Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure
by Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD

If you or someone you love has heart disease, this is the book to read. Dr Esselstyn has been able to reverse heart disease (in general terms, that’s when an artery is blocked by plaque) in his patients by changing their diet.

The Western diet of animal foods, lots of fat, and lots of processed food contributes to – or maybe even causes – heart disease. To reverse heart disease, Dr. Esselstyn recommends a plant-based (vegan) diet that is very low in fat.

If you already follow the 10 steps of Marilu’s Total Health Makeover®, this program will not seem so extreme. If you’re new to THM® then this may seem restrictive at first. But it has plenty of variety (hello, look at all the vegetables and grains out there!). And it’s certainly easy enough if it’s going to save your life, or keep you from living on medication in fear of a heart attack, or keep you from quadruple bypass surgery. (hmmm, maybe we should suggest this program to Bill Clinton?)

The book is in two main parts. The first part describes heart disease for the average reader. It’s a thorough discussion with big words, but they come with explanations and diagrams, so we were able to follow it and learn something. Dr Esselstyn provides a lot of patient case studies, so we see that the dietary change has helped people with a variety of contributing factors in their heart disease.

The second part of the book contains lots of recipes from Ann Esselstyn, Dr Esselstyn’s wife (he admits the kitchen is her domain). The recipes look great, and even if you’re not interested in the total program, you can use the book for these recipes.

Here’s a summary of Dr Esselstyn’s rules for eating to prevent and reverse heart disease. There’s nothing here that contradicts THM®, and so we fully support this program if your health calls for a stricter interpretation of healthy eating.

1. Do not eat meat.
2. Do not eat chicken; not even white meat.
3. Do not eat fish.
4. DO not eat any dairy products. That means no skim milk, no nonfat yogurt, no sherbet, and no cheese at all.
5. Do not eat eggs. That includes egg whites and even egg substitutes that contain egg whites.
6. Do not use any oil at all. Not even extra virgin olive oil or canola oil.
7. Use only whole-grain products. That means no white flour products. Be sure the list of ingredients uses a phrase like “whole wheat” or “whole grain.” Avoid semolina and wheat flour, which are actually white. Use brown rice.
8. Do not drink fruit juice. (It is fine to eat fruit, or to use small amounts of fruit juice in recipes or to flavor beverages.)
9. Do not eat any nuts (although if you have no heart disease, you can occasionally eat walnuts).
10. Do not eat avocados. That includes guacamole.
11. Do not eat coconut.
12. Eat soy products cautiously. Many are highly processed and high in fat. Use “light” tofu. Avoid soy cheese, which almost always contains oil and casein (dairy).
13. Read The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell with Thomas M. Campbell II (BenBella Books).

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