Insulate Yourself and Your Loved Ones from Heart Disease

Heart disease takes the lives of more Americans than any other cause. 

Wouldn't it be a miracle if we could spare all of these people and the loved ones they leave behind?

Well Caldwell Esselstyn, M.D. of the Cleveland Clinic, is tirelessly working to make that happen. According to Esselstyn, "Heart disease is a food-borne illness that need never exist and if it does exist, it need never progress." 

Is Esselstyn winning the battle against heart disease with fancy new surgical techniques or with newfangled pills? No. He is waging this war and winning with common utensils we all have in our kitchen: forks, knives and spoons. 

His patients experience first-hand just how delicious plant-based meals with no added oils can be and at the same time, they stop the repeated injury to their arteries.

An eating lifestyle low in fat and free of cholesterol has been shown to halt the development of and even eliminate existing plaques that narrow our arteries in a process known as atherosclerosis. It also decreases the viscosity of the blood so that it resembles water rather than oil. As a result, it can lower blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides. This bears repeating—a low-fat, plant-based lifestyle can stop the progression and reverse the damage already done by consuming a diet high in fat and cholesterol—one centered around meat and dairy products.

People who switch from red meat to white meat to lower their cholesterol will be disappointed when they don't see any change. Cholesterol is essentially the same in all mammals, which explains the lack of improvement. There is no dietary need for cholesterol. Our bodies make all that we need.

Most people are familiar with the commonly communicated cholesterol goal of 200 mg/dl. Were you aware that 35 percent of heart attacks occur in people with cholesterol levels between 150 and 199? 

Esselstyn's cholesterol goal for his patients is below 150, which should easily be attainable with a low-fat, plant-based lifestyle. When I was 23 pounds heavier and still had cheese and eggs in my diet, my cholesterol was at 199—despite being a vegetarian. After eliminating the cheese and the eggs, my weight dropped and my cholesterol is now at 132 without any medication! 

No cardiac events have been reported in the scientific literature with cholesterol levels below 150. Esselstyn reports that those with cholesterol levels below 150 are essentially heart attack-proof!

Did you know that only about 10 pecent of heart attacks occur as a result of the large, stable, almost completely blocked arteries that are the target of bypass surgery, angioplasty and stents? They may be severely compromising the flow of blood to the heart, which may cause angina or chest pain, but these blockages have grown slowly over time and have likely developed collaterals—tiny vascular threads that go around the blockage and continue to feed the artery downstream. 

What most people don't realize is that it's the small, juvenile plaques a few inches away that are more volatile and likely to rupture. Your body does not have time to create collaterals around a blockage of this type, which can close off the artery entirely in a short amount of time.

Atherosclerosis does not just affect the coronary arteries. 

According to Terry Mason, M.D., "If you have atherosclerosis anywhere, you have it everywhere." There are more than 60,000 miles of arteries, veins and capillaries through which your blood flows and any compromise in that flow will affect the amount of nutrient-rich, oxygen-rich blood that reaches the target tissues. 

Compromised blood flow can manifest in any part of the body in the form of strokes, macular degeneration, dementia, degenerative disk disease, pain in the legs while walking and even impotence.

I leave you with the words of Pam Popper, N.D., and hope it becomes your call to action, "Don't confuse the absence of symptoms with the absence of disease. The first sign of heart disease 40 percent of the time is instant death." Be proactive in your own health care and make changes now that can prevent a catastrophe later.

I am a Plant-Based Nutrition Counselor, a graduate of Cornell University's plant-based nutrition program, the only collegiate program in the country which focuses on the medical benefits of a low-fat, plant-based lifestyle, and am board certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. I help people to achieve their wellness goals by providing them with the tools that they need to gain control over their health. If you would prefer individualized assistance with your weight, with a chronic, degenerative disease,  or if you would like me to speak to a group, please email me at traceyeakin@gmail.com or give me a call at 724.469.0693 to arrange a time.