Question
Upon noticing your success with cholesterol and blood pressure reduction, I mentioned it to my husband (who uses meds to reduce these), but unfortunately, he was quick to say “no way” is he going to give up meat and dairy and just eat vegetables – not even for a trial period. Just to double-check, those reductions you posted were solely based on diet and not meds, right?
Answer
Correct.
I was on medication for high blood pressure and reflux disease before I had a heart attack.
Little did I know that you are almost guaranteed a heart attack “soon” if you have 3 conditions at the same time.
1) snoring,
2) high blood pressure,
3) heartburn
I also had sleep apnea.
I had all 3 and it is all lifestyle-related. Diet, lack of exercise, stress, being overweight. All of these are factors I can control but ignorantly did not understand how significant these things are. If you read the article “What about those carbs” you will see a pile of “Did you Know?” paragraphs that point clearly to common medical proof and knowledge that we simply don’t want to hear. The article also has a number of recommended books that I believe will change your life forever if you are ready for positive change. Reversing Heart Disease by Dr. Dean Ornish got my attention when I wanted answers to why I was in this predicament. I read these books, sorted out the truth and took action. The results were immediate.
Another book I haven’t added yet is about “Defeating Diabetes” by Brenda Davis. It reinforces this more than ever and then I read another book called “Eat to Live” by Dr. Fuhrman. That book makes common sense if you are ready to accept that the 20 killer diseases that we suffer from in North America are not present in 90% of the world population that are too poor to have a feast every day as we can. Did you know that 50% of men and 65% of women in North America are not aware that they have significant heart disease until they suffer a sudden death from a heart attack or stroke? It is true – very true. Just take a quick peek at the obituaries.
A good friend of mine – a strong, healthy businessman – came to my home after my heart surgery and confessed he was afraid he was going to suffer the same fate as me – or worse. His face was starting to swell from being overweight and his belly looked like the Michelin Tire mascot – lots of cascading round rolls. He confessed to me that his father died suddenly at age 54 and my friend was 49. The reason he showed up is that he heard me mention that statistically the sons of men who die from a heart attack die 5 years younger than their fathers did. Statistically, he was due to die – any minute. He had chest pains, leg cramps, persistent headaches and heartburn that he thought were normal because he was getting older. He had these for 3 years. I suggested he read my suggested books and he said no… I don’t read books too well – why not tell me about what you read. I said OK but only if he walked with me every day. In 9 months of walking and listening to me as we walked and talked about life and recipes, he lost 70 pounds and those symptoms disappeared. The magic of this lifestyle change is that your body goes back to its high school weight and trim without any real work or expense – just dedication to the lifestyle change – for the sake of your family and yourself.
The main reason I stuck with the lifestyle change is that I don’t want to suffer unnecessarily or at all if possible. I had learned that most everything that I had abused my body with I could reverse – over time. I had spent 30 years eating anything I wanted and working too hard. I was abusing my body in ways I had not even imagined. It will take 30 years to get back to the same health that I enjoyed when I was 20.
While in the hospital several times with initial recurring problems after the surgery I came to realize that with all of my troubles I was one of the lucky ones and one of the healthier ones in the hospital. So ….. I would walk around and visit the other patients on my floor and almost all of them were there for the 2nd, 3rd or 4th time. They all complained that they had changed their lifestyle and couldn’t understand why they were back. I had a hard time not laughing in their face as I watched them sucking on cancer sticks while getting their family to smuggle in fast food to feed their bulging bellies. Do these people never look in a full-length mirror?
This made me realize that I had to take a good long look into my mirrors and see myself for what I really was – just as weak as them. That is when I started looking for real answers and the books I suggest on the web site are the ones that got my attention and helped changed my lifestyle.
I also enrolled in a life-changing course put on by the Seventh Day Adventist church – called “CHIP” (Coronary Health Improvement Project”. I am not a member of their church but I recognized the value of what they were teaching on diet and lifestyle. It helped me establish and reinforce proper diet habits over their 4-week course of 4 nights a week. If you have one in your neighborhood I encourage you to enroll and see how easy you can change your diet to a healthy one. The daily one hour videos that they present are compelling, educational and fact-filled with undeniable evidence that any intelligent person can’t help but respond to. I did and I thank them for their program. Books were great but seeing the book’s advice in live-action made all the difference for me.
Your husband will gladly give up meat and dairy once he knows why he should and what the real risks are. But he has to be ready and he has to have the facts to make the decision an easy one. The books and the CHIP course make it a no brainer. Remember, this is is not worth getting divorced over but if you love him and want him to be around for your child’s wedding it might be necessary.
One of the things that got everybody’s attention in the course is that impotence is preventable and curable with a diet change. Everyone laughed nervously at first but as time went on it became obvious that that statement alone may have been enough of a reason for many of them to stay in the CHIP course to its conclusion. As the course went on we discovered that 80% of the Type II diabetes sufferers in North America could be off of insulin within 6-8 weeks with a proper diet and exercise regimen. There is so much more ….. you’ll find the information in those books and if you’re ready …… you’ll change. One last depressing reality – only 1/3 of 1% actually makes the positive change to a healthy, pain-free and disease-free lifestyle. The rest all go back to their “comfortable” and “familiar” habits thinking they are statistically special and all the facts don’t pertain to them. They are all DEAD wrong. The choice is an easy one if you know the facts. The rest is up to you.
Finally, my goal is to be completely off of any medications as soon as possible but medications have their place in the healing process. I am on the smallest possible dose of blood pressure medicine – much smaller than I had before the heart attack and surgery. I am also on less than half a pill of the lowest dose Lipitor that is available for cholesterol reduction. I know that the Lipitor is very dangerous in long term use because it attacks your liver and other vital organs if used too much. My doctor has convinced me to use it a bit longer in order to help repair the walls of my atherosclerotic arteries. I am also off of the reflux medicines (Nexium) – I don’t need them anymore.
My goal is to completely reverse the effects of plugged and scarred arteries through diet and exercise. I know from clinical research reports that I can effectively triple the flow of blood to my heart in 2 years of staying on my low fat, no cholesterol diet. The results you are seeing in my published test results are proof that it is possible. Why am I so focused on doing so? Because a heart bypass operation is only a temporary fix and the new grafts will only last about 5-10 years. If I am able to reverse the original clogged arteries I won’t have to have that scary and painful surgery again. I learned one real fact during those trying times. I am not afraid to die – I am terrified about the prospect of suffering pitifully and being dependant on others for everything. The harsh reality is that over 95% of us are unwittingly heading for a terrible death marred by untold suffering because we did not want to hear the truth about our bad eating habits. I am hoping for a merciful death in the arms of my loved ones at the end of a great 100-year run that had no more suffering.
The best part of all – it is mostly in my hands. I can effectively change 90% of the factors that might hurt me so that I can turn things around and help myself instead of being led ignorantly to slaughter.