Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn is well known for successfully helping his patients fight heart disease with a very specific nutrition program. This program is pretty simple: get rid of the foods known to cause or promote heart disease. On the menu is a wide variety of veggies, legumes, whole grains and fruit.
For heart disease patients, Dr. Esselstyn stresses the importance of 100% adherence. He points out that soon after eating just one fatty meal (such as a cheese covered pizza) the arteries stiffen up. They don’t get back to normal function for multiple hours. Someone with heart disease can’t afford to have their arteries abused like this – ever! Let alone multiple times a day.. which is what happens when eating the standard American diet. Dr. Esselstyn has been able to halt or even reverse advanced stage heart disease in patients with a whole food, plant-based diet because he doesn’t allow moderation or the phrase “A little bit won’t hurt.” In his book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, he really hammers home the fact that just ONE meal can cause damage.
While this can seem daunting, Dr. Esselstyn reports that his patient that stick to the plan find their desire for artery clogging food disappears. Have you ever made an adjustment and found that your body changed? When I started limiting meat I didn’t actually plan to give it up 100%. I assumed a few bites would slip in every month or two. I wasn’t prepared for the realization that I no longer had a taste for it and even the smell became weird. My taste preference had completely adjusted!
The diet strategy outlined in this book leaves me feeling very hopeful. It’s comforting to know that heart disease – the number one killer in the U.S. – “need not exist, and if it does, it need not progress.” – Dr. Esselstyn
Available on Amazon: Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease
