adopting a plant based vegan diet to prevent and reverse heart disease
a plant based vegan diet was phased in by a 65 year old male beginning june 2016 to date. while not yet a purist plant based diet, the diet generally follows the guidelines for a heart healthy plant based vegan diet of both Dr Dean Ornish and Dr Caldwell B. Esselstyn.
blood test results - before diet - 2/1/16, after diet 12/5/16,
daily statin therapy, long predates the first blood test and has not changed, and consists of: aspirin 2x81 mg, crestor 10mg, ramapril 2.5mg, Niaspan 500mg, zetia 10mg
HDL cholesterol
before diet - 57 - (guideline >40)
after diet - 53 - decrease - 7.02% (HDL generally decreases slightly with a plant based diet)
LDL cholesterol
before diet - 53 (guideline <100)</p>
after diet - 38 - decrease - 28.3%
total cholesterol
before diet - 124 (guideline <200)</p>
after diet - 101 - decrease - 28.57%
triglycerides
before diet - 71 (guideline <150)</p>
after diet - 52 - decrease - 26.76%
some studies show that fat and cholesterol are not deposited into cardiac arteries below a total cholesterol level of 150 mg/dl and LDL level of 80 mg/dl, and that by reducing to these levels will eliminate progression of Cardiac Artery Desease (CAD) and sometimes selectively reverse CAD
other studies predict CAD will not progress when LDL is below 67 mg/dl and that the cardiovascular event rate will approach 0 at 57 mg/dl for primary prevention and 30 mg/dl for secondary prevention.
a plant based diet has beneficial effects beyond reducing cholesterol levels, reducing other CAD risk factors. also, it can allow the inner lining of cardiac arteries (the endothelium) to heal and allows once clogged arteries to dilate improving blood flow to the heart
Comments
AWESOME!!! I've been plant-based for a few years now. Love it for the increased energy and faster recovery.
My dad has been experimenting with it for the past year after some heart issues. He's lost a lot of weight, but I'm unsure what his blood work looks like. I'll pass this along. Really great to see another set of impressive results like this.
Blog:www.lackofhustle.com Strava:www.strava.com/athletes/2393839
2017 Races
uerto Rico 70.3, Oceanside 70.3, Chattanooga 70.3, Eagleman 70.3, Worlds 70.3 (hopefully
)
Blog: www.lackofhustle.com Strava: www.strava.com/athletes/2393839
2017 Races: Puerto Rico 70.3, Oceanside 70.3, Chattanooga 70.3, Eagleman 70.3, Worlds 70.3 (hopefully
)
I went from being a full-fledged carnivore to vegetarian (with some occasional fish) one year ago. I have not lost or gained any real weight over the last year, and other than the dark winter months (now), I maintain pretty lean body mass. Although I have lots to learn with how to eat properly in this lifestyle, I have gotten better at it. I can see moving towards an all vegan diet in the near future. Going to the doc next week for my annual physical and looking forward to seeing the bloodwork analysis.
Can you guys recommend a website/blog/book on how to eat correctly during training and racing? I have read the books by Scott Jurek and Rich Roll, and I have plenty of Vegan Cookbooks, but I haven't found specific vegan nutrition for training and race-day.
Hey Danielle! This was one of the first questions my girlfriend and I had when switching over to the vegan diet. (Another was how best to maintain good iron levels.) We’ve come to learn that while calcium levels might be lower for vegans due to lack of milk consumption, bone density is usually the same. That said, we probably both get at least as much calcium as peeps who drink/eat dairy since our kale and broccoli consumption is high. (We learned that kale & broc are actually better sources of calcium than milk; who knew? So, we eat broc & kale regularly, esp kale blended into smoothies in the AM!) Anyway, more on all that here: http://nutritionfacts.org/topics/osteoporosis/ And, for what it’s worth, I’ve had zero bone density issues (or any other health issues) even with BIG training volume. (Knock on wood
)
Since I brought it up, iron is also something I was worried about since I’ve had exercised induced anemia in the past (when still a meat-eater). I’ve come to learn that many veggies, especially dark leafy greens have lots of iron. Thought I’ve never had any issues, I still make sure I’m getting plenty when doing big volume weeks by eating pepitas (aka pumpkin seeds), putting a scoop of spirulina or chlorella in my post-workout green smoothie, and even supplementing with Floradix Iron (vegan).Hope this helps answer your q’s! And… all that said, what you eat and know to be best for your own body is totally unique to you! I would still encourage all to at least try the vegan or vegetarian thing only because I’ve seen such awesome benefits.
I was in the "mostly" camp for about a year before I fully made the switch. It's a gradual process that requires some trial and error. Since I made LOTS of mistakes before getting things dialed in, maybe you can learn from what I'm doing now and avoid some of those missteps
With that, I'll shamelessly direct you to my blog for some guidance on how to manage the diet with training....How to Eat Vegan: An Easy Guide for Athletes & Others Alike
While I cover in a bit more detail on the blog, I eat some sort of a quinoa + fruit bowl + lots of seeds & nuts + almond butter pre workout. Post workout I'll either have a really big kale + fruit smoothie or a quinoa + black beans + veggies bowl. If it was a really big workout, I'll have both after. If the workout is really early, I'll often not eat prior (but have coffee & water) and just fuel during. If that's the case I'll have the kale + fruit smoothie and/or a quinoa + fruit + lots of seeds & nuts bowl after. If I'm still feeling hungry after all that, I'll snack on some nuts or carrots + hummus.
I'll look to get a post up on nutrition during training soon, but I'm mostly eating some real food (or close to it) and drinking water or water with honey (not technically vegan but I eat it) + Nuun. I like dried pineapple and dried bananas on the bike. I also like Taos Mountain Energy Almond Agave & Toasted Coconut bars during or right before big runs, swims and rides too. The bars are a lot less processed than your typical bar, but they still sit well in my stomach. They also taste great. (These guys sponsor me, so I might be biased, but I truly really like their bars and reached out to them.)
Good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Great blog. I will definitely make it part of the vegan tool-kit.
LDL - now 34 -
Total Choresterol - now 95
on plant based diet