Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Immediately

Many people with heart disease--myself among them--take a drug commonly known as Coumadin. It is a blood thinner, and there are a whole host of foods that must be avoided because they either reverse or intensify the drug's effects. Blueberries, for example, are out; so too are asparagus, broccoli, collard greens, endive, kale, romaine, mustard greens, spinach, and turnip greens, not to mention parsley, horseradish, and excessive amounts of garlic, to name but a few. This is not something Dr. Esselstyn's PREVENT AND REVERSE HEART DISEASE really takes into account, advocating such concoctions as Broccoli-Mushroom Pie, to name but one recipe that will zap your Coumadin levels to hell and gone. So my first comment on this book is that Coumadin users should approach its recipes with tremendous caution.

That said, any doctor will tell you that a diet you can't stay on is worthless. I wouldn't say that Esselstyn's diet is impossible to stay on, but it comes damn close. This is not just a diet low in red meats, fats, and sodium; it is a diet without them entirely--and also without chicken, fish, eggs, milk, and oils of any kind. It is, simply put, the Vegan diet from all hell and then some. So good luck at dodging the Coumadin-unfriendly items, not to mention finding many of these recommended products at your corner grocery store. Quite frankly, you would do better to BEGIN with a diet low in red meats, fats, and sodium that you CAN stay on and gradually expand upon it. Many heart patients do become vegetarians; many heart patients do become vegans. But it is not something most people will find easy to jump into point-blank, and a diet you can stay on is better than one that you cannot.

That said, I do recommend Esselstyn's book for the simple reason that, Coumadin issues aside, this is the ideal, it is what we are working toward. But don't let the fact that you can't immediately stay on it knock you out of the park. And so, one more time: a diet you can stay on is better than one you cannot.

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