Al-Huda
Foundation, NJ U. S. A
the Message Continues ... 11/131
Newsletter for July 2012
Article 1 - Article 2 - Article 3 - Article 4 - Article 5 - Article 6 - Article 7 - Article 8 - Article 9 - Article 10 - Article 11 - Article 12
What I Learned From Dr. Caldwell and Ann Esselstyn's
Prevent and
Reverse Heart Disease "School"
Courtesy: the Health Blog:
http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/2010/06/esselstyn-session.html
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 claudicating 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.
HOME - NEWSLETTERS - BOOKS - ARTICLES - CONTACT - FEEDBACK
DISCLAIMER:
All material published by Al-Huda.com / And the Message Continues is the sole responsibility of its author's).
The opinions and/or assertions contained therein do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of this site,
nor of Al-Huda and its officers.