AFIB Cure : John Day

[mjm1971]

Hi All

ive just read the book by John Day and was wondering if anyone else has actually done this plan and if it made any difference to their AF .

Thanks

Matt

[Pigleywigley]

Hi Matt I’m reading too but started to make changes back in January. Lost a stone - BMI 24.5

Started acupuncture & training to be meditation teacher for stress.

Increased exercise 3 runs & 2 swims

Cut sugar (not completely but drastically), processed, caffeine, alcohol (wine mainly), processed grains

Started HRT

Started magnesium taurate

Monitoring BP & staying good 👍

& touch wood no AFIB 12 weeks from every 2! 👏👏 pray 🙏 it stays

Was just about to ask where to have bio markers done but someone might see this & answer!

[mjm1971 in reply to Pigleywigley]

Hi Pigley

my BMI is 28 , blood pressure is fine , I've cut out caffeine and alcohol.

cant see me cutting out all added sugars but obviously i will do whatever if it works so was just wondering if anyone had done the book with ultimate results

that said it sounds like it has improved your situation massively and well done you for that and i hope it continues

Thanks

Matt

[Pigleywigley in reply to mjm1971]

Gradual change helps. I’ve not cut sugar completely but working slowly to reduce it. 👍

[CDreamer]

My GP does most of my Biomarkers, especially inflammatory CRP, FBC, VitD, all iron, B12, Kidney & Liver, Protein tests - she gave up on me regarding lipids because I wouldn’t consider taking statins. I had a new one last month Protein Electropheresis. I have 3 monthly tests - not all the tests, all the time but that is mainly because they are an excellent surgery and believe in the value of testing BUT they need a reason and getting tested when you are well on NHS anyway, is a lot more difficult. I am closely monitored because of the drugs I’m on for another conditions.

When I’ve tried to get tested outside of those parameters it’s meant finding a private practitioner who can order the tests and then someone qualified to take blood, however, nowadays there are a lot of kits on the market for various tests which can be done with pin pricks - lots out there! Just google……..

I’ve used ZoomDoc for COVID antibody testing and they were excellent - results 24 hours after posting.

I suspect with people finding access to doctors more difficult and tests becoming much more available more people who want to be proactive about their health will be looking into this, unfortunately creating a 2 tier healthcare system as it does cost.

[FancyPants54 in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks to you I got myself and my Mum the antibody test. I was curious for myself but Mum is more important because she has a reduced immune system due to a drug. I got my results today - all good. Lots of antibodies. Just got to wait to hear from them about Mum now.

[Mugsy15]

Last October I had Cardioversion after months of persistent AF. I've followed the John Day recommendations for some 3 months; not absolutely but as near as I can get with occasional indulgences such as 3 or 4 pints with my mates, in the interests of sanity. It doesn't seem to be a trigger so far. Have cut out red meat, most sweet things (there's sugar in 'healthy yogurts and the like, so it's difficult to cut it completely), all wines and spirits, caffeine, most gluten (especially bread).

Lots of veg, fruit, fish, nuts and seeds and when my sugar cravings kick in in the evenings I pick up an apple, orange, banana and/or nectarine.

I take daily supplements of Magnesium, Potassium and COQ10.

I do a lot of walking but don't exercise strenuously as this brings on arrythmia in my case.

I've had odd runs of ectopics but no AF that I've been aware of for several weeks now.

I've had the recommended blood tests done by my GP, (some had already been done at hospital when I reported the with AF), which were all in the normal range.

I'm lucky in that my wife already eats that kind of food and is clued up nutritionally, so I simply started eating the same as her, and began buying lots of fruit.

Downside for me personally is that I no longer look like a rugby player and now have the frame of a distance runner, I've dropped so much weight! But if AF is the alternative then I'm prepared to be skinny.

I can't yet comment on long term effects but so far this has worked for me - I'm not on any meds.

Maybe I'll find a way to bulk back up a bit in time.

I'm on the list for ablation but am unlikely to go ahead with that if things stay the way they are.

I'd say give it a go - it's tough to give up things you love, but worth it!

[CDreamer in reply to Mugsy15]

Oh well done you!

[Snookersteve]

Hi. I have just read this book as well and am very impressed by the advice given. I feel that anyone with AF would find this book very useful. Anything you can do to improve your general health (including lowering BP, keeping diabetes at bay etc) will probably improve your chances of keeping AF at bay eg losing weight, exercising, getting a good nights sleep, reducing stress, eating a healthy diet, checking your biomarkers via blood tests, keeping your magnesium levels up etc etc. I am certainly going to try to follow the plan as closely as possible and have already lost about 6-7 lbs in weight and feel better just for that.

The very experienced Cardiologists/EPs who wrote the book seem to have plenty of evidence that following the plan helps and in some cases you can even reduce your medication (under supervision) if you get your biomarkers in the correct range. One of the things that they stress in the book is that some of their patients think that they can have an ablation and then all their problems are solved without changing their lifestyles. Whereas just carrying on with the same lifestyle (which led to AF in the first place) means that even after an ablation AF could return if patients continue to make the same poor choices. However, patients who make some or all of the changes recommended in the book are going to feel much better generally even if the AF is not completely eliminated albeit reduced in severity. Steve

[Visigoth]

I’m so envious of all of you who are losing/have lost weight on this regime. I’ve been trying to do it as best I can with a mostly plant based diet, cut out most sugar, never had caffeine or alcohol anyway, but I’m losing nothing - in fact I put on a pound or two. I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong! The thing I struggle most with as far as the rest of it is concerned is sleep: I have very broken nights and a lot of insomnia . I’ve tried all sorts of things but I think it’s a side effect of my medication - amiodarone. I read the book and had such high hopes but I’m getting really discouraged now!

[CDreamer in reply to Visigoth]

Sort the sleep and you will start to lose the weight if you have the eating right. That’s what happened to me. It’s pretty much useless going to a GP with sleep issues but worth a try and asking for a referral to a sleep clinic. Our area used have an excellent service and I received a lot of help from a specialist sleep physiologist/psychologist but unfortunately she went private because that was her subject of interest. Ask your GP for a sleep analysis and see what happens.

There are very good programmes for dealing with insomnia.

[Visigoth in reply to CDreamer]

Thank you, that’s most helpful and encouraging. I must admit I had thought the sleep problem was something I’d just have to live with! I will ask my GP.

[37Polly]

Whats the book? I have been on KETO for last four months. Slow weight loss because of beta blockers but gone from BMI of 25(overweight) to 22 🥰😊. With no hunger, improved blood work, and less arthritis pain and improved colitis ( have reduced meds👍). Never going back. Have struggled for years. This is salvation!

[CDreamer in reply to 37Polly]

Book = title of the thread. The A-Fib Cure by EP - John Day.

Glad Keto helped you, I follow some of the principles but am not that strict with it. The book is far more than eating plan - it has chapters on drug treatment, the great importance of tracking Biomarkers regularly - blood tests, ablation and lifestyle generally.

[fairgo45]

I've recently finished this book and did find it very informative but when it got to the part where John Day suggested what to eat and supplements to take day after day I found information overload .I also thought some information was incorrect regarding the two people who were mentioned a lot Melanie True Hills from stop a/fib had a maze procedure to cure her a/fib and Shannon who runs the afibbers website I knew him very well and he had a left atrial appendage procedure to help him to not having a stroke from a/fib so neither of these folk just followed the advice in the book they had proceedures that most of us don't have so read it by all means but it's not gospel