Whole Food Plant-Based Diet for Heart Health | Photo Credit: iStock Images
Key points
- With each passing day, it becomes clearer that we can change our health fortunes simply by working on what we put in our mouths.
- Heart-healthy foods are, in fact, some of the cheapest foods available on earth. What prevents us from making the change?
- If you want to live a long and healthy life, know what is the best food for your heart.
Dr. Michael Greger, one of the biggest champions of plant-based diets, is excited that a complete edition of a cardiology journal has been dedicated to plant-based nutrition. He notes that the issue explores the role an evidence-based diet can play in reversing congestive heart failure.
Greeting the advent of truth in people’s lives, finally, dr greger notes that “Reading the existing literature and evaluating the impact of plant-based nutrition clearly represents the most important opportunity to reverse the pending epidemic of morbidity and mortality induced by obesity and diabetes.”
The newspaper cites the case mentioned by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States. A 77-year-old woman with unstable angina whose symptoms of heart disease resolved without mechanical intervention while she consumed a whole food, plant-based diet. Her prior medical history included hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and remote smoking for which she had been taking medications for heart care. At her baseline, she could walk more than half a mile without complaining. During the two to three months prior to presentation, she developed a gradual worsening of chest pressure and shortness of breath to the point where she could not walk more than half a city block or even just one stretch of road. ladders. She was referred for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.
Switching to a whole food, plant-based diet helped her beat heart disease:
But the patient opted not to proceed with the surgery and instead chose to adopt a whole food, plant-based diet, which included all vegetables, fruits, whole grains, potatoes, beans, legumes, and nuts. He eliminated all animal products, including eggs, cow’s milk, yogurt, chicken and beef, and joined our cardiac wellness program. But he spoke fondly of his previous diet as a ‘healthy’ western one.
Within a month of the lifestyle change, her symptoms had almost resolved and she was able to walk on a treadmill for up to 50 minutes without chest discomfort or breathlessness. Her total cholesterol decreased for three months.
Downhill again after switching to an animal-based diet:
Four to five months after the initial lifestyle change, she began to yearn for her old eating style and ended her adherence to a whole food, plant-based diet. She went back to eating chicken, fish, low-fat dairy, and other animal products several times a day. Although there was no change in medications, her angina symptoms returned within four to six weeks. She had chest discomfort with minimal exertion in a gym and was admitted to an outside hospital. She soon had CABG surgery, a year later she had a coronary stent placed for another episode of unstable angina.
This case highlights the potential of this lifestyle to help rapidly improve anginal symptoms and contribute to amelioration of the atherosclerotic disease process. This potential is reinforced by the patient’s rapid deterioration despite no change in her medication when she returned to her baseline ‘healthy’ Western diet, treating doctors say.
Dr. Greger mentions another case study. This one has a happier ending.
A 60-year-old man suffering from severe chest pain. — gave up his ‘healthy’ diet of chicken, fish and eggs and chose to take control and switch to a whole food, plant-based diet. From being unable to exercise at all or unable to walk, she went on to jog 4 miles every day.
Clinical trials almost 40 years show that cases of heart disease and congestive heart failure were successfully reversed ONLY 6 weeks after switching to a whole food, plant-based diet.
54-year-old woman with grade 3 obesity, A BMI of 45.2 kg/m2 and heart failure with several other comorbidities were able to lose weight, reverse their diabetes without medication, and their heart function returned to normal.
Bottom line:
Dr. Greger defends the adoption of whole food, plant-based diets by arguing that heart failure is a leading cause of death worldwide and typically gets progressively worse. He advises that doctors should start advising patients to switch to healthier plant-based diets instead of asking them to “use a leaner cut of meat” or “use low-fat dairy.”
Disclaimer: The tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or dietitian before beginning any fitness program or making changes to your diet.
