LVOE Book Club discussion
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Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease
Heart Month
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Chapter 13: You Are In Control
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More than that, Rachael, these people are facing an extreme life event - one that may kill them!
I am amazed, thinking back on all the AACVPR and AHA guidance I gave my cardiac rehab patients in the late 1990’s how eagerly the patients listened to our teaching and advice.
I know if I had this information on plant-based “no oil” diet to share the majority of the patients would *LIKELY* have tried the diet.
The other Dr. Mueller jokes that we need a “time machine” to go back and help the patients who we unintentionally mislead for our own lack of education on whole food plant-based eating!
I myself was vegetarian at the time of working as exercise physiologist teaching in cardiac rehab, but never told my patients to drop meat as I followed the guidelines given to me by the professional organizations😮💨
The watered down messaging provided by our professional organizations leads many people to believe they can eat what they want to in moderation. With our current technology and medications Heart Disease is still the number one killer in the United States. The Whole Food Plant Based Diet is the only diet shown to reverse heart disease. It is remarkable that I can go to the American Heart Association's Web Site and find a multitude of recipes containing beef and other heart disease causing foods TODAY.
The message is counter cultural. On so many levels. Change can be scary and hard. To make change we need to be properly motivated. A sudden health crisis such as a heart attack can serve as a teachable moment when we are more receptive to change. We need a message that is hopeful. We also need a guide to lead us on our new path. Not everyone is ready for change now but we can be there for them when they are.
I find this very interesting. I have been plant based for over 7 years now, and have found that most people are not willing to change their diet for any reason. I know many people who were counseled about dietary changes to reduce risk of disease, or to avoid medication or surgery, and most were unwilling to even participate in meatless Monday. When presented with evidence that a plant based diet would have positive effects on health most people still disagree. I wonder what made Dr. Esselstyn's patients more willing to make these changes? Did he have a way of explaining these positives that we could learn from to encourage more people to go plant based?