Body by plants

It happened exactly one year ago. My active, seemingly healthy husband was in the hospital recovering from totally unexpected triple bypass surgery. We were just beginning to get used to the fact that he’d had a heart attack as he was recovering smoothly ready to go home on February 14 when his heart stopped. (I later learned that is not totally unexpected after open-heart surgery: the heart apparently decided it had enough).

Fortunately, my husband was still in Coronary Care and was able to be resuscitated. And a few days later, he received a defibrillator.

He’s now doing great now, but that could have been the end to our Valentine story. Instead we’re celebrating a year of surprises as we’ve discovered promising medical research and new ways to eat and cook.

It began traditionally. My husband went home, completed his cardiac rehab and followed the advice he was given- resume his exercise and the low-fat, seemingly healthy diet we’d been on. We were discouraged, though, because that was just the advice he’d been following and that hadn’t had such a great results.

My twin sister, always trying to be helpful, gave me a book: “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. As a nurse, I was skeptical, but since the good doctor was associated with the Cleveland Clinic, I started the book—and then couldn’t put it down! I learned about the pioneering work of cardiologists focusing on the effect of diet on cardiovascular disease. It was so convincing my husband and I enrolled in a 5-hour workshop at the Cleveland Clinic. We learned not only about the increasing body of research supporting use of a plant-based whole food diet to treat heart disease, but also how we could cook and eat this way.

Although it required significant changes, over the next month we adopted a no-oil, totally plant-based whole food diet. First we revamped the contents of our pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, eliminating most processed foods and all animal-based products. We discovered the amazing variety of different whole grains and beans and learned to carry a magnifying glass when shopping to scrutinize all labels. I learned most of the supposedly healthy convenience foods we’d been eating often were processed with the fats, sugars, and oils we’re now avoiding. We found the stores and grocery aisles that had healthy foods and learned how to negotiate in restaurants so we could continue eating out frequently.

And I, the woman who didn’t attempt a recipe if it had more than 3 ingredients, learned to cook!

Thanks to all the great plant-based recipes I’ve found in healthy cookbooks and on the internet, I’ve discovered my kitchen and can now prepare plant-based soups to desserts. Most of my culinary attempts turn out surprisingly well. Only a few are ones we won’t try again (The tofu scramble never did cut it for my husband as a substitute for scrambled eggs!) Still the meatless meatloaf, oil-free gravy and healthy mashed potatoes were a big hit and we both love the carrot cake and banana-based “ice cream” we enjoy for dessert.

At first it was a steep learning curve, but now eating plant-based has become routine, especially as our tastes changed. We were advised that over a few months the typical American craving for sugar, fat and salt would lessen, and indeed it did. Still I won’t say living plant-based in a carnivore world is easy, but it’s definitely worth the effort. My husband’s improved so much clinically and physically his doctor is amazed, we recently completed a 6-day biking tour in the Netherlands, and we’re back cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. I’m also not complaining about the 25 pounds we both so easily lost in the first few months of our new eating plan.

All the happy surprises of this past year are definitely worth celebrating. New cook that I am, I’ve got an indulgent but heart-healthy dinner in mind for February 14 to celebrate Valentines and what my husband likes to call his 1-year re-birthday. After dining on spinach beet salad, lentil meatloaf, sweet potatoes with cranberry glaze and cherry-chocolate cake, we’ll raise a glass of red wine and toast our good fortune discovering our new heart-healthy lifestyle.

For those inclined to go more plant-based check out the popular DVD Forks Over Knives, learn about landmark research in “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” and “The China Study” by Colin Campbell, or even the lighter but still accurate “The Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition.” Or contact me at Plant-basedJoan@google.com.

---

---