Brad's Raw Made Easy: The Fast, Delicious Way to Lose Weight, Optimize Health, and Live Mostly in the Raw

by Brad Gruno

William Castelli, M.D., was one of the directors of the Framingham Heart Study, the longest-running clinical study in medical history. It has been tracking health information about the heart disease of adult participants since 1948. The researchers meticulously document the data about each participant’s lifestyle, especially their dietary and exercise habits. Dr. Castelli was famously quoted about the heart disease epidemic in this country: “If Americans adopted a vegetarian diet, the whole thing would disappear.” There is plenty of research to support Dr. Castelli’s theory. In February 2005, for example, a major study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology confirmed the link between animal products and heart disease, concluding that among twenty-nine thousand participants, those who ate the most meat were also at the greatest risk of heart disease. Dr. Linda E. Kelemen, the scientist who led the study, concluded that not all proteins are created equal. Her colleagues found that a high intake of protein from non-animal sources—such as nuts and beans—lowers the risk of heart disease by 30 percent.