My brother-in-law, Mike, went in recently for his follow-up appointment with the heart specialist after his heart scare a few weeks ago. Of course the doctor asked all about the diet and lifestyle that led to his new heart disease diagnosis, and they talked about how to eat a healthier whole foods diet, about getting regular exercise, and lowering stress to prevent further heart damage…
NOT!
Now here’s what he really said…
“How are you tolerating the new medicines I sent you home with?” (Pick your jaw up off the floor, there’s more.)
Mike said he brought up all the Mountain Dew he drank (past tense thankfully!) and how the high fructose corn syrup had really messed up his triglycerides. The doctor’s response? “Are you diabetic?” Mike said no. “Are you taking your Zocor?” Mike told him no because he’d experienced fatigue and muscle soreness. “Try taking one every other day.”
That’s it. Nothing about improving his diet. Not even the politically correct advice that you would expect, like getting more exercise or lowering stress. Am I freaking out over nothing, or does all this sound absolutely CRAZY to anyone else?
Thankfully, Mike knows better, and he’s been eager to learn more about how to take better care of himself and how to nourish his body with foods that will heal. He was surprised, too, at all that his doc didn’t say to him. He at least expected to hear the low-fat spiel, but he didn’t even get that.
I refuse to feel discouraged!
All of us together can continue to chip away at the pathetic mentality that says to take a pill for everything that ails you, and then continue on with life as usual.
This book will help..
I can’t wait to read this book: Put your heart in your mouth by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride.
ANYONE with heart disease (or not) should read it. If you have read it (or other good books on this topic), please feel free to comment with a mini-review!
- Be sure to read through the great comments at the first post about Mike’s heart scare. (Some good website suggestions are there for you to research more, too.)
- Scroll down at this post about healthy fats to find info on cholesterol and statins/cholesterol medications.
Kelly says
Suzanne, I know just the person to lead your Mom’s friend in the right direction! (YOU!) 🙂
Suzanne says
A friend of my mom’s just had a heart attack at 60. She was told her diet had nothing to do with it, despite the fact that her “numbers” (blood pressure, cholesterol, etc,) were all normal. She was given no diet advice at all, just a bunch of meds. Sad. This woman was very willing to change her diet, but now has no idea why she should bother.
btw, I’m really enjoying your blog! So much good information!
Lauren says
Ooh, I think that would be a great new post (grains and fiber)! I really want to make sure my FIL gets the right information in regards to his heart and diet. He is VERY stubborn, so before I get this book for him I would love to see a post on this topic!
Kelly says
LN, seems like even a Kashi bar would be better than a Slim Fast bar…? Or much better yet, EGGS with her coffee…
Mary, congrats on curing yourself!!!
JoAnn, very interesting about the cayenne pepper, worth looking into for sure.
Katie, although it would be impossible to gather, wouldn’t you love some actual percentages on how many people CAN and DO change their diets and lifestyles when faced with a health crisis? I’m sure the number is so low that it’s no wonder docs don’t think there are people out there that actually will do it. I think all of us (myself included) are so spoiled in our lifestyles, that taking the “magic pill” DOES sound appealing. I pray that if and when MY health crisis comes that I’m ready to do the work for real healing and not the quick/fake fix…sooooo much easier said than done, I know.
Nancy, I love that quote.
Amy, I would think bone broth would be especially healing for your Mom right now!
Michelle, it is good to know you will be “out there” spreading the truth. 🙂
Ann Marie, I love our grass-fed 3/4 # ground beef with 1/4 # ground heart from the farm – NO taste difference at all and FULL of nutrients!
Lauren, as I said above, I haven’t read the book yet, however I do know that Dr. Campbell-McBride really knows her stuff. Not that we should blindly follow her advice, either, but if she says no grains, we definitely shouldn’t take that lightly. I know from other research on our immune system that grains can be very hard on a body. (And it’s not the first time I’ve heard that the “politically correct” fiber may not be all it’s been cracked up to be…however, I’m still on the fence on that one.)
Anyone else have thoughts on this topic (grains & fiber)? Might be a good subject for a whole new post.
CHEESESLAVE says
When my mom was diagnosed with diverticulitis, the doctor told her to, get this — EAT POPCORN.
My mom is an RN (retired) — thank goodness she knew that was crazy advice and did not follow it.
Incidentally, one of the best things for heart health is CoQ10 — which is abundant in beef heart.
CHEESESLAVE
Michelle @ Find Your Balance says
Wow! This is one of those topics that really burns my bottom to get moving and make change in this world. It is, in fact, people like your brother I am most hoping to serve as a health counselor. Too many people are unnecessarily on drugs, or on too many. Thank you for this post and I will check out that book for sure!
Michelle @ Find Your Balance
Lauren says
Kelly,
I took some time to read some excerpts from the book you recommended because my FIL just had a major heart attack a few weeks ago. He loves to read and I knew that the only way he would listen to us would be a great book with lots of great information. As I was reading through some of the excerpts, I was a little more than shocked with some of the recommendations the author was giving. The author was saying to avoid grains of any kind (which I am assuming whole grains is included here), beans (cannelini), buckwheat, pasta of any kind (also I am assuming whole grains are included too) and oats to name a few. I thought that all of these were incredibly good for your heart. Could you please clarify? Thanks.
JoAnn says
Kelly, have you done any research on cayenne pepper as a heart stimulant? I just read the book, ‘Left for Dead’, and it was a real eye opener! It’s about a gentleman who had a heart attack and subsequent bypass surgery. His surgeon/cardiologist sounded exactly like you mention in your post. He did his own research on natural cures and ended up taking cayenne capsules with garlic and ginger plus hawthorne caps. This man is 40 years past his bypass and takes absolutely NO medications at all! We’ve started taking cayenne caps as well and have more energy…we’ll see what the lab work says soon!
JoAnn
Amy says
Kelly.
Thanks for the book link. I’m going to check it out for my dad. He has heart issues and his dr. doesn’t talk about nutrition either. My mom just had her knee replaced and I talked to her about good nutrition while she is healing. Eat butter, mom. Butter? That’s not good for my arteries. Ee-gads!
one prayer, one day, one person, one doctor at a time. The Lord is at work here. Thanks for your faithfulness to sharing good health and whole foods the way God has created them.
God bless,
Amy O
Amy
Nancy says
“Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food.” Hippocrates (400 B.C)
TeamBettendorf says
I went to the doc one time with a friend to be her advocate and when she told the doc she was going to change her diet the doc said “People don’t do that. They say they are going to but they don’t.” I think that’s where docs are now. Most people *want* a pill so the docs have stopped wasting their breath on the healthy eating spiel.
TeamBettendorf
Mary says
This truly is sad…I, too, was told “food had nothing to do with” my ulcerative colitis. Are you kidding me? I became my own “doctor” and began researching everything I could about diet, health, etc. back in 2002. I totally changed my eating lifestyle, got off processed, junk food and have been off meds with no flare-ups for 2 years now. It has been an up and down road but to now be experiencing good health is awesome and SO worth the work. My motto…Eat well, Be well.
Local Nourishment says
Sadly, this just isn’t surprising to me. After my mom’s breast cancer, there was no discussion about food at all. Mom was heartbroken last month when the Slim Fast bar she eats every morning was discontinued. She doesn’t like the other varieties (thank you, Lord!) and doesn’t know what she’ll have with her coffee now.
Even with our food allergies, visits to the allergist are all about the meds. If ever there was a time to talk food, you’d think that would be it! I really believe doctors aren’t taught nutrition or food chemistry at all.
I’m so glad your brother is no longer doing the Dew. That will help him more than the Zocor!
Local Nourishment