Heart Health Fuhrman Ornish

Hi, amishere,

It's my understanding that the fat in nuts is good fat. For what it's worth, my labs in 12-08 showed blood lipids in the "high risk" category. After following most of Dr. Fuhrman's recommendations for 16 months, I had new labs last month (I posted the numbers here previously) and the doctor said all my cholesterol, HDL, LDL numbers are "perfect." I have been eating 6-7 handfulls of raw nuts/day while greatly reducing meat & dairy foods. I can say that, at least in my experience, nuts have been a big help. I'm sure some experts will have different opinions about "all fat being the same." The fact that opinions among medical professionals differ is an indication of how much has yet to be learned.

I do eat small amounts of cottage cheese and cheddar cheese, and occasionally, a square of dark chocolate, so I guess yogurt can't be any worse, but I don't have heart disease or chest pain upon exertion. If I did, I'd probably avoid all meat & dairy.

Hi ami,

Hi Xring,

Re: Just completely stopped being vigilant.

It's easy to slip up. Just learn from it, and congratulate yourself on the progress you HAVE made. No guilt trips or beating yourself up. Great to see you here !

Re: And depression creeped in and made me stop the low fat diet.

Ouch. Depression is a genuine and serious problem. Do you take vitamin D? Very important for a dozen reasons, including depression. I would suggest 2000IU for 3 months, then get your blood level checked for vitamin D, when you get your cholesterol checked. Also, I swear, when I changed to eat 2 or 3 meals a day, no snacking, I swear my occasional mild but genuine depression went away. It's no fun when you feel like there's no reason to go on. There is nothing in my life to be depressed about. But, that's not the cause of depression.

Fuhrman and Esselstyn are in agreement that dairy products are not good for heart patients, or for anyone. I'm giving you the best advice, for people who are working to recover good health. Why do less than the best? Dark chocloate: To enjoy the healthful benefits of chocolate, use unsweetened cocoa powder. You can make a great chocolate mouse. Bake a yam: place it on tin foil on the oven rack, in the skin, pierced, 350C for 1.5 to 2 hours, until sweet gooey stuff oozes out of the yam. Put the yam into a blender (without the skin) with about 4 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder. Use a carrot as a pusher. Delicious, and super healthy ! My brother-in-law put it into an ice cream maker, and it tasted just like chocolate ice cream. Everyone loved it.

I have Dr. Esselstyn on a VegSource DVD saying that 1 oz of nuts is fine, when asked about the discrepancy with Dr. Fuhrman. Esselstyn said just don't go overboard to 4 oz. If weight loss is an issue, then all agree to stay down around 1 oz, maybe 2.

While everyone's heredity and sensitivities are different, my IMT (carotid artery ultrasound) got worse on a 2 years of strict Pritikin Diet, with no nuts, and low fat. Then 2 years on strict Fuhrman cleared up my IMT. I was reliably eating 3-4 oz nuts and seeds daily. This is not to say that nuts caused the reversal, but they didn't prevent it, either. I think nuts and seeds make it easier to stay on the diet. They reduce cravings. Just my feeling.

Welcome back, my friend. Put a smile on, and take on the day !

Best regards, EngineerGuy

Hi Ami, it's hard to combat depression and keep motivated to eat healthy. Strictly my own opinion: if you're having chest pain, don't eat dairy or meat, chocolate or nuts. This is a very serious condition we're dealing with and your actions should match that seriousness. I was eating ~ 1 cup of cooked veggies (mainly green and tomatoes) along with 1 cup of cooked rice at each of 2 meals, and 4-5 pieces of fruit a day when I was in your situation. Drank nothing but water. I did that for 2-4 weeks to 'stabilize' my plaque then I started eating small salads with plain rice vinegar and slowly added more and more veggies. Seems like not a lot of food at first, but after a couple of days my hunger went away. It worked for me. Hang in there guy.

I find getting back on track with the right diet gives me such a boost that depresssion simply disappears. Do dont hesitate, do the right thing.

Eat healthy foods only. If you have any doubts about nuts & chocolate I would say leave them until you feel better to experiment later.

Like EG, I eat a handful nuts and occasionally real dark chocolate (80%).

Josvin

amishere

Don't get your self down. Changing ones diet is a huge challenge. I applaud you for trying!

My advice to you is to not look back but only look forward. What's done is done and cannot be changed. You can change where you are going though.



I'm attempting to eat a plant based diet with these exceptions:

I have cereal with skim milk and have no-fat Greek yogurt a couple times a week/ I also eat a handful of nuts daily and have grilled salmon once a week. Is this the right thing for me? I'll know when I get my next test.



I lowered my Cholesterol 50 points in 3 months and feel better than ever.
I've only been on this diet for 3 months now and my Cholesterol is down to 100 with my LDL at 35. Based on how I progress or regress I will alter my diet accordingly.
Good

So Ami, ya still around?

Yes I am still here, thanks so much for the encouraging words. I am going to do my best to stick with a good diet like you all have suggested. For now no nuts or dark chocolate until I feel better as my chest is still bothering me. I know if I go to the doctor he will want to do an angiogram and I don't want that again. I am also taking Niaspan and 20mg of Lipitor along with my diet so that will help get my numbers going in the right direction. I know the meds part is not approved of here but I need some mental help and taking the meds is a sound way to immediately lower all my numbers until my diet takes over for good hopefully.