Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.
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 He had no family history of heart disease, was not overweight or diabetic, and did not have high blood pressure or a bad cholesterol count. In short, he was not the usual candidate for a heart attack. Nonetheless, he had been struck—and struck hard.
In this book, I tell Joe Crowe's story, along with those of many other patients I have treated over the past twenty years. My subject is coronary artery disease, its cause, and the revolutionary treatment, available to all, that can abolish it and that has saved Joe Crowe and many others. |
| The United States spends more than $250 billion a year on heart disease. That's about the same amount the nation spent on the first two and half years of its military venture in Iraq, and fully twice as much as the federal government allocates annually for all research and development—including R&D for defense and national security.1
But here is the truly shocking statistic: nearly all of that money is devoted to treating symptoms. |
| It has become clearer in the past decade or so, but even twenty years ago, the general reading was that the connection between cholesterol and heart disease was paramount. The epidemiological evidence seemed incontrovertible. In those parts of the world where coronary artery disease is rare, diets are low in fat and serum cholesterol levels are consistently below 150 mg/dL. |
| Among the wide variety of programs promoting cardiovascular health, his and mine are the only ones I am aware of that are based on peer-reviewed research that demonstrates arrest and reversal of heart disease.
As you have read, my own twelve-year study started in 1985. I set a clear goal: achieving total cholesterol in my patients of less than 150 mg/dL using a plant-based diet and cholesterol-lowering medication. |
| In the course of his studies, he learned about the Tarahumara Indians of northern Mexico, whose diet consisted almost entirely of complex carbohydrates and who suffered from almost no heart disease or cancer. Pritikin became convinced that these Indians set an example Americans should follow, and devoted much of his life to spreading that message. The diet he promoted emphasized consumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and small amounts of meat, poultry, and fish—all told, a low-fat, high-fiber diet supplemented with healthy doses of aerobic exercise. |
| If you maintain a cholesterol level under 150 mg/dL, or LDL under 80 mg/dL, you— and all the other relatives who inherited these genes—will be free of heart disease. Recall, once again, the house fire analogy I ask my patients to consider. If you do not throw any fuel at all on that fire, it cannot burn.
To paraphrase William Shakespeare, the fault is not in our genes, but in ourselves and the way we eat. And that brings me to a frequently asked question that gets a chapter all its own.
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Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 I think the American Heart Association should respond by saying "The only way people don't get heart disease is if they die before the age at which they would normally be diagnosed with it. Thus our recommendation is that people avoid taking antioxidant supplements so they die earlier before they ever get heart disease." This should be part of the American Heart Association's new advertising slogan, which is: "Avoid heart disease by dying before you get it!" That seems to be consistent with the AHA's message, after all. |
Mike Adams
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 If you are suffering from heart disease or cardiovascular disorders, for example, you might choose to simply avoid hydrogenated oils and forget the rest of what you read here. And that would amount to considerable progress. That would be an improvement over your current diet and it would undoubtedly help you overcome the challenges you now face with your health condition. After six months or a year, you might find that you feel so much better that you're ready to take on a second bit of advice from this manual. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Every grocery store in America sells foods containing cancer-causing chemicals (sodium nitrite), heart disease promoting ingredients (hydrogenated oils), and drinks that promote osteoporosis and bone loss (carbonated soft drinks). It's almost like a disease store, not a grocery store, since most items on the shelves are actually "disease in a box" rather than real food.
In Washington these days, there's a lot of talk about "protecting Americans." But I say that if we really want to protect Americans, we need to start banning the food ingredients that are killing Americans. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 We know breast cancer -- what country has the highest rate of heart disease?
Mike Adams: Well, I'm still thinking the United States.
Robert Cohen: Nope! Denmark, Norway, Holland and Sweden -- you're going to get it sooner or later! Bone disease, heart disease, breast cancer -- see where are we going with this? --highest rates of dairy consumption. We're seeing absolute correlations between these diseases and dairy consumption, and I can give you the reason. |
Dr. Arthur Janov
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 A report in the October 2004 Science News noted, "A childhood filled with psychological or physical hardships contributes to a person's risk of developing heart disease."2 Researchers from Atlanta and San Diego looked at the records of more than 17,000 adults to identify risk factors for heart disease. The more problems in childhood, the more likely there would be heart disease later on. What the investigators did not look at was how early those risk factors might occur. A high level of anxiety in the mother will contribute to stress for the fetus. |
| More and more scientific research is confirming that children of mothers who underwent stressful conditions during pregnancy "show greater susceptibility to a wide array of health problems, including diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease."1 A report in the October 2004 Science News noted, "A childhood filled with psychological or physical hardships contributes to a person's risk of developing heart disease."2 Researchers from Atlanta and San Diego looked at the records of more than 17,000 adults to identify risk factors for heart disease. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Mike Adams: Can you give a brief summary of -- you've mentioned a few here, diabetes and acne, heart disease is mentioned in your book quite prominently -- but what other chronic diseases are, say, aggravated or even caused by chronic milk consumption?
Robert Cohen: Well, you know, that's an interesting question. Let's look at the Big Five -- in America, the number one killer is heart disease, and then we've got osteoporosis and cancer, and diabetes and asthma. We look at nations where they drink milk, we find these diseases are common. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| We're spending $300+ billion fighting a war in Iraq, and we won't spend even $100 million a year educating our own people on how they can prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease, birth defects, osteoporosis, clinical depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other diseases. |
Mike Adams
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| She downplays the link between a high fat diet and heart disease, while receiving funding from Oscar Mayer, Frito Lay and Land O'Lakes. She defends saccharin and receives money from Coca-Cola, Pepsi, NutraSweet and the National Soft Drink Association.
John Stauber, Toxic Sludge Is Good For You
Despite all the spin efforts, it is generally recognized that soft drinks are unhealthy and certainly not "wholesome beverages" as claimed by soft drink makers. |
| He discovered that these populations, when they followed their native diets that were high in fiber, high in the consumption of fruits and vegetables, and based on foods from nature in their natural state, demonstrated virtually no modern diseases like obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. They had healthy teeth with virtually no cavities, and they suffered almost no mental disorders such as depression and aggression. |
| The disadvantages, according to a spate of recent studies, include risk for coronary heart disease in excess of that associated with saturated fat.
-Andrew L. Stoll, M.D., The Omega-3 Connection
Virtually all of the research on trans fats shows this dangerous form of fat is far worse for your cardiovascular health than even saturated animal fats. In other words, butter is healthier for you than margarine, because margarine is made primarily from hydrogenated oils that contain trans fats. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Thus our recommendation is that people avoid taking antioxidant supplements so they die earlier before they ever get heart disease." This should be part of the American Heart Association's new advertising slogan, which is: "Avoid heart disease by dying before you get it!" That seems to be consistent with the AHA's message, after all.
OK let's get serious about this for a moment, and ask "What's stupid about this news? |
| The answer's obvious -- it's that the American Heart Association, which is supposed be telling people how to prevent heart disease, is out there giving people precisely the wrong information. They're telling people to avoid taking supplements that reduce the risk of heart disease. Shouldn't this association be giving people information that makes them healthier rather than increasing their risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular trauma?
If you look at the history of the American Heart Association, their present position is no surprise. |
Mike Adams
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| I currently have heart disease. How soon can I reverse my disease if I follow your advice?
First of all, I am not a doctor, nor do I pretend to be one by putting on a white lab coat and writing drug prescriptions to patients. None of the information I present in this report should be taken as medical advice. If you have a serious medical condition, I invite you to seek out a qualified health professional, preferably someone who is open to the idea of using lifestyle changes to improve your overall state of health. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Small island nations in the South Pacific, for example, had never heard of diabetes, heart disease or depression just two generations ago. But then American-made processed food products invaded their islands, edging out traditional foods like raw coconut, fresh fish, seaweed and taro. Today, South Pacific populations are suffering from widespread diabetes, depression, heart disease, learning disabilities, asthma and much more -- all thanks to the "invasion" of American foods, medicines and products.
America is the world's largest exporter of disease. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| REPPED: On the heels of a bizarre announcement from the American Heart Association that people should not use antioxidant supplements to prevent heart disease, the Council for Responsible Nutrition has replied with a review of epidemiologic studies that shows strong support for the use of vitamin E and other antioxidants in reducing the risk of major coronary disease. One study that reviewed 80,000 nurses who took vitamin E supplements showed a 41% reduction in the risk of major coronary disease. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Bone disease, heart disease, breast cancer -- see where are we going with this? --highest rates of dairy consumption. We're seeing absolute correlations between these diseases and dairy consumption, and I can give you the reason. We have much more than just national epidemiological studies -- we have mechanisms by which these diseases occur, in breast cancer and every cancer, thousands of things cause cancer. Every time we pick up a newspaper there's a new thing identified as causing cancer. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| The AHA told people that consuming any of these oils would increase their risk of heart disease. Of course, we now know that to be complete nonsense.
Which brings up the all-important question: how many people have died over the past 20 years from listening to the American Heart Association's advice? And, by the way, guess where the AHA gets millions of dollars in funding each year? It's from the prescription drug companies, of course, who stand to benefit from treating patients with pharmaceuticals rather than having patients get well from nutrition. |
| They're telling people to avoid taking supplements that reduce the risk of heart disease. Shouldn't this association be giving people information that makes them healthier rather than increasing their risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular trauma?
If you look at the history of the American Heart Association, their present position is no surprise. The AHA has, for decades, denied any benefit whatsoever from vitamins, minerals or nutritional supplements. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Some vitamin E haters rounded up a bunch of people dying from advanced stage heart disease, then they gave them synthetic vitamin E (i.e. a non-natural chemical) in very low doses. When the people started dying off from their heart disease, the researchers put the blame squarely on vitamin E. Hence the bizarre news headlines in late 2004 proclaiming, "Vitamin E will kill you!" It's all nonsense. The people were dying of heart disease in the first place, and the statistics were not adequately adjusted to take expected mortality rates into account. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 What makes me very suspicious about statins is, actually, that heart attacks and heart disease are getting to be less of a concern. What's a greater concern is congestive heart failure. There's a big announcement: "Less people are dying from heart attack." Well, all that's happening is that they're dying from congestive heart failure. So you know, they say cancer is No. 1 and heart disease is No. 2. But if you add in congestive heart failure, which is just a weak heart with heart disease and heart attacks, it's still No. 1 by far. |
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