heart attack, a stroke, memory loss, impotence, and yes, wrinkles.   "By the way," says Roizen, "impotence or wrinkles in the skin are no different than a heart attack or a stroke, it's just where the damage occurs."

What can you do to forestall the damage?  The key point is to look at what starts it in the first place.  It's food choices.  Your level of blood sugar affects the health of your cells.  For the brain & kidneys to stay healthy, that blood sugar level needs to stay below 250 (very high).  And you don't get a blood sugar level of 250 from just what you're eating, unless you are diabetic.

But, for the heart and gonads to stay healthy, that blood sugar level needs to be at 110, and every single one of us can get our blood sugar that high with just two ounces of sugared cola.   When was the last time you saw someone with a 20 ounce Coke, who only drank 2 ounces of it? 

We can't do moderation in the United States.  Avoidance is the only answer. 

Avoid the sugar in the first place.  It will damage the proteins of your heart, gonads, kidneys, brain, and skin.

Avoid the saturated fat in the first place.  It will cause inflammation that will change the way your genes function from between 3 to 21 days.

The pleasure of an ice cream cone doesn't last anywhere near that long.

All you have to do to avoid the major instigators of atherosclerosis is to avoid sugar, fat, and any grain that's not 100% whole grain. 

The good news is--it's the same thing with cancer.  So, we can prevent many common cancers by avoiding the same big bad four:  sugar, saturated fat, trans fat, and any grain that's not 100% whole grain.

Dr. Roizen's Thirteen Pearls of Health Wisdom

1.  You control what goes into your body, and yes, it that important for your health!

2.  You CAN GET A DO-OVER, just like Rocco, the cowboy did, and just like Dr. Esselstyn's patients do.

3.  Avoid the known toxins

• Tobacco
• BPA--and the largest source of BPA is in thermally printed receipts.
• Air your dry cleaning outside before bringing it into the house.
• Avoid excess radiation from unnecessary medical tests.  TSA is no biggie--it has 1/12,000th of the radiation of one CT scan.  Avoid CT scans whenever you can.

4.  Walk at least 10,000 steps a day.  Overpay for a pedometer, if you're going to overpay for anything.  Dog walking doesn't cut it.  The average dog walker gets 8 minutes of walking a day.  You have to do much more than that!

5.  Manage stress daily--with friends, friends, friends.  They're the biggest stress managers out there, #1, #2, and #3.

6.  Have a purpose in life.

7.  Learn to meditate.

8.  Daily physical activity is not optional.

9.  Avoid the 4 fatal foods:

• Saturated fat found in 4 legged & 2 legged animals (birds), poultry skin, palm & coconut oils.
• Trans fats--partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, margarine.
• Added sugars & syrups
• Any grains that aren't 100% whole grain

10.  Take Five (maybe 6) Pills a Day:

• DHA - from fish oil or algal sources.  With the growth of farmed fish, the only fish in the U.S. with a predictable fish oil, is wild salmon or trout.  Molecularly distilled DHA from fish oil, or algae are safer, and more dependable.
• D3 - Take 1000 IUs a day.  The IOM report sets the DRI at 600-800 IUs--but their upper safe limit was set at 4000 IUs.
• Calcium - be sure you are getting 600 mg a day - most people can get this from their diets.
• Magnesium - 400 mg/a day.  Most of us aren't getting enough of this vital mineral.
• Take 1/2 a multivitamin twice a day--once in the morning, once at night.  Why?  The vitamin level gets too high if you take it once a day--and you just urinate it out.  Use a pill cutter, split it up, and have 1/2 in the AM, and 1/2 in the PM.
• Talk to your doctor about taking 2 baby aspirins with a glass of water every day in you're over 40 years old.

11.  Sleep--6 1/2 to 8 hours a night.  It's the most under-rated commodity in the U.S.

12.  Lift weights!!  Roizen says he can't emphasize this one enough.  Resistance exercise is absolutely key for staying healthy.

13.  Love something--and do it everyday!

Follow-up post:  How's the Cleveland Clinic's Chief Wellness Officer championing wellness in his own shop?  They're making tremendous strides--definitely walking their talk over there, with a trend-setting employee wellness program, a hospital food makeover that cuts out the big bad fatal four ingredients, and community outreach wellness programs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow One of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's Patients - Q & A on the First Three Months of a Diet to Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease

 

 

 

 

Can You Eat Pizza While You Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease?

Absolutely!  Just Hold the Cheese

 

*If you're new to this blog & have no idea what this post is about, you can get a primer here and here.

If you received this post via email click here for the web version with all the links.

If you talked to Neal six months ago he would have told you that his hypertension, high cholesterol, and extra weight were just part of his genetic inheritance.  Everyone in his family has them.  You just deal with it--and take medication to keep them under control.  But, Neal already had a glimpse into his future--just like all the rest of us who have seen our parents, loved ones, and friends get seriously ill or frail far too soon.

At age 51, Neal had been on 40 mgs of Lipitor for over 15 years, since his mid-thirties.  He had been taking two medications to control his blood pressure for at least 10 years.  Although he'd been a disciplined and regular exerciser for years, it just wasn't enough to keep his weight down to where he and his doctor would like it to be.

But Neal has plenty of company.  Nothing unusual about his healthy history.   Estimates are that 11-30 million Americans take statins, and probably 25 million more have cholesterol levels high enough to have them prescribed.  As for hypertension--the American Heart Association says 72 million Americans have high blood pressure--that's  about 1 in 3 of us (adults, that is).

But, all that changed this summer.  In May 2010 he read Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, and he watched Julia Grayer's documentary, Chow Down--the story of three people who changed the way they ate in order to save their lives.  Watch it yourself for free on HULU. You just have to put up with the 1 minute commercial.

Maybe, it was possible to get off of statins & hypertension medications.  Maybe there was something he could do to lower his cholesterol and blood pressure, lose weight, and prevent heart disease--besides taking meds. 

It was mind-changing to think of heart disease, high blood pressure, and type-2 diabetes as "food-borne illnesses".  And as Dr. Esselstyn-and others often say-- "Genes load the gun--but lifestyle pulls the trigger."

In July, 2010 Neal and his wife decided to attend one of the monthly small-group day-long sessions that Dr. Esselstyn & his wife Ann run at the Cleveland Clinic.  Before starting out, Neal had his physician check his lipid levels--and then 3 1/2 weeks later, after being on an Esselstyn-prescribed plant-based diet, he followed up with another lipid panel to see if anything had changed. 

 

July 2010--Lipid Levels Before Starting the Diet--while on 40 mg. of Lipitor:

Note: I don't have lipid numbers from 15 years prior to starting on Lipitor & BP meds.  I was told they were extremely high.   

Total Cholesterol:    185

Triglycerides:          280

HDL:                       44.4

LDL:                        101

 

August 2010--After Three and a Half Weeks Eating Plant-Based/Oil Free:

The results surprised everyone.  Neal's long-time physician, who was supportive of the Esselstyn program from the start, had this to say when he saw the follow-up lipid panel,  "I've never seen anything like this!  Whatever you're doing--just keep it up!"

 

Total Cholesterol:    122

Triglycerides:           143

HDL:                        37.6

LDL:                         56

Weight Loss after 10 weeks:  over 35 pounds  (and it continues to drop)

Medication changes made 3 1/2 weeks after being on the diet: 

Lipitor has been cut in half, to 20 mg.   His physician took him off one of his blood pressure medications.  

"Come back in November for a blood pressure check.  There's a strong likelihood that we will discontinue the other blood pressure med, and eventually the Lipitor,"  he was told by his physician.

Q & A:  One Man's Experience with the Esselstyn Diet

When I heard about how well Neal was doing on a plant-based diet I asked him if I he wouldn't mind sharing his experience through this blog.  His story is so motivating to me--and I'm sure it will be others.   He couldn't imagine why anyone would be interested, but he generously agreed to let me ask him a few questions.  Thanks, Neal!

Bill Clinton's interview about his plant-based diet offered us few details.  Thanks to Neal's experience, we can fill in the blanks.

Why did you decide to start working with Dr. Esselstyn, and following this diet?

My wife was a big influence.   She was the one who knew it was possible to change my health by changing my diet.  She knows my family history--and she wants me around for a long time--healthy, that is!   But, bottom line, I was finally ready to make the changes myself--to give it my best shot.  You have to be ready to do it for yourself--because day-in-and-day-out, you're the one who is making the food choices, and diet changes.

I know you're a dedicated exerciser.  But, what about your diet?   How would you describe it?

I always ate healthy meals at home.  The problem was what I ate away from home.  I've got a busy-on-the-go profession--and honestly, I guess I was a closet-junk-food-junkie.   I just didn't eat smart when I was away from home.  I never ate breakfast--it was just a cup of coffee and a cookie on the way into work.  I travel a lot for work, and it was just easier to stop at a fast-food place for lunch.  I'm certain, that if it weren't for my exercise, I would probably have weighed a lot more than I did.  And I wonder now, had it not been for the exercise, would I have already experienced some sort of a cardiac event?

What are you eating now?  What's you're daily meal routine?

Breakfast:  I'm now a dedicated breakfast eater--but I keep it simple.  I eat a breakfast that Ann Esselstyn says she likes.  It's just a whole grain shredded wheat cereal that I get at Whole Foods, along with some fruit, and regular almond milk--I'm not crazy about the light variety.

Lunch/Work: I always pack a lunch now, along with some snacks.  About 90% of the time it's a whole wheat pita with no-tahini humus (Sahara brand), carrot sticks, Whole Foods no-oil Triscuit-like crackers, and an apple.  I don't have a problem with needing lots of variety.  There's a market-like restaurant downtown that has a good salad bar with lots of veggies, so that's another option for me.  An all veggie salad with beans, dressed with red wine vinegar. 

Dinner: I never did much of the cooking and shopping before, but now it's part of my regular routine.  Both my wife and I have busy hectic jobs, so we try to cook & shop ahead on weekends.  It's easy, and now I'm interested in trying new recipes.  I'm a big fan of veggies & rice sauteed in a non-stick pan.  We've made a delicious lentil loaf that was in Dr. Esselstyn's book, and we had plenty of left-overs to take for sandwiches.  Once a week it's pizza--made with the Kabuli whole-wheat crust.  We're lucky that we have so many wonderful health food options around here, with Whole Foods, Mustard Seed, and Trader Joe's, plus Dinner's Done Now, that prepares take-out oil-free plant-based meals once a week. 

 Spicy & Delicious Lentil Loaf

Snacks:  My all-time favorite is a milkshake made with frozen banana slices, some almond milk, and unsweetened cocoa.  Delicious!  I'm also a big fan of Ann Esselstyn's chocolate mousse made with light tofu and microwaved popcorn made without oil.

Neal's Chocolate Banana "Milkshake"

What are your biggest challenges with this diet?  Any cravings?

Two weeks after I started the diet I had to go to Chicago for a big meeting, that involved hotel-catered meals.  I was new to all of this, and eating-out concerned me.  What was I going to eat?  But, I called ahead, spoke with the hotel, and made sure that they knew I needed meals made without meat, oil, nuts, or dairy.  And I talked to the servers when I got there.  All went smoothly.  Sure, I ate a lot of salads and fruit--but it all went well. 

I'm careful when my wife and I go to restaurants--sometimes I've called ahead to be sure there was something I could eat, but we've found places where we can still enjoy a meal out with friends.

When we're invited to the homes of friends & relatives we call ahead to let them know our restrictions, and we always bring along a dish to share.  It works.  Of course, everyone wants me to try the burgers off the grill and the desserts.   Don't miss them at all.  I'm sure the longer I'm eating plant-based, as friends and family get used to my "different diet",  they'll know the drill.

Everyone wants to know if I'll "go off my diet" for the big holidays, like Thanksgiving.  Will I eat turkey?  pumpkin pie?  Not a chance.  I've already changed my taste preferences, and as far as I'm concerned, moderation doesn't work very well.  I know it will be a slippery slope once I start making exceptions.

As for cravings, they're rare.  I see the cake at the office birthday parties.  The desserts at parties.   I just say no thank you, and have some fruit.

You've lost thirty-five pounds in about 10 weeks.  Do you feel like you're "on a diet"?

Even though I've lost a lot of weight, and I'm continuing to lose, it just doesn't feel like I'm on a diet.  I eat whatever I want, within the guidelines of the diet, and whenever I want.  I'm not counting calories, or measuring out portions.  It's actually been easier to follow than other diets--I know what I can eat, and what I can't.  I'm never hungry-and I don't feel deprived.

For me, the biggest difference with this diet is that after only 3 1/2 weeks I could see incredible changes in my blood pressure, my cholesterol, and my weight.  That's the most motivating and convincing part of this way of eating.  It didn't take long to see all the benefits.

Are you physically feeling any differently?

I feel well.  I feel better, and have more energy than I did before.

Do you have any advice for others who want to go on a plant-based/Esselstyn diet?

It's really not that hard.  The food really is good.  And bottom-line, the benefits far outweigh the risks associated with eating the traditional American-style diet.

The idea that you can reverse heart disease by changing what you eat is amazing to me.  And that it can be done without drugs or medical intervention, well that just astounds me.  

Parting words?

I want to be healthy.  I don't want to be in and out of hospitals as I get older.  I want to be around to  enjoy my family.   The benefits of good health far outweigh the benefits of any burger that I've ever tasted.

Sage Exercise/Diet/Health Advice from Neal's Wise 6:00 am Spinning (Cycle) Instructor

Yoda:  So certain are you.  Always with you it cannot be done.  Do you hear nothing that I say?

Luke Sky Walker:  Master, moving stones around is one thing.  This is totally different.

Yoda:  No.  No different.  Only different in your mind.  You must UNLEARN what you have learned.

Luke Sky Walker:  All right.  I'll give it a try.

Yoda:  No. Try Not.  Do.  Or Do Not.  There is no Try.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wolf Blitzer's Interview with Bill Clinton's Diet Gurus, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and Dr. Dean Ornish - What the Interview Didn't Have Time to Explain about How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease with a Plant-Based Diet

 

Wolf Blitzer Interviews Esselstyn & Ornish - the Doctors Who Influenced Bill Clinton's Heart Disease Reversal Diet- September 24, 2010

If you received this post via email, click here to get to the web version with the video and links.  You'll find the video of the interview at the end of this post.

Yesterday my husband and I had the pleasure of watching Drs. Esselstyn & Ornish explain on national television just how a plant-based diet can prevent or reverse heart disease.  Unfortunately, nine minutes can't do it justice.  So here's the rest of the story. 

As we watched, we enjoyed an amazing homemade whole wheat cheese-less pizza topped with kalamata olives, fresh basil, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts--that took just minutes to put together!

September 2004:  Bill Clinton has quadruple bypass surgery to repair blocked arteries after he experienced chest pain.

February 10, 2010:  Clinton has two stents placed in one of his previously-treated arteries, after one of his bypass grafts completely closed up.  According to his physician, Clinton had "toed the line" about adhering to diet, exercise & medical therapy.  Click here for the Medtronic (the stent company) press release.

Spring, 2010:  The stents fail to prevent further cardiovascular blockages. This is not an unusual occurrence. Clinton decides to read the medical literature about preventing and reversing heart disease.  He discovers that there is only one way to do this--a strict plant-based diet loaded with green leafy vegetables, and without meat, chicken, fish, dairy, or added oils.  The two physicians who are pioneers in this treatment approach are Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and Dr. Dean Ornish.  Clinton decides to conduct his own personal clinical trial.

Zero cardiovascular events have occurred in Dr. Esselstyn's original group of 17 compliant patients that he has followed for over the past 25 years.  Esselstyn continues to work with hundreds of other patients who have similar success stories.  There is no mortality, no morbidity, no expense from following a plant-based diet--if you eat in a way that makes the cap over your plaque super strong!

Like most Americans, Wolf Blitzer didn't seem to understand why bypass surgery or stents cannot cure cardiovascular disease. These procedures only treat emergency blockages.  And statins are no guarantee that it won't happen again.  Too bad Dr. Esselstyn didn't have a chance to tell Blitzer this:

"Some people think the "diet" is extreme.  Half a million people a year will have their chests opened up and a vein taken from their leg and sewn onto their coronary artery.  Some people would call that extreme."

"The elephant in the room when we talk about stents and bypass surgery--those procedures don't protect from new heart attacks.   Stents & bypasses are used to treat large arterial blockages.  Yet according to many research studies only a small percentage of heart attacks are caused by the largest build-up of plaque.  The rest are caused by the more numerous newer blockages that are far more inflamed and much more likely to rupture than the larger older, more stable plaques.  So this is why those procedures don't treat the disease.  They are treating the symptoms."

Just published: Am J Cardiol 2010 Sep 15;106(6):902-4.  Esselstyn, CB Jr.  "Is the present therapy for coronary artery disease the radical mastectomy of the twenty-first century?"

--Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn--

And take it from two of the country's top cardiologists:

"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-

Wolf seemed surprised at Dr. Esselstyn's suggestion that the only way we will ever stop this disease is by changing the eating habits of our children.

"What?  Are you suggesting that our kids shouldn't drink milk, or enjoy French fries, and chocolate cake-all the pleasures of life?"  Blitzer asked.

Unfortunately, there wasn't sufficient time for Dr. Esselstyn to answer that question.  But, if he had had time, here's what he might have said.

It All Starts in Adolescence according to the PDAY Study:  Atherosclerosis begins in youth. Fatty streaks and clinically significant raised lesions increase from age 15 to age 34. 100% of the autopsies done on 15-34 year old accident victims showed fatty streaks in the aorta and 50-75% showed streaks in the coronary artery--all precursors to later coronary artery disease.    Click here for study.

By 65-70 we all have it.  All males 65 years & older, and all females 70 years & older who have been exposed to the typical Western diet have cardiovascular disease & should be treated as such.  Without making any changes, you can expect to have a catastrophic event (a heart attack or stroke) in your 70's or 80's.  -Dr. Lewis H. Kuller, The University of Pittsburgh-

Dr. Ornish waffled when he answered Blitzer's question about whether or not it was necessary for everyone to be on such a strict plant-based diet--even people without heart disease.   Ornish suggests there can be a spectrum (the title of his latest book) of dietary strictness--based upon whether one has heart disease or not.

There's a bit of a problem here.  Heart disease is often invisible, and it's years in the making.  We often don't know what's going on inside of our blood vessels until it's too late.

Cholesterol levels, and other risk factors don't always predict future coronary events accurately.  Cardiovascular disease lurks in the unseen damage we do to the endothelial linings of our blood vessels, from the foods we eat.  This inflammatory process starts a cascade of bad-news biological events that lay down atherosclerotic plaque, damages vessel linings, and if we're unlucky, puts us at risk for vessel-blocking plaque ruptures--that set us up for heart attacks, invisible strokes, major strokes, dementia, and more.

Fit, lean, athletic people who are eating a Mediterrean Diet are not immune.  Just ask Dr. Esselstyn.  Just read my email--from people who exercised, ate right, & thought they were disease-proof.  Just read, "I'm healthy, I exercise, I eat right, I'm heart-attack proof - "Not a moment too soon I thought of Tim Russert"

"Now I finally understand how we can have a heart attack or a silent stroke even if we think we don't have heart disease or atherosclerosis.  Your coronary artery has to be 70% occluded to have symptoms, like angina. If your arteries are even 10-69% blocked, and you're inflaming them with what you eat, you're at risk.  It's all about inflammation - Calm down the inflammation & you'll keep those atherosclerotic plaques safely stuck to your artery walls."   From my post Yes, you can prevent and reverse heart disease, but are you up for the challenge - Let Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Convince You.

Here are Some of the Questions the Interview Did Not Allow Enough Time to Answer

Why not just follow the Mediterranean Diet, which includes olive oil & fish?  Yes, the Mediterranean Diet is better than the American Heart Association Diet & the Western diet, but it only slows the progression of heart disease--it doesn't prevent & reverse heart disease.  And, sure who doesn't want to believe that it's healthy to eat fish & olive oil?  I know I did.  But followers of the Mediterranean Diet show reductions of only 19-25% in cardiovascular mortality compared to followers of more standard diets.  Not a huge reduction in my book.  Click here for a recent JAMA study.

Why can't I use olive oil?  I've covered this at length in I'm Going to Miss My Olive Oil - Who Knew It Wasn't So Healthy After All? Drs. Esselstyn, Ornish, Vogel & Rudel Did  but here's the short story:  Dr. Lawrence Rudel fed African Green monkeys (who are close substitutes to humans for study purposes) olive oil for 5 years, and then compared their arteries to those of Green monkeys who were given saturated fat to eat.   Rudel was shocked by the results--he expected the olive oil monkeys would be disease-free.  Turns out even though the olive oil monkeys had high HDLs, they also had just as much coronary heart disease as the monkeys who ate saturated fat.  Oops!  Olive, soybean, palm, coconut, oils all contribute to heart disease--just avoid them.

Why can't I eat nuts?  Recent studies say they increase HDL's, and lower LDLs?  Esselstyn is skeptical about this reearch, based on the surprising results of Rudel's study.  Just because the HDL's go up, & the LDLs go down, it's no guarantee that nuts are preventing or slowing down coronary heart disease.  Little known fact:  the nut industry has sponsored these cholesterol/nut studies & participants had to consume 2.3 ounces of nuts to accrue the lipid changes--that's 350-400 calories worth of nuts.  

Then there's the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio thing--ideally we want to aim for a 2:1 or a 1:1 ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s, because a diet high in omega-6s is inflammatory.  Most of us typically eat a diet that has a 17:1 ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s.  Except for walnuts (and Esselstyn gives the OK for a few walnuts for folks without heart disease), most nuts are very high in omega-6s, and low in omega-3s.  Cashews have a 117:1 omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.  And all nuts are high in calories and saturated fat.  Almonds, the nut super-star is 6% saturated fat.

Isn't This Diet Extreme? Isn't it Too Hard to Follow?  Doesn't It Take All the Fun Out of Eating?

Not at all.  I'm someone who LOVED Kentucky Fried Chicken, corned beef sandwiches, Big Macs, barbecued ribs, and eating chocolate chip cookies for breakfast.  Don't miss them at all.   And I'm following this diet just for prevention.  I have no diagnosed heart disease.  But I saw two wonderful parents go through lengthy stroke-related declines, and if there is anything I can do to avoid that future, I'm going for it! Honestly, if I can do it, anyone can.  Really.  By now I can't imagine eating any other way--and I'm eating delicious food with lots of spice and zest--and it's far more interesting than broiled chicken.

Yoda:  So certain are you.  Always with you it cannot be done.  Do you hear nothing that I say?

Luke Sky Walker:  Master, moving stones around is one thing.  This is totally different.

Yoda:  No.  No different.  Only different in your mind.  You must UNLEARN what you have learned.

Luke Sky Walker:  All right.  I'll give it a try.

Yoda:  No. Try Not.  Do.  Or Do Not.  There is no Try.

If You Have More Questions About How a Plant-Based Diet Can Prevent Heart Disease--You're Welcome to My "Cliff Notes"

If the Esselstyn/Ornish Interview doesn't answer all of your questions, read Dr. Esselstyn's & Dr. Ornish's books.

If you want answers right now, read my summary of the day-long session I attended with Dr. & Ann Esselstyn--"What I learned from Dr. Caldwell and Ann Esselstyn's Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease "School".

Or go through my whole series of posts about Dr. Esselstyn's diet, how I adapted my cooking and recipes, and my successful experiment with the diet, click here, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Diet.

And Now For Wolf Blitzer's Interview with Drs. Esselstyn & Ornish

If you do not see the video, click here.

Stay tuned this weekend for some of my favorite plant-based pantry staples, and some of my long-promised recipes--that is if I can stand to sit at this computer any longer!

More from the Healthy Librarian's Plant-Based Kitchen Lab: The Restaurant Scene, Staying Fueled, PB2 the Nut Butter Substitute, and Chia Fresca for Omega-3s

Pajama Diaries by Terri Libenson

Life in My Kitchen.  Always Testing Out Something New.  And if Son #2 Likes It, It Has to Be Good

Click Here if You've received this via email.

Living the Plant-Based No-Oil Life in the Real World

The Restaurant Scene.  I'm not-yet-so-comfortable about asking for special orders, or asking waiters or chefs a lot of questions, but I sucked it up this week, and did what I needed to do.  This was a huge hurdle.  To me, a happy healthy long life is so wrapped up with breaking bread and sharing meals with family & fiends--I don't want to miss out on it.   So...if I want to continue to join my friends & family at restaurants occasionally, I've got to ask the restaurant staff the right questions.  I can't always say, "Hey, why don't you just come to my house.  I'll cook."

• Hippie Healthy Stir-Fries & Noodle or Rice Bowls.  Monday night, I was meeting a friend for dinner, and we tried out a local store-front healthy fast food joint near the university.  What could be better?  Homemade brown rice, fresh steamed veggies, a choice of 3 no-oil spicy sauces, topped with tofu.  Nothing fancy, but we sat outside and enjoyed the summer evening, and some hearty rib-sticking healthy fare.  And the price was right!
• Hip & Mod Mexican.  Friday night we met son #2 across town at a cool out-of-the-box Mexican restaurant in one of those old semi-gentrified neighborhoods.  I figured this was going to be a real challenge.  I could end up eating just steamed corn tortillas, salsa, beans, and a glass of wine--and that would have been just fine.  But I was in for a pleasant surprise.  If I wanted no-oil, vegan fare, our waiter told me my best choice was the grilled portobellos with sofrito, corn tortillas, and salsa verde.  No-oil, he promised!  The mustard crema was on the side, so I could just ignore it.  And I did.

It Tastes Much Better Than It Looks!  Grilled Portobellos Over Sofrito, with Corn Tortillas & Salsa Verde.  Hold the Mustard Crema, Please!

• My Big Mistake This Week.  Missing Breakfast, and Eating a Late Lunch.  After 27 years in our house we are FINALLY redoing our circa 1964 bathroom.  It all started on Wednesday--and I was home to "supervise" the demolition.  Right!  I thought my kitchen ceiling was going to come crashing down as the demo crew sledge-hammered out the old cast iron tub.  Breakfast got waylaid, and lunch was delayed until 1:00 pm.  Note to self:  Never do that again.  My fuel tank was running on empty.  To refuel I enjoyed this wrap for lunch. It did the trick in no time! 

Food tip of the week thanks to Mina:  Her suggestion--add broccoli slaw to wraps or salads!  Loved it and who would have thought?

Refueling with a 3 Bean All-American Chili, Sweet Potato, Broccoli Slaw, Spinach Wrap

 

Wrapped Up & Heated in a 450 Degree Oven for 10 Minutes--Crispy & Delicious

My new favorite wrap:  French Meadow Bakery Sprouted Grain Tortillas.  More pliable, and less dry than the Ezekiel brand.

Finding a Breakfast That Works for my Lab Rat Runner Husband

My niece Jamie clued me into a new product aimed at peanut butter lovers who don't want all the fat that's in peanut butter!  It's called PB2, and it's powdered defatted roasted peanuts that you mix-up with a tablespoon or two of water, and voila!  Instantly you have 2 tablespoons of peanut butter with just 1.5 grams of fat, and only 45 calories--sure it's almost 40% fat,  but compare that to the 190 calories, and 14 grams of fat (+2 grams of sat fat) for the real thing!  It's got less fat than heart-healthy cocoa--which has  25 calories & 1 gram of fat per tablespoon.  PB2 is made by Bell Plantation, click here for more info.  To get some--we had to order it--but it was quick & painless.  But I can't vouch for what the Esselstyn's would say about PB2. 

Believe me, this stuff is a very suitable peanut butter substitute--according to my nut butter aficionado husband--and niece, Jamie!  I'm not interested in imbibing, but PB2 is a huge boost for my husband who has given up his long-time-habit of morning almond butter on Ezekiel---too much fat.  And way too many omega-6s--as in 3802 mgs!  I can't vouch for the number of omega-6s in defatted PB2, but you can always sprinkle on some high omega-3 chia for good measure!  I'm planning to experiment with PB2 for spicy peanut noodles, and a homemade energy bar.

So where did Jamie hear about PB2?  On Emily Malone's Front Burner blog.  Check it out--she's a 29 year old culinary school trained chef who's cooking vegetarian lunches for the staff at an organic farm (I think--I don't exactly know her back story).  She's a vegetarian, a runner, who cares about healthy food, keeping fit, and she loves to experiment with food.  Her food photos are amazing.  She does use a bit of oil, & sometimes tiny amounts of cheese, eggs, or dairy---but hey, you can modify any recipe.  BTW, niece Jamie also recommends Chocolate PB2, made with cocoa.

Emily's PB2 & Jelly on Rice Cakes

Refreshing Lemony Chia Water for Omega-3s, Hydration, Protein, Fiber, & Feeling Full

Chia Water=1/2 squeezed lemon or lime + 1 TBS of Chia Seeds.  Shake Well & Shake Again!

Chia isn't a new story around this blog--but drinking Chia Water is!   What a great way to enjoy all the benefits of this nutritional powerhouse.  It's tasty, it has a great mouth feel, it will keep hunger at bay for about an hour longer than usual, it will energize your workouts, and it's like getting a slow IV drip of omega 3's. 

I've been taking it along to work and to work outs--instead of just plain old water.  My husband has followed suit.  And now son #2 is ready to try it out on the soccer field. Give it a try--and report back! My favorite brand is Salba--it's superior to common chia seeds.  Click here  to find out why it beats common chia.  Click here to find out why it beats flax.

"The Salba agronomic teams have invested the past 15 years researching Salba (Salvia hispanica L.).  During those 15 years, we found the perfect location, the perfect soil composition, the perfect climate, the perfect irrigation methods, the perfect crop life-span, and the perfect amount of sunlight. We perfected the art of Non-GMO selective breeding and studied each crop carefully.

Salba seeds are hand-picked, and only the seeds with the highest nutrient density are harvested and replanted. The result? Higher quantities of the quality nutrients you need and guaranteed consistency from crop to crop. When you choose Salba, you choose quality of life."

Tip:  Use a funnel, but be sure to pour out enough water from the bottle so that the funnel spout does not touch the water.  The seeds get a gelatinous coating as soon as they hit the water, and you don't want the funnel clogging up.  Add about 1 tablespoon to 25 ounces of water--and start shaking to keep the seeds separate.  Shake for about a minute.  And then shake the bottle before you take each sip, to suspend the chia in the water.  You'll quickly get the hang of it!

This ancient seed is the highest plant source of omega-3s, and it's also loaded with fiber (soluble & insoluble), antioxidants, protein, calcium, and a laundry list of other vitamins & minerals. 

If you've read Christopher McDougall's best-selling book, Born to Run, about the fit & healthy Tarahumara barefoot runners you know what a nutrition powerhouse the chia seed is.  McDougall likens chia water to "drinking a smoothie of wild salmon, spinach and human growth hormone".  Not at all sure about its human growth hormone similarities!

To learn more about all the benefits of drinking chia water,  click here for Christina Pirello's article about chia.   And a big thank you to reader M.L. for sending Pirello's article this way.  If the Tarahumara Indians sound familiar to you, it's because they are Dr. Esselstyn's poster children for zero heart disease--thanks to their plant-based diet of squash, corn, and beans.  Now I'm wondering how much a role chia has contributed to their stellar health.  That is until Western food made its way into their once hidden Copper Canyons--bringing along diabetes, obesity, & heart disease.

Excerpt about chia from McDougall's Born to Run:

"...after I satisfied my hunger and thirst with some iskiate, I at once felt new strength, and, to my own astonishment, climbed the great height without much effort.   After this I always found iskiate a friend in need, so strengthening and refreshing that I may almost claim it as a discovery."  (written by the great Norwegian explorer, Carl Lumholtz in the 1890's)

Months later, I'd (Chris McDougall) learn that iskiate is otherwise know as chia fresca--"Chilly chia."  It's brewed up by dissolving chia seed in water with a little sugar and a squirt of lime. 

In terms of nutritional content, a tablespoon of chia is like a smoothie made from salmon, spinach, and human growth hormone.

As tiny as those seeds are, they're superpacked with omega-3s, omega-6s protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber, and antioxidants.

If you had to pick just one desert-island food, you couldn't do much better than chia, at least if you were interested in building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease; after a few months of the chia diet, you could probably swim home.

Chia was once so treasured, the Aztecs used to deliver it to their king in homage.  Aztec runners used to chomp chia seeds as they went into battle, and the Hopis fueled themselves on chia during their epic runs from Arizona to the Pacific Ocean.

Despite its liquid-gold status, chia is ridiculously easy to grow; if you own a Chia Pet, in fact, you're only a few steps away from your own batch of devil drink.

So there you have it!  This week's new additions to my adventures in healthy eating.

• No need to miss out on meeting friends & family at restaurants.  Call ahead, ask questions, find out what you can eat that's plant-based, and prepared without oil.  And bottom line:  The goal is getting together with friends & family.  Don't decline invitations.  Make it work.
• NEVER MISS A MEAL.  Carbs are our number one primary fuel supply--and our brain's only fuel supply is carbohydrate glucose.  Keep the fuel tank filled by eating something about every 3 hours.  Unrefined carbs provide a nice slow drip of fuel.  Besides, small meals create less oxidative stress.
• Nut butter lovers might consider PB2 as a serious stand-in.
• Chia Fresca--for a daily omega-3 energizing drink!   And try chia seeds sprinkled on the higher omega-6 carbs, like oatmeal or rice to balance out their omega-6 content.  It's like eating mini-sesame seeds--great texture--no taste.

Final Week on the Esselstyn Plant-Based No-Added Oil Diet Trial. What's Changed? What Have I Learned? Tips and This Week's Favorite Recipes

Last Week's Bounty of Organic Amish-Grown Vegetables from Our CSA

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

Yesterday marked the end of week four on my Esselstyn Plant-Based No-Added-Oil Diet "trial" and tomorrow I'll have my pesky lipids tested.  Hmm.  The results should be interesting. 

Whichever way it goes, I'm grateful for the opportunity the Esselstyn's gave me to participate in their small group day-long orientation session--and for their patient answers to my many questions.

What changes have I noticed?

• Loss of those 5 "stubborn pounds" that have just stuck with me for years in spite of exercise and healthy eating.
• Steady lowered blood pressure, all in the normal range.  Not always this low--but it's consistently in the under 120 range.

• I've got energy to spare and not a clue where this extra energy is coming from.  Example: Last Thursday I was up at 5:30 am.  I had to pack my lunch, dinner, my Green Smoothie, my gym bag, and my work clothes, because I wasn't going to get home until after 9:00 pm.  Out of the house at 7:00 am for a dental appointment.  At the gym at 8:00 am for 1 hour of weights, a 1/2 hour walk outside, 1 hour spinning class, followed by a 1 hour yoga class!  Never did that before!  I work late on Thursdays, and usually take a spinning & yoga class before work--but, because of that "darn early morning dental appointment" I suddenly had 1 1/2 hours of extra time & unfortunately, I was "stuck"  a half-hour away from home, but 5 minutes away from the J (my gym).  Made it to work at noon--and finally got home at 9:20 pm.  Got to bed around 11:15 pm!  Felt terrific.
• Craving for fat, as in olive/canola oil, nuts, or chocolate--looks like it's history!  Dr. Esselstyn says it takes 90 days to down-regulate the fat receptors in the brain--and I'm wondering if part of the reason he's so strict about eliminating even walnuts & avocados is partly to facilitate the loss of the fat craving. 

Now that I'm cooking without oil, and carefully looking at labels for no-added fat, my typical day's intake of fat is clocking in at just under 10%.  Before my Esselstyn trial, I was eating plant-based, but my daily fat intake was over 25%, the saturated fat intake was over 5%, and the sodium intake was over 2500 mg.  Sure, I was getting plenty of vitamins, minerals, and fiber--but my fat & salt intake was over the top, and I wasn't even noticing!

"About a decade ago, the Monell Chemical Census Center in Philadelphia tested the effects the consumption of fat has on our desire for it.  In the Monell experiment, healthy volunteers were separated into three groups.

One group continued eating a typically high-fat American diet.  The second group ate a diet in which fat was reduced to 20% of total calories.  In the third group's diet, the fat level was held to 15% or less.  At the end of twelve weeks, the first two groups craved fat just as much as ever. 

But those who had eaten less than 15% dietary fat over the period had completely  lost their desire for fat."  Esselstyn. Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease, 2007.  pg. 115.

• I eat whenever I'm hungry, whatever I want, as long as it's whole grains, legumes, vegetables, or fruit.  I've learned to refuel right after I exercise, and I make sure that I eat before I get too hungry--about every 3 hours.  I'm prepared wherever I go. Example:  Last Saturday I had my usual morning steel-cut oats & fruit breakfast around 8:00 am.   It was a gorgeous day and my friend Bonnie & I decided to take a 2 hour long hike on the trails in the woods near us.  We were meeting around 11, and I wasn't really hungry yet, nor was it time for lunch.  Hmm.  What to do?  I took out about 1/4 of an already cooked sweet potato, topped it with some of Mina's Spicy black beans & rice, and fueled up before our hike.  My energy never tanked a bit!  In this warm weather, when I'm on the go, I make sure I pack up my Green Smoothie, maybe a sandwich, some fruit, or even an Ezekiel English muffin in an insulated lunch pack with plastic ice packs.  Having a small snack after I exercise makes a huge difference in my energy, and how I feel.  I sip my Green Smoothie in the afternoon when I'm at work, or as a snack while I work on this blog.

Fueling Up with a Pre-Hike Snack of Sweet Potatoes, Mina's Spicy Rice & Black Beans, Just Like the Tarahumara Indians

Saturday Morning Hike in the Woods Catching Up on All the News with Bonnie

• On Sunday mornings it's time for a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's run to stock up on our favorite healthy foods.  As long as I plan ahead and make sure there is always something good to eat in my fridge & pantry this style of eating is easy.   I'm a steel-cut oats fan, so that's always in my pantry, along with some dried apples, and pumpkin pie seasoning.  My husband likes Ezekiel brand cereal for breakfast, and often for an after-dinner snack.  Kale, collards, or chard are always in my shopping cart, and although I'm not much of snacker, my husband is.  He's a fan of the Wasa Light Rye crackers, RealFoods Corn Thins, and I just tried a new brand from Norway, Kavli 5 Grain.  We both LOVE Ezekiel brand English muffins for sandwiches, or even to round out a meal of soup or salad.  The giant Lavash bread in the picture is a "pizza crust" suggestion courtesy of Ann Esselstyn.  It's 100% stone ground whole wheat, comes from the Middle East Bakery in Beltsville, MD, and is available at Whole Foods.  She pre-bakes the lavash in a hot oven until it's crisp, and then adds the pizza sauce & toppings, before popping it back in the oven to bake.  She promises it makes an easy delicious thin-crust pizza!   Always in my cart:  Whole Foods no-salt beans, Muir Glen Fire-Roasted Tomatoes (now they have no-salt), Bob's Red Mill flax meal or Salba chia seeds, low-salt Pacific brand Veggie Broth, my new fave Pacific brand Oat Milk (works as a coffee creamer!), or my old fave Pacific brand Hazelnut Milk, low-fat NaSoya tofu, and low-fat Soy Boy Tempeh.  Check out my Trader Joe's convenience food:  already peeled & cut sweet potato fries!  What a time saver!

Sunday Morning Whole Foods & Trader Joe's Run.  Check-out the Sweet Potato Spears

• My idea of a snack has been drastically altered!  Instead of chips, I'd rather eat some left-over spicy oven-fried Yukon Gold or sweet potato fries.  Or 1/2 a cup of plain soy yogurt with thawed frozen berries.  Or a beet.  Now that is crazy!  Or a Wasa Cracker and baby carrots with Sahara roasted red pepper hummus.  Or watermelon, peaches, apricots, and cherries.

This Week's Favorite Foods

 

The Healthy Librarian's Adaptation of Martha Rose Shulman's Curried Brown Rice and Wheatberry Salad

 

Martha's Much Prettier Photo of Curried Brown Rice and Wheatberry Salad

When I saw Martha Rose Shulman's recipe in the New York Times last week, somehow I missed that her dressing contained 3 tablespoons of olive oil, almonds, and 1/3 cup yogurt.  Oops!  I had everything already prepped, so I had to quickly reconfigure.  This recipe has it all, whole grains, beans, and plenty of phytonutrients from the red pepper, broccoli, and turmeric.  And it tastes great.  A perfect summer dinner dish.  Use Trader Joe's or Rice Expressions frozen already cooked brown rice, and cook the wheatberries the night before!  For Martha's original recipe click here. 

Serves Six

The Salad

2 cups, tightly packed, cooked brown rice

2 cups, tightly packed, cooked spelt or wheatberries

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas

1/4 cup chopped chives (I didn't have these)  I substituted chopped fresh basil from the CSA. 

1 red pepper, diced

1 broccoli crown, broken into small florets and steamed for four minutes

1/4 cup raisins

The Dressing

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 to 2 tsp. curry powder

A pinch or two of  turmeric

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. chili powder

Salt to taste

2 small garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons high quality balsamic vinegar---I used Olive Tap tangerine balsamic

1/2 cup of plain soy yogurt (this is hard to find--I used Whole Soy & Co. found at Whole Foods)

Note:  If you need extra dressing (& I did), mix up some extra yogurt, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, & curry.  Mix well & check seasoning before adding.

Advance Preparation:  The grains freeze well and will keep for 3 or 4 days in the fridge.  Steamed broccoli will keep for 2 to 3 days in the fridge. 

My What's in the Refrigerator for Lunch Salad

Rinse mesclun greens

Pick 5 cherry tomatoes from the patio, and slice

Thaw some Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn

A few large spoonfuls of left-over homemade oil-less Inca Quinoa Salad  click here for the unmodified recipe from Food Blogga.  I made Susan's version without oil, by sauteing the veggies in a little veggie broth, increasing the lime juice, and adding some of my trusty Olive Tap tangerine balsamic vinegar.  Rice vinegar might also work. 

1/4 cup of Trader Joe's already cooked steamed lentils.

I pre-dressed the greens with a splash of balsamic.

This is a power-packed stick-to-the-ribs salad!

My "Tuna Fish" Salad without the Tuna Take-to-Work Lunch

Thanks to my sis for telling me about fat-free NaSoya Nayonaise.  Who knew?  I went back to my kitchen-lab and starting playing with a variation of Ellen Allard's "Chickpea Tastes-Like-Tuna salad.  Click here for Ellen's version.

This is a work in progress, even though I really loved this sandwich (so did my husband).  I just think I can make it even better with a little work.  It was perfect on an Ezekiel English muffin.

Makes 4 sandwiches

15 ounce can of no-salt chickpeas, drained

2 stalks of celery finely chopped

1 TBS fresh snipped dill, or 2 tsp. of dry dill weed

1 tsp. celery seed

2 TBS.  finely chopped dill pickle or pickle relish

1 TBS. capers (I LOVE capers)

1 tsp. kelp flakes (don't worry if you can't find these.  I found it at Whole Foods)

2 TBS. fat-free Nayonaise

2 TBS. fat-free Sahara brand roasted red pepper hummus

1/2 tsp sea salt (optonal)

1/4 tsp ground white (or black) pepper

Mash all the beans in a bowl using the bottom of a flat-bottomed drinking glass (or a fork, or a potato masher, or if you like to dirty more dishes, carefully use a food processor).  You want the beans broken, but not pulverized--kind of a mix of chunky & smooth.

Add more hummus or mayo if you like.

Serve on toast, or an Ezekiel English muffin.

My Reorganized Spice Cabinet--Now I Can Find Exactly What I'm Looking For

And there are 4 other racks behind this one.  I finally took everything out to see exactly what I had.  Alphabetized everything, consolidated duplicates, threw out old stuff & spices I never use---and organized the whole mess!

The front 4 racks hold all my everyday-always-use spices, and they are all alphabetized.

The 4 racks behind this one are also alphabetized and hold my once-in-a-while or over-sized spices.  The shelves behind the racks were also cleared of stuff I no long need, use, or want. 

What a pleasure!  I'm sure all my houseguests who join in cooking with me will appreciate my new & improved spice organization.

Next project.  The pantry!

Some Q & A about the Esselstyn Diet Challenge. Why Do It? What about Oil & Fat-Soluble Vitamins? What About Omega-3s? And My Top Recipe Picks of Week Three

My No-More-Olive-Oil Mediterranean Lentil Salad

Click here to go to the web version of this post if you received it via email.  Get links & photos.

My three-week-no-oil-plant-based Esselstyn Diet Trial ended yesterday. 

But, You'll Have to Wait Until Next Week for the Lipid Test Results

I was lucky enough to get my "gate-keeper" physician to write an order for a new lipid panel, but since I know I probably won't be able to have another one taken for five more years, I want to make sure that this one will accurately reflect my diet changes.  If I were on statins, they'd want to check me every year.

So, after talking to Dr. Esselstyn, I decided to wait one more week to have  my blood work taken.  And frankly I'm not in any hurry, because I'm now so used to this eating style that I'm finding it easier & easier to do, not to mention, delicious.

It's Not A Numbers Game - It's All About What You're Eating

Yesterday I also had a chance to ask Dr. Esselstyn a few of the questions that readers have been asking me.

So what if my numbers don't go as low as I'm hoping they'll go? 

Dr.  Esselstyn stressed that the health of my blood vessels is dependent upon what I'm eating--in spite of the numbers.  If I'm really eating 100% plant-based, no-oil, all whole grain, very heavy on the greens, beans, fruits, & legumes--no problem!  He says my blood vessels should be thanking me by now. 

Turns out, even the Tarahumara Indians, who had no heart disease to speak of--had LDL levels from 80-115--and some had HDLs as low as 26--the kind of numbers that might make a cardiologist pull out a prescription pad.  They were eating only beans, squash, & sweet potatoes--not a bit of oil.  Their LDLs were the light fluffy kind and they weren't causing a bit of damage.  And their lower HDLs weren't a problem either, because the Tarahumara's weren't eating anything that was going to turn their LDLs into the small dense dangerous bad guys.   If you aren't eating any inflammatory endothelial-damaging foods like fats, oils, and animal products---and you're loading up on high anti-oxidant greens you've reached the most important goal of all!  Your numbers will probably reflect this--but don't worry if they don't. 

Number One Reader Question.  My Cholesterol is Just Fine.  My Weight's Fine, I Exercise, and I Eat a Healthy Mediterranean Diet.  Why in the World Would I Need to Eat This Way?

Short Answer from Dr. Esselstyn:  Unless you are one of the lucky few and none of your relatives have ever had vascular disease and they all lived to be a healthy 100, then you more than likely already have some degree of vascular disease.  Unless, of course you've been eating like the Papua New Guinea Highlanders or the Tarahumara Indians all your life.

There are countless autopsy studies (click here for a few) of young adults from age 15-34 showing that everyone who eats our Western diet has heart disease.  It's a given. 

If you eat a healthier Mediterranean diet with olive oil, fish & chicken you're better off than someone who is eating cheeseburgers & fries--and you may be able to put off the likelihood of getting those nasty imperceptible tiny strokes (Dr. Megan Cleary of California examined over 11,000 MRIs of the brains of 50 year olds & found many had tiny white spots that indicated that they had unknowingly experienced tiny, imperceptible strokes.  These "brain attacks" have the same history and cause as heart attacks), heart disease or vascular problems until your mid-70s or 80s--but just think about spending your last years in a wheelchair, immobile, befuddled, and mute--or think about the erectile dysfunction, slowed mobility, balance and cognitive  problems that are all caused by impaired circulation and could be prevented. 

And then there's a whole host of other problems, like diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, constipation, and some cancers that could be avoided if you changed your diet.  Not to mention the side effects to all the medications you'll likely end up taking to keep heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, aortic valve stenosis, and erectile dysfunction at bay.  Diet can do a much better job.

Consider the email I received from a reader who thought he was doing everything right.  And then read about middle-aged fitness cyclist Michael Bicks who also thought he was doing everything right.  "Not a Moment Too Soon I Thought of Tim Russert" click here."   

Dear Dr. Esselstyn, I'm writing at the suggestion of  "The Healthy Librarian" who told you about my success with your diet (I've enjoyed the Engine 2 Diet as well). 

 

As I mentioned to her, in August 2007 I had quadruple bypass surgery.  I was actually fortunate.  I'd had no symptoms (apart from an unusual sensation in my chest when I exercised), "normal" cholesterol (180-200), and no real family history.  I was not overweight and had long eaten a low- to non-fat diet.

When I left the hospital, which is affiliated with a prominent medical school, they told me didn't need to change my diet in any way.  In addition to my PCP, I see an expert in the treatment of cholesterol.  She's told me that she can't explain why I developed heart disease.

Since my surgery, I've followed your diet fairly rigorously.  In March my scores were total cholesterol of 64, triglycerides 29, HDL 32 and LDL 26.  Needless to say, I am gratified and relieved. 

In addition to the diet, I had been taking 40 mg/day of Lipitor; since March that has been reduced to 20 mg/day.  I also take 1000 mg of Niaspan/day. 

I realize these medications likely played some role in my low scores; however, since not everyone who takes them does so well, I assume my diet is the major factor.

Update as of 6/23/2010:   My cholesterol scores since reducing Lipitor by half are total 75, trigl. 31;, HDL 32, LDL 37.

My  only vice is avocado once or twice/week and low-non-fat dark chocolate (cocoa) powder in my coffee every day.  And I feel great!!

Me:  Here's what Dr. Robert Vogel has to say about the Mediterranean diet.

"The beneficial components...appear to be anti-oxidant rich foods, including vegetables, fruits, and their derivatives. Dietary fruits, vegetables and their products appear to provide some protection against the direct impairment of endothelial functions produced by high-fat foods, including olive oil." (Vogel study: a meal containing olive oil impairs blood flow & vasodilation by 31%--and that was in healthy men)

Number Two Reader Question.  I thought we needed oil to absorb fat soluble vitamins, like vitamin A.  How am I going to absorb them on a fat-free diet?

Esselstyn:  Why would you want eat your vegetables with blood vessel-damaging oil?  Besides, this isn't a fat-free diet.  It's a no-oil added diet.  All food has some amount of fat in them.  The Iowa State University study on vitamin absorption with full-fat salad dressing was sponsored by Proctor & Gamble.  Follow the money trail.  It's in their best interests if we continue to eat oil.  And besides, you rarely eat foods in isolation--there is always going to be some naturally occurring fat in your whole-grain pasta noodles, or beans--and whatever else you are eating with your vegetables. 

My brilliant observation:  Since I've been analyzing some of my daily food intake on "My Food Diary" I consistently notice that I am getting over 2000% (yes, you read that right) of my daily recommended intake of vitamin A.  So, even if I'm only going to absorb half of that because I'm not eating oily salad dressing, I think I can be assured that I'm getting more than enough of my vitamin A daily. 

If you're worried about getting enough fat with your salad, sprinkle some flax meal or chia seeds on top of it!

Esselstyn:  You can never "overdose" on the fat-soluble vitamins, like vitamin A, if you are getting them from real food.  The body only takes what it needs from food.  But, if you are getting your vitamin A from a supplement you can put yourself at risk for taking in too much.  

Number Three Reader Question:  How can you get enough omega-3s if you aren't eating fish?

Esselstyn:  All omega-3s come from plants, originally.  Fish make their omega-3s by eating microscopic green plants--phytoplankton.  If you are eating farmed fish (like farmed salmon or tilapia) fed on grain, they aren't going to have any omega-3s.  If you're eating all your green leafy vegetables (along with legumes & berries) you'll be getting enough omega-3s.  Add in some daily flax meal, and you'll definitely get enough.

Me:  The best way to get "enough" omega-3s is to drastically lower your intake of inflammation-causing omega-6s found in most oils, animal products, and many nuts (walnuts excepted).  Americans have a sky-high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 17:1.  We need it to be at best, 1:1 or at least, 4:1.   It doesn't help to load up on omega-3 supplements if you aren't lowering your consumption of omega-6s.

This week's top 4 recipe picks.  Mediterranean Lentil Salad, Mexican Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Chia Pudding, and Blueberry Oatmeal Bean Pancakes.

My kitchen lab is open & I'm on a wild recipe roll--having a fun time taking my old-time favorite recipes and seeing if I can cut out the fat--and keep the taste in.  So far so good.  Of course, I kind of know which ones are going to work before I even start.

 

My Olive-Oil Free Mediterranean Lentil Salad ala Moosewood

Serves 4 generously

Quick version:

1 package of Trader Joe's Steamed Lentils (1 lb. 1.6 oz size)

Longer version:

1 cup brown or green lentils cooked with 4 cups of water, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp fresh thyme (1/2 tsp. dried), and 2 peeled garlic cloves.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat & simmer until tender, around 20 minutes.  Drain, discard bay leaves, remove & mash garlic & mix back into lentils.

The vegetables

1/3-1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in boiling water until softened, around 20 minutes.  Drained, and chopped.

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced red or yellow peppers

1/4 cup minced red onion (I omitted this--not a raw onion kind of gal)

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

The dressing

4 tablespoons of Olive Tap tangerine balsamic vinegar  (order some online)

1 lemon, juiced  (my husband came up with this addition)

1 tsp. ground fennel (this is the key ingredient--if you can't find ground fennel seed, grind up fennel seed in a coffee grinder)

1 rounded tsp. Dijon mustard

salt & ground pepper to taste

Add 2 minced garlic cloves if you are using TJs lentils

Add the thyme if you are using TJs lentils

Toss the drained lentils, or TJs cooked lentils in a bowl, with all the vegetables.

Whisk up all the dressing ingredients & mix into the lentil/vegetable mixture.

Serve immediately or chill.  Great on whole grain pita or wraps!

Worth Noting:  This was given high marks by my Traditional-Picky-Eater-Omnivore-Son!  Believe him.

Nutrition Facts Healthy Librarian's Oil-Free Mediterranean Lentil Salad
Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories	204
Total Fat	0.3g
Saturated Fat	0.1g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	488mg
Carbohydrate	38.5g
Dietary Fiber	11.8g
Sugars	11.9g
Protein	12.8g
Vitamin A 27% Vitamin C 107% Calcium    5% Iron 32%

Blueberry Oatmeal Bean Pancakes with Maple Syrup

My Cuisinart GreenGourmet Non-Stick Pan--It Really Works--Cleans Right Up

On Saturday morning my husband made us a batch of these nutrient dense pancakes.  Next time he plans to do a double batch, and either freeze or refrigerate the leftovers.

This Recipe Came from Ann Esselstyn, who got if from Dr. Neal Barnard

High Protein Oat Pancakes

Makes 10  4 inch pancakes

"Beans in pancakes!  That got my attention in Dr. Neal Barnard's Stop Diabetes.  These are GOOD!  Get Hain's Pure Foods Featherweight Baking Powder that is sodium free.

1 can cannellini or great Northern white beans drained & rinsed.

2 1/4 cups water

1 3/4 cups old-fashioned oats

2 tablespoons maple syrup or sweetener of choice (optional)

1 heaping tablespoon ground flaxseed meal

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 or 2 teaspoons vanilla

About 1 cup of blueberries--add these to the pancakes as they cook.

For best results use a "real non-stick" pan, like my GreenGourmet.  Otherwise you may have to use a light-hand on the cooking spray.  My pan browned these with zero spray!

1.  Place beans & water in a blender & blend well.

2.  Add oats, syrup, flaxseed meal, baking powder, vanilla & blend until completely smooth, light and foamy.  We used our VitaMix.

3.  On a well-heated pan, over medium heat, pour about 1/3 cup of batter per 4 inch pancake. Add some blueberries to each pancake as it cooks.

4.  We found it took 4 minutes per side to get these very moist pancakes, cooked through.

5.  Watch carefully, keep warm in a low oven, covered with foil. 

6.  Serve with maple syrup.

Note:  The GreenGourmet looks like it might stick, but it doesn't, and it actually browned the pancakes. The dark spots are blueberries.  Cleans up like a dream.

Mexican Chocolate Mousse

Last summer my chocolate-loving friend Babs turned me on to Mark Bittman's so-called "healthy version" of chocolate mousse, made with tofu, real dark chocolate, sugar, cinnamon, and chili powder.  Amazing stuff! Click here for Bittman's version.

 I made this Esselstyn-approved version with cocoa, "lite tofu", agave, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper.  Amazing stuff!  Picky son gave it a rousing thumbs up!  Believe him.

Serves 3-4

Ann says: Be sure to MAKE this serve 3 or 4.  It is so good it is way too easy for it to serve just 1!

1 package "Lite" silken tofu (look for NaSoya brand if you want organic & non-GMO)  I used Mori-Nu for this recipe.

1/3 cup agave (what I used), or maple syrup  (I want to experiment with stevia & just a bit of agave to cut the sugar)

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 tsp. real vanilla

1 to 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

A pinch of cayenne or more if you like heat.

Blend until smooth.  Use something powerful like a food processor or a blender.  It didn't work with a hand mixer.  Refrigerate 2 hours before use.  Spoon into small bowls & use small spoons.

Ann's variations:  Add 1/4 tsp peppermint extract & a garnish of a mint leaf.  Instead of agave or maple syrup use 2 TBS. of Raspberry syrup, 1 TBS honey, 1/2 cup frozen raspberries & blend.

 

Chocolate Chia Pudding--Omega-3s, Fiber & Taste

I love chocolate pudding!!!  But my Jello Sugar-Free Cooking Chocolate Pudding is now history.

When we were vacationing in Maine with our kids, my grandson was getting a little "irregular".  I had brought along a recipe for a single serving of "Chia Pudding" so we decided to see if he would like it, and if it would "move him along".

For those new to Chia, it gets a pleasant gelatinous covering when it's immersed in a liquid.  So, when you mix it up with a little hazelnut milk, some vanilla, & a sweetener like agave, you get a vanilla tapioca pudding in about 20 minutes.  Read all about Chia here.

By the way, the gorgeous grandson loved his chia pudding--and felt just great when it cured him of his "irregularity"

So...last night I decided to open my kitchen lab, and test out Chocolate Chia Pudding.

It worked!  Loved it!

2 TBS. whole white chia seed.  Black works, too.  But white is more appetizing.

1/3 to 1/2 cup "nut milk"  I like hazelnut, but almond or soy should work just fine.  I used 1/2 a cup.

1 to 2 tsp. sweetener like agave, or maple syrup.  I used one packet of stevia--the equivalent of 2 tsp. of sugar.  You could try 1/2 a packet.

1 Tablespoon of unsweetened, non-Dutched cocoa.

Heat up a couple of tablespoons of the milk in the microwave--because it's impossible to mix up cocoa in cold milk.  Mix the cocoa up into the hot milk to form a nice smooth paste.  Add the rest of the cold milk slowly, mixing well. 

Add the chia seeds and sweetener and stir well, making sure to submerge the chia. 

Allow it to sit 20-30 minutes, but stir once more after 5 minutes to prevent chia-clumping.

Stir again before serving.

Makes one delicious serving.  Next time I'm going to double the recipe.

Options:  Try it with pureed pumpkin.

More Winners Made This Week

 

Book Club Cheese-less Pizza on Brown Rice Crust

 

Falafel Burger with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus & Yukon Gold Fries

 

 Rip's Bok Choy with Gingered Mushrooms, Carrots and Soba Noodles

What I Learned From Dr. Caldwell and Ann Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease "School"

My First Prevent Heart Disease Lunch: Arugula, Lentil, Corn & Vegetable Salad

It All Starts in Adolescence according to the PDAY Study:  Atherosclerosis begins in youth. Fatty streaks and clinically significant raised lesions increase from age 15 to age 34. 100% of the autopsies done on 15-34 year old accident victims showed fatty streaks in the aorta and 50-75% showed streaks in the coronary artery--all precursors to later coronary artery disease.    Click here for study.

By 65-70 we all have it.  All males 65 years & older, and all females 70 years & older who have been exposed to the typical Western diet have cardiovascular disease & should be treated as such.  Without making any changes, you can expect to have a catastrophic event (a heart attack or stroke) in your 70's or 80's.  -Dr. Lewis H. Kuller, The University of Pittsburgh-

If you've received this post via email click here to go to the web version & all the links.

Friday was E-Day for me.  Remember my "Oops! Take It From Me - Half Dietary Measures to Lower Your Cholesterol Will Result in Half Measure Improvements"  post from May 19, 2010?  

 

Thanks to the generosity of the Esselstyns, last Friday June 18th I participated in an intensive small group instructional session with Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr. and Ann Crile Esselstyn called "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" held at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute.  I only wish you could have all been there and learned everything I had the chance to learn.

Dr. Esselstyn was right--now I really get it!  I'm not saying I like what he requires his patients to do, but I do get it.  I now understand why he's so strict about the details of his diet (oops, not diet--I mean, lifestyle changes)--no oil, not even Pam, no nuts, no avocados, no chocolate--just vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, & legumes!   Who would be thrilled to give up fat, sugar & salt?  Wasn't it enough that I gave up meat, chicken, cheese, fish, & other dairy products two years ago?  Apparently it wasn't, in my case.  And I thought I was a savvy food shopper, but even I had a lot to learn from the Esselstyns.  Now my eyes are wide-open.

So, who was there?  There was a mix of health professionals, people with newly diagnosed heart disease, and people with Type-2 diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, elevated weight and/or hypertension who were ready to make major lifestyle changes to avoid surgical interventions & pharmaceuticals--and they came from all over the country.

Honestly, I've got over 25 pages of notes--so there's no way I can condense that all into one blog post, and no one would have the time to read it anyway, so I'll cut to the chase.  Oops, turns out I didn't.  Sorry!

Part One:  Cardiovascular Disease, How We Get It & How Diet Prevents & Reverses It and Gets Rid of Many Other Diseases Along the Way.

Part Two:  How to Make This Diet Work--Tips & Tricks on meal planning, shopping, & a "best products" guide.

Part Three:  Success Stories of Real People

On-Going:  Follow Along While I Follow the Esselstyn Diet for Three Weeks--I'm going to try to do this 100% & then get tested--there's no other way to see how it works.

 Heart Disease is a Food-Borne Illness - How to Prevent & Reverse It

1.  Heart Disease can be symptom-less--Blockages of 10-70% have no symptoms & are the most unstable and dangerous.  Your cholesterol numbers can be fine, you might even be an avid exerciser with a healthy weight, but your arteries may be telling a different story.  Read  Yes, You Can Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease - But Are You Up For The Challenge? Let Dr. Esselstyn Convince You  and get a quick synopsis of how this works. 

2.   It's a given.  Unless you're eating like the Papua Highlanders of New Guinea--which means a plant-based diet with no added fat, you've already got some degree of cardiovascular disease, and you're at risk for the vascular dementia (my genetic inheritance), breast or prostate cancer, osteoporosis, erectile dysfunction, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes--to name just a few of the diseases driven by the typical Western diet.  Coronary artery disease & 80% of our other diseases are food-borne diseases.

3.  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. 

"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-

• 27,000 deaths occur annually from bypass surgeries & stents. 
• 48,000 annually suffer complications from interventions. 
• Over time the risk for failure increases for both stents & bypasses.
• 45% of our Medicare budget is spent on cardiovascular disease--according to Dr. Kenneth E. Thorpe of Emory University.  Imagine.
• Although stents & bypasses are absolutely necessary if someone is in the middle of a heart attack--in the case of stable disease they do not protect from future heart attacks, they don't prolong life, they do not treat the illness, and they do not significantly alter the disease.

4.  The Western Diet makes our blood sticky.  Sticky LDLs, white blood cells, platelets, and endothelial cells cause the whole cascade of events that leads to inflammation, heart disease, plaque formation, and heart attacks.  This is primarily diet-driven.  What we eat is what makes our blood sticky. 

5. It's All About Having Healthy Endothelial Cells--Eat Your Greens!  You can put the brakes on heart disease in just 3-4 weeks if you rejuvenate the endothelial cells that line your blood vessels by eating as many healthy greens as you can.  Greens heal the endothelial cells so they can produce life-giving nitric oxide--which prevents stickiness, keeps plaque from forming, and dilates blood vessels.  Nitric oxide is the strongest vasodilator there is!  Make kale your best friend. 

When you're eating an all plant-based diet that's high in anti-oxidants you literally change your internal biochemistry--and you strengthen the protective cap over your pre-existing plaque--which prevents future cardiovascular events.  Read more in A Delicious Heart Healthy Lunch at the Home of Dr. Caldwell B. & Ann Esselstyn - A Nitric Oxide Booster Shot

6.  What damages endothelial cells?  Fatty foods, fast food, all oils--including olive, palm, & soybean oils, and caffeinated coffee.  Using the brachial artey tourniquet test to measure endothelial function it was possible for Dr. Robert Vogel and others to see which foods actually cause damage to our "life-saving" endothelial cells.

7.  Exercise enhances nitric oxide synthase.   But diet trumps exercise, hands-down, in preventing disease.  Exercise is not an excuse to ignore what goes in your mouth.  Keep in mind that Esselstyn has worked with serious athletes who still got heart disease. 

8.  Arginine is an enzyme that builds Nitric Oxide--but, it only works if you get it from food, not supplements.  Getting arginine from supplements has been shown to cause more heart attacks.  Get your arginine from legumes & beans.

9.  Moderation Kills--Question:  OK, if I follow this diet faithfully everyday, what's the harm of going out-to-eat on Saturday night?  Answer: "It's Saturday night & I deserve to kill some of my endothelial cells!"

10.  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 stain, when a plant-based diet can lower cholesterol & inflammation without needing to inhibit HMG-coA reductase?

11.  How did I get another blocked artery when I'm doing everything right?  Question posed to the Harvard Heart Letter physicians from someone who had a previous bypass and now has another blocked artery.  Answer:  The best we can hope for is that we can slow progression.  You should congratulate yourself if you've dodged the bullet as long as you have!  (Remember: unless you're eating a no-added fat 100% plant-based diet, you aren't really doing everything right.  Moderation kills.)

12.  Is it possible to reverse heart disease?  Question posed to the Harvard Heart Letter physicians.  Answer:  Only 2 doctors, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn & Dr. Dean Ornish have been able to consistently reverse heart disease--and they do it through strict diet changes.  And only Dr. Esselstyn, who is a stickler for detail and patient follow-up, has been able to keep his patients disease-free since 1985.

13.  Think of vascular disease as a low-grade brush fire.   You need to remove all the gasoline to put this fire out--and keep it out.  Even a tiny thimble-full of oil is like putting gasoline on the fire!

14.  Esselstyn's goal is to maintain a total cholesterol of <150 & an LDL <80.  He'll use the lowest dose of statins on rare occasions when absolutely necessary, but as statin dose increases cognitive problems have been documented & muscle pain, weakness, & muscle inflammation is widely reported.  Expect lower HDLs when you eliminate added fat--lower HDLs are common in indigenous plant-eating populations without heart disease.  HDLs don't need to by so high when LDLs are low.  There can be variation in LDL's even when you really are "doing everything right".   The Tarahumara Indians had a normal variation of LDLs from 80-115--before they started eating a more Western diet.

15.  Why not just follow the Mediterranean Diet, which includes olive oil & fish?  Yes, the Mediterranean Diet is better than the American Heart Association Diet & the Western diet, but it only slows the progression of heart disease--it doesn't prevent & reverse heart disease.  And, sure who doesn't want to believe that it's healthy to eat fish & olive oil?  I know I did.  But followers of the Mediterranean Diet show reductions of only 19-25% in cardiovascular mortality compared to followers of more standard diets.  Not a huge reduction in my book.  Click here for a recent Circulation study.

16.  Why can't I use olive oil?  I've covered this at length in I'm Going to Miss My Olive Oil - Who Knew It Wasn't So Healthy After All? Drs. Esselstyn, Ornish, Vogel & Rudel Did  but here's the short story:  Dr. Lawrence Rudel fed African Green monkeys (who are close substitutes to humans for study purposes) olive oil for 5 years, and then compared their arteries to those of Green monkeys who were given saturated fat to eat.   Rudel was shocked by the results--he expected the olive oil monkeys would be disease-free.  Turns out even though the olive oil monkeys had high HDLs, they also had just as much coronary heart disease as the monkeys who ate saturated fat.  Oops!  Olive, soybean, palm, coconut, oils all contribute to heart disease--just avoid them.

17.  Why can't I eat nuts?  Recent studies say they increase HDL's, and lower LDLs?  Esselstyn is skeptical about this research, based on the surprising results of Rudel's study.  Just because the HDL's go up, & the LDLs go down, it's no guarantee that nuts are preventing or slowing down coronary heart disease.  Little known fact:  the nut industry has sponsored these cholesterol/nut studies & participants had to consume 2.3 ounces of nuts to accrue the lipid changes--that's 350-400 calories worth of nuts.  

Then there's the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio thing--ideally we want to aim for a 2:1 or a 1:1 ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s, because a diet high in omega-6s is inflammatory.  Most of us typically eat a diet that has a 17:1 ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s.  Except for walnuts (and Esselstyn gives the OK for a few walnuts for folks without heart disease), most nuts are very high in omega-6s, and low in omega-3s.  Cashews have a 117:1 omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.  And all nuts are high in calories and saturated fat.  Almonds, the nut super-star is 6% saturated fat.

17.  Why can't I eat avocados?  Like the nuts, its omega-6 to omega-3 ratio isn't so stellar.  At 16:1, it's mostly fat, high in calories, and it also contains saturated fat.  But, even Dr. Esselstyn allows some avocado into the diet for people who do not have heart disease.  I can live with that.

18.  Absolutely must eat foods every single day--oats & greens!  Eat greens every day, with every meal--they are the most powerful antioxidants.  Oats lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and slow the digestion of blood sugar.  Also, include whole grains, legumes, beans, vegetables, & fruit (no fruit juices).

19.  Where will I get my omega-3s if I don't eat fish?  Flax meal is high in omega-3s, with a great ratio to omega-6s of 1:8.  Greens are loaded with omega-3s, which is where fish get their supply--by eating plankton.  Also consider chia seed, click here to read more.  Are Chia Seeds (Salvia Hispanica) the New & Improved Flax Seeds? 

20.  How is it possible to lose angina pain in just 2-3 weeks on the Esselstyn diet?  Yes, you still have blockages, but you've restored your nitric oxide production from your endothelial cells--which naturally dilates arteries.  Even a tiny increase in artery diameter increases blood flow.

21.  How will I ever get used to eating food without fat?  It's absolutely possible, but you need to eliminate the added fat 100%--don't worry, there is still fat in all foods--this diet only eliminates the added fat, like oil & butter.  According to the Monell Chemical Senses Study  you will actually down regulate your fat receptors when you eliminate fat from your diet.  You will stop craving it & wanting foods made with fat.  The "fat craving"  takes 90 days to go away.  But watch out:  When you down regulate fat receptors, your sugar receptors will be screaming out to you.  Be especially careful to avoid refined sugar, foods that are naturally high in sugars, like dates, and any processed refined carbohydrates.  And limit natural sugars like maple syrup.  Sugar causes the body to produce more cholesterol.

22. Zero cardiovascular events have occurred in Dr. Esselstyn's group of 17 compliant patients over the past 25 years.   No mortality, no morbidity, no expense from following a plant-based diet--if you eat in a way to makes the cap over your plaque super strong!

23.  Dementia & Diet.  Dr. Megan Cleary of California examined over 11,000 MRIs of the brains of 50 year olds & found many had tiny white spots that indicated that they had unknowingly experienced tiny, imperceptible strokes.  These "brain attacks" have the same history and cause as heart attacks.  Keep on eating the same way at age 60, 70, & 80 and there's a good chance that those tiny strokes will add up to increasing memory lapses, and progress on to dementia--depending upon what part of the brain has been affected.  What's good for the blood vessels of the heart, is good for the blood vessels of the brain.

24.  Leg pain caused by claudication is eliminated with this diet.  It works its dilating/healing/dilation magic on diseased arteries everywhere in the body.

25.  Erectile dysfunction--gone naturally.  The penile arteries are much smaller than the coronary arteries, so they are like the canary in the coal mine--letting you know that you have atherosclerosis & cardiovascular disease.  Most of Dr. Esselstyn's patients report that after 8-9 months on this diet, their erectile dysfunction is gone.  To read more, click here

26.  Cholesterol drops are seen as quickly at 10-14 days.  Example of a 58 year old with a base cholesterol of 261 mg/dL, has a total cholesterol drop to 126 mg/dL with just 10-14 days on the diet.

27.  How Brain Health Affects Walking.  Now back to the tiny imperceptible strokes that show up as white spots on the brain--these tiny cognitive brain assaults affect our walking speed, our balance, our risk of falls, and ultimately are the cause of the downward slide into frailty.  It all circles back to how eating a disease-preventing diet benefits both the brain & the heart.  Click here for the article.

28.  Bone Health & the Plant-Based Diet.  Dr. David Shewmon, an endocrinologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Wooster, Ohio was able to show how urinary calcium excretion becomes normal within a week of eating a plant-based diet--a marker for decreased osteoporosis risk.  With a usual diet urinary calcium is 400 mg/dL.  After only one week on a plant-based diet the urinary calcium is less than 300 mg/dL.

29. Cancer Risk Decreases When Animal Protein Intake is 5% or less.   Dr. T. Colin Campbell found in numerous replicated studies that the amount of animal protein eaten could turn on & off cancer cells.  Tumors take off at 12% animal protein.  Read the China Study.  For a summary of the book read T. Colin Campbell of "The China Study" Pays a Visit - Does This Mean I Have to Become a Vegan"   There is no limit to the amount of plant protein that can be eaten.   Point of reference:  Hamburger is 37% protein.   Black Beans are 24% protein.  Feast on beans!

Stay tuned for my adventures in eating the Esselstyn Way, and Ann Esselstyn's tips, tricks, & recipes that make this diet "easy" to follow.  I'm now two days into it--and so far it's not as hard as I thought it would be. 

 

 

 

The Great Kitchen Cholesterol Clean-Up - Parchment Paper, the No-Oil Saute, and Munching on the Top Cholesterol-Cutting Foods

 

 

 

There's only one thing that we have to do in life, and that is to die.  I have often met people who use this fact to justify their ambivalence toward health information. But I take a different view.  I have never pursued health hoping for immortality.

Good health is about being able to fully enjoy the time we do have.  It is about being as functional as possible throughout our entire lives and avoiding crippling, painful and lengthy battles with disease.  There are many better ways to die, and to live.

 

 

-Dr. T. Colin Campbell, The China Study-

 

Not to worry.  I haven't gone off the deep-end with my diet.  But those recent cholesterol test results have given me some "food for thought".  I'm an experimenter at heart--and I'm ready to try some new tactics. Time to rethink what I'm eating when I go out to restaurants.  Time to figure out what cooking techniques I can easily change in my kitchen  Time to reconsider what foods I absolutely do not want to give up--at least until I'm convinced otherwise. And time to look more seriously at what foods naturally clobber cholesterol.

Last week I went on a Cooking Experimentation Rampage to explore the world of no-fat cooking.  Here's what I found out.

What can I easily change?

 

•  

  Can I cut out using cooking oil for browning and roasting?  I admit it--I have always resisted this practice.  Seems too hard--and a flavor sacrifice.  Too over-the-top.  But I tried it--and with the right techniques--it works beautifully!  Really!  And it's so much cleaner.
  

Parchment paper is amazing for non-stick oven roasting & browning.  Butternut squash, potatoes, asparagus, and eggplant roasted up beautifully.   The Silpat experiment failed.  I used some maple syrup when I roasted up butternut squash & cleaning my Silpat was way too hard.  I'm sticking with parchment paper.

Butternut Squash Browned Without Oil on a Silpat--Too Hard to Clean

And here's a tip from my sis--the professional baker.  Don't waste your money on parchment paper from the grocery store.  It's too expensive.  It's all rolled up & doesn't easily lay flat.  Buy it from a restaurant supply store where it comes in flat sheets--in a large quantity--and is a lot cheaper.  Split a box with a friend.  It will last for more than a year.

  Lentil Dal Burgers Browned Without Oil on Parchment Paper

My other WOW Parchment Paper revelation was how beautifully my Lentil Dal Burgers browned up in the oven.  Not a smidge of oil.  Not a smidge of oil spray.  Who needs to fry?  Who needs the oil splatters on the stove--and the clean-up?  Who needs the 520 extra calories from the 1/4 cup of oil needed for frying?  I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!

And even my veggies browned up on the parchment paper paper without oil or oil spray.  My oven was hot--400-425 degrees, and they did  need to be turned over midway.

 

• Can I successfully saute veggies without oil?   Oh yeah!  I got this cooking technique from a reader named Max--and it really worked well.  First heat up the pan (medium high) to the point where onions will sizzle when you put them in the pan.  Keep moving the onions around with a spatula until they start to release some of their own liquid.  They won't stick. Don't add any extra broth or liquid too soon or it will have more of a braise than a saute flavor.  And if you want to caramelize the onions, add a teaspoon or more of dark brown sugar, maple syrup, or molasses after the onions have cooked for 5-7 minutes.  When the veggies started to stick to the pan I added some Imagine No-Chicken broth.  I sauteed in an enameled cast iron pan.  Max uses a non-stick one.

Amy Cramer, a professional vegan chef, always steers clear of oil.  She uses "Better Than Boullion Veggie Base for sauteing and it lasts a year in her refrigerator.  She mixes up 8 oz of broth at a time--and adds some to the veggies to keep them from sticking as she sautes.

Isa Chandra Moskowitz (Veganomicon author) has another less-purist tip for cooking with less oil:  "When sauteing onions & garlic as the base for a soup or a stew you can get away with one teaspoon or two of oil.  Put a teaspoon in a pool on one side of your pan-- don't coat the entire pan.  Saute in that little corner of the pan, preferably with tongs.  When moisture begins to release from the onions, usually after 3 minutes or so, you can spread them out, and add a little broth to cook them further, if needed."

Sauteing Onions, Carrots, Garlic, & Jalapenos Without Oil

 

What do I absolutely not want to give up--at least until I'm convinced otherwise?

• Nuts!  I love them--and I don't overindulge.  They add to my satiety, and they add flavor & crunch to recipes. Plus, my fave Larabars (just fruit & nuts) really come to the rescue when I'm out & I need food fast!  And conveniently for me--a new study just appeared in the May 10th, 2010 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine   which provides even more supporting evidence that eating about 2.3 ounces of nuts a day  -- a third of a cupful -- reduced total cholesterol levels by 5.1% and "bad" LDL cholesterol by 7.4%.

  That amount of nut-eating also improved the ratio of LDL cholesterol to "good" HDL cholesterol by 8.3% and caused a decrease of 10.2% in triglyceride levels among people with high levels of those blood fats. 

But be an informed consumer:  2.3 ounces of nuts are a lot of nuts--the equivalent of almost 400 calories--practically a meal--and if you just tack that amount on to all the other foods you are eating--guess what?  You're going to gain weight! 

Full Disclosure: this study was sponsored by the International Tree Nut Council Research and Education Foundation.

"Nuts are a matrix of healthy nutrients, and the most obvious reason for the cholesterol-lowering effect is their unsaturated fat content.  Nuts also contain fiber, vegetable protein, phytoesterols and other antioxidants."

 

Dr. Joan Sabate, chairman of the Nutrition Department at the Loma Linda University School of Public Health in California and co-author of the article.

 

• Avocados!  Sure they contain fat--but avocados aren't just empty calories.  They got a bad rap back in the 1980's, but their omega-9 fat has also been shown to lower LDL's & triglycerides, while raising HDLs.  It contains beta-sitosterol, a natural substance that lowers cholesterol, and is also prostate-protective. 

And there's more:  Like lutein for the eyes, fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid.  Avocados also act as a "nutrient booster" by helping the body to better absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as beta-carotene, vitamin E, vitamin D, and lutein.  1/5th of an avocado=50 calories & 4.5 grams of fat, in case you're wondering.  And just a bit spread on a sandwich, or on top of black beans or chili is so delicious--and stomach-satisfying. Not an everyday indulgence--but something I don't want to give up.

What foods can I add to help naturally lower my cholesterol?

Why can't I also start to just eat a little smarter?  Dr. David Jenkins of St. Michael's Hospital of Toronto is the researcher behind the Portfolio Diet--published in many of the top medical journals--and most recently in the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society  69(1):39-44, 2010, "CVD, Diabetes & Cancer.  A Dietary Portfolio for Management & Prevention of Heart Disease"

Jenkins has pit his plant-based Portfolio Diet against the American Heart Association diet, and even against a combination of 20 mg of Lovastatin + the AHA diet.  The Portfolio diet always beats the AHA Diet, & it works just as well as taking Lovastatin combined with eating a low-fat diet.   Followers of the Portfolio Diet have consistently cut their cholesterol level by about 30%, without the side effects of statins.

 Jenkins Portfolio Diet:

• Soluble fiber foods:  Oats, barley, beans, eggplant, okra, psyllium (Metamucil)--14-16 grams of soluble fiber a day
• Soy foods:  soy milk, tofu, tempeh, soy burgers, soy yogurt, soy sausage--14-16 grams of soy protein a day--the equivalent of 2 glasses of soy milk a day.
• Total fiber--31-37 grams a day (includes insoluble & soluble fiber)
• Raw unblanched almonds--14-16 grams a day=about 1/2 an ounce=88 calories a day.
• Plant sterols--these are the cholesterol-blocking plant substances added to margarine (Benecol & Take Control) & orange juice (Minute Maid Heartwise).  But why eat caloric margarine or drink caloric juice  when you can take sterols staight-up in supplement form before a meal?  Check out Phytosterols made by Endurance Products  The Portfolio diet provided about 1 gram of sterols a day--the equivalant of 3 phytosterol tablets a day.
• Lots of fruits & vegetables & primarily a vegetable protein diet.
• Click here to see Dr. Jenkins' articles on the Portfolio Diet

Janet Brill's Cholesterol Down! diet uses the Portfolio Diet guidelines--here are her recommendations.

 

Twice a day:

1 gram of phytosterols or phytostanols

10 grams of soy protein

3 grams of psyllium in am & pm

Once a day:

Oatmeal with oat bran

2 TBS Flax seed

1/2 C beans

handful of almonds (1-1 1/2 oz.)

1 apple   

Harvard Heart Letter's Top 11 Foods That Lower Cholesterol--vol. 20(2): Oct. 2009

1.  Oats - soluble fiber

2.  Barley & other whole grains - soluble fiber

3.  Beans - soluble fiber

4.  Eggplant & Okra - soluble fiber

5.  Nuts - 2 ounces a day can lower LDLs by about 5% (based on previous research)

6.  Vegetable oils - I'm not advocating this one, but it's on the Harvard list as a replacement for butter, lard, & shortening

7.  Apples, grapes, strawberries, citrus fruits - these fruits are rich in pectin, a soluble fiber that lowers LDL

8.  Foods fortified with sterols and stanols - 2 grams a day can lower LDL cholesterol by about 10%.  My comment:  skip the fortified margarine & juice & take them in supplement form

9. Soy - consuming 25 grams of soy protein a day (10 ounces of tofu or 3 cups of soy milk) can lower LDL by 5-6%

10.  Fatty fish - the omega-3s lower LDLs & triglycerides.  My comment: skip the fish & go for high-grade pharmaceutical quality fish oil, or the algae vegetarian equivalents.  Note: recent research by Dr. Christopher Gardner of Stanford University has shown that flax does not come anywhere close to the triglyeride-lowering effect of fish oil. Very disappointing. 

11.  Fiber supplements - the least appealing way to get soluble fiber.  2 tsp a day of psyllium, which is found in Metamucil, provides 4 grams of soluble fiber

Last Week's Successful Cooking Experiments:

• Roasted Asparagus Soup - no oil
• Moroccan Stew - no oil
• All-American Amazing Fantastic Chili - no oil
• Homemade Italian Vegan Sausages ala Isa Chandra Moskowitz - just a tiny smidge of oil
• Herbed Ricotta (Boursin Cheese-like) - no oil, made from tofu
• "Sausage Cheese" Pizza with artichoke hearts & roasted red peppers made with a delicious oil-free Kabuli crust.
• Homemade Larabars - made with chia seeds, cocoa, almonds, & dates.  Yum!
• Oil-free humus--didn't miss the tahini--and a great way to add beans to the diet

For now, I'm thinking oats, beans, barley, eggplant, okra, apples, grapefruit, oranges, strawberries, soy, and a few nuts.  Not a bad way to naturally cut the cholesterol.