Our #1 Killer Can Be Stopped

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM · October 12, 2011 · Volume 5

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Dr. Dean Ornish proved decades ago that heart disease could be reversed solely with diet and lifestyle changes.

Discuss

Transcript

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

In the end, my grandma’s miraculous recovery from terminal heart disease through diet and exercise—remarkable as it was—was just one anecdote among many. Though it inspired me to pursue a career in medicine, I’ve always had a skeptical streak, and just wasn’t convinced until Ornish’s landmark study in 1990 clobbered me over the head with enough science to change my own diet forever.

Pritikin had been reversing heart disease with a plant-based diet for years before Ornish came along. But here it was, in black and white, in one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world.

Ornish proved you could not just slow heart disease—our number one killer, not just stop heart disease in its tracks, but actually reverse heart disease, open up clogged arteries—and without drugs, without surgery. Since then, millions upon millions have died totally unnecessary deaths. If my grandma didn’t have to die like that, no one’s grandmother has to die. We have the miracle cure, yet hardly anyone knows about it.

Wait a second, though. If we can reverse heart disease without drugs, without surgery, then great. Doesn’t that mean we can eat whatever the heck we want, and then, as soon as we start feeling some chest pain, we can get with the program, eat as healthy as we need to, and open our arteries back up? Getting to enjoy not only our grandchildren, but also happy memories of years of bacon and eggs, cheese, and fried chicken. Here’s the problem with the plan: sudden cardiac death. Our first symptom may be our last.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Sources

Acknowledgements

Topics

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

In the end, my grandma’s miraculous recovery from terminal heart disease through diet and exercise—remarkable as it was—was just one anecdote among many. Though it inspired me to pursue a career in medicine, I’ve always had a skeptical streak, and just wasn’t convinced until Ornish’s landmark study in 1990 clobbered me over the head with enough science to change my own diet forever.

Pritikin had been reversing heart disease with a plant-based diet for years before Ornish came along. But here it was, in black and white, in one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world.

Ornish proved you could not just slow heart disease—our number one killer, not just stop heart disease in its tracks, but actually reverse heart disease, open up clogged arteries—and without drugs, without surgery. Since then, millions upon millions have died totally unnecessary deaths. If my grandma didn’t have to die like that, no one’s grandmother has to die. We have the miracle cure, yet hardly anyone knows about it.

Wait a second, though. If we can reverse heart disease without drugs, without surgery, then great. Doesn’t that mean we can eat whatever the heck we want, and then, as soon as we start feeling some chest pain, we can get with the program, eat as healthy as we need to, and open our arteries back up? Getting to enjoy not only our grandchildren, but also happy memories of years of bacon and eggs, cheese, and fried chicken. Here’s the problem with the plan: sudden cardiac death. Our first symptom may be our last.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Doctor's Note

For more on heart disease and plant-based dietary interventions, see:
Why Was Heart Disease Rare in the Mediterranean?
The Mediterranean Diet or a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet?
PREDIMED: Does Eating Nuts Prevent Strokes?
Optimal Cholesterol Level

This is a continuation of a theme I started in yesterday’s video about my personal journey into medicine. Be sure to check out my other videos on heart health and heart disease.

For more context, also check out my associated blog posts: Watermelon for Erectile Dysfunction; Heart Disease: there is a Cure; Magnesium-Rich Foods to Prevent Sudden Death; Eating To Extend Our Lifespan; Cancer-Proofing Your Body; and Is Coconut Oil Bad For You?

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