Vegetarianism- does it actually prevent relapse ?

[Adityac]

I would ask people who had CABG or angioplasty long back, whether they followed veg diet or otherwise and did they find any difference ? Should I stop fish and lean meat altogether to prevent relapse of the heart disease(MI)?

[sos007 Ambassador]

Adityac

I had CABG (triple bypass) followed by angioplasty (4 stents) in March of 2015.

The best advice I got from my cardiologist was to address the root problem of cardiovascular disease and that begins with a healthy diet and lifestyle. What defines a healthy diet seems to have considerable variations in interpretation, even among those on this forum.

I am currently 55 years of age, male and since my surgery have lost 40 lbs and am currently 155 lbs or 70 kg. I'm 5'10" or 178 cm, with a 31" (79 cm) waist circumference.

I took the prescribed medications for 9 months and found myself experiencing significant rotator cuff pain in my left shoulder along with anxiety (something I had never previously experienced). During this period I walked on a daily basis, very diligently gradually increasing my daily walk from 10 minutes initially to over an hour after 6 months.

I decided to make a major dietary and lifestyle change (in order to get off the statin) by January of 2016. I decided to become a pesco-vegetarian but still consumed egg whites and dairy (I switched to goat milk). In addition, I reduced my simple carbohydrate consumption more severely and virtually eliminated sugars and processed foods. I also began going to a gym every other day as walking alone was insufficiently challenging and I still had stubborn visceral fat around my midsection.

The combination of these changes resulted in my weight coming off at the rate of about 1.5 lbs per week until I stabilized at 155 lbs by the summer of 2016. As my weight dropped, I began reducing the dosage of all the medications I was taking, including the statin drug - Crestor. I checked my bloodwork every 6 weeks to monitor my lipid levels among other blood biomarkers to ensure I was healthy. My cholesterol levels continued to improve even though I was gradually weaning from the statin drug.

During this period I began to learn about vitamin supplementation, including the use of B12 and Niacin among others. B12 is essential if you're principally on a vegetarian diet. Niacin increases your HDL and lowers LDL.

By October 2016 I stopped all of my medications. There was a 'rebound effect' as I stopped my medications. My cholesterol spiked up and I got chest pains when I stopped the beta blocker metoprolol. The chest pains turned out to be 'anxiety' and not anything to do with my heart. I knew from reading that a rebound effect would occur so I didn't worry about the temporary spike in cholesterol levels.

In the last couple of months I have gradually reintroduced lean chicken breast for a couple of meals per week in addition to having 2-3 meals of fish per week. I otherwise maintain primarily a whole foods, plant-based diet based mostly on legumes, vegetables, blueberries and nuts as well as nut butter, among other things. I have one or two slices of whole multigrain bread daily.

I avoid all sweets but drizzle a tiny bit of honey on my breakfast almond-butter toast. I also consume 1 teaspoon of 'true cinnamon' (aka Ceylon cinnamon) for its therapeutic qualities. I mix it into my breakfast tea and sprinkle it on my almond butter toast.

I use extra-virgin olive oil liberally in dressing my salads and flavouring some of my meals. I do not consume butter or creams. I have noticed when eating out if I forget to tell them to cook the fish with olive oil instead of butter, the butter causes my sinuses to swell and get stuffy.

My exercise has evolved and I now engage in a 20 minute high intensity interval training workout when at the gym along with 30-40 minutes of resistance training. In between gym days I continue to walk to ensure I get 15,000 steps in daily. I also returned to playing ice-hockey in November of 2015, 8 months after my surgery. I continue to play ice-hockey once per week, year round. My heart rate routinely gets up to 160 bpm during my gym workouts.

This past May I had an echo-cardiogram and it showed my heart functioning normally as though nothing happened with only a very small area of hypokinesis. I did not have a heart-attack prior to my surgery although I experienced crisis blood pressure and tachycardia that precipitated my hospitalization and subsequent surgery.

My heart valves work normally and I do NOT have atrial fibrillation - this is important to know as it spurred me to get off of the metoprolol (beta blocker).

It has now been more than one year since I achieved my optimal weight and got off of all medications. I now take only a baby aspirin and a variety of vitamins.

Recently I learned about the benefits of vitamin C and heart disease. Vitamin C is inversely related to cholesterol levels, the more you take, the lower your cholesterol (to a point).

My last blood test 2 months ago showed a dramatic decrease (17%) in my cholesterol levels allowing me to achieve levels desired by my cardiologist, without medication. He had diagnosed me with familial hypercholesterolemia after my surgery. My subsequent dietary and lifestyle changes have proven that this was a misdiagnosis.

I invite you to scan my previous posts here and read the ones that appeal to you:

healthunlocked.com/user/sos007

Good luck.

[Markl60 in reply to sos007]

Well done, I have trod a similar path although I am off aspirin in favour of Fruitflow

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to Markl60]

Thanks, I'll investigate.

[Markl60 in reply to sos007]

Take a daily handful of walnuts as part of your breakfast routine

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to Markl60]

I have walnuts daily along with other nuts. I consume 6 each of:

- walnuts

- almonds

- pecans

- cashews

One tablespoon of:

Shelled pumpkin seeds

Shelled sunflower seeds

And one Brazil nut

[AnneMargaretMary in reply to sos007]

Adityac, could you please tell me how much Vitamin C you take?

[Adityac in reply to AnneMargaretMary]

None in the form of supplements. I take only juice of a lemon and vegetables like spinach, broccoli, carrot, cucumber etc. My docs never gave me any supplements. Please suggest.

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to AnneMargaretMary]

I take 5,000 mg of vitamin C and Lysine daily as well as other vitamins.

[sandybrown in reply to sos007]

Below is from UK, NHS site. Do you have any side effect on 5000mg of Vit C ?

((How much vitamin C do I need?

Adults (19-64 years) need 40mg of vitamin C a day.

You should be able to get all the vitamin C you need from your daily diet.

Vitamin C can't be stored in the body, so you need it in your diet every day.

What happens if I take too much vitamin C?

Taking large amounts (more than 1,000mg per day) of vitamin C can cause:

•stomach pain

•diarrhoea

•flatulence

These symptoms should disappear once you stop taking vitamin C supplements.

What does the Department of Health advise?

You should be able to get all the vitamin C you need by eating a varied and balanced diet. If you take vitamin C supplements, don't take too much as this could be harmful.

))

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to sandybrown]

I have no negative side-effects from 5,000 mg of daily vitamin C. The positive side effects so far have been:

- a dramatic decline in LDL-C; non-HDL, and Lp(a)

- a noticeable increase in energy

- immune system resilience - I don't remember the last time I had a viral infection;

Everyone's bowel intolerance - the point at which you get a soft stool will vary. Most people can tolerate 10,000 mg of Vitamin C before they get bowel intolerance.

According to Dr. Linus Pauling those with heart disease should take 6,000 mg daily along with the same dose for the amino acid supplement L-Lysine, plus 2,000 mg of L-Proline.

There is no known toxicity to Vitamin C - those with cancer routinely get IV infusions of between 20,000 and 100,000 mg daily.

Over 100,000 people die annually from prescription drugs in the United States - nobody has died from a vitamin overdose.

Department of Health? You may trust the government but the evidence in the last century demonstrates that, in general, government has done more harm than good to society.

Many medical guidelines that are published in government guidelines are sponsored by pharmaceutical companies. Vitamins cannot be patented because they are natural substances and there is no incentive for anybody to prove their efficacy.

I monitor my blood levels quarterly and have seen both the material benefits from vitamins, and the damage caused by prescription drugs.

Government guidelines for vitamin C consumption are based on the minimum amount required to offset the negative effects of a deficiency, they are not designed to determine the 'optimal' amount required by the human body - because they have never made that determination.

Medical knowledge is an evolutionary process, historically what was once considered accepted practice has changed.

'I know that I know nothing' - Socrates

The humility expressed by this ancient Greek philosopher is an acknowledgement that we are constantly learning.

Given that heart disease is the leading cause of the death in western civilization, in spite of all drugs and advanced medical equipment and advanced medical knowledge, I think it is fair to say that when it comes to heart disease - established medical science still doesn't know the answers. Therefore you must look for alternative viewpoints to gain insights.

[sandybrown in reply to sos007]

Thank you for your response. I am doing a free on line course on medical subject where Vit D and calcium were discussed therefor my question on the dosage.

Calcium is another subject and Vit s also.

I am afraid I do not take any supplement at the moment! what I need is from food and drinks only.

[Adityac in reply to sandybrown]

Sandybrown... any idea about laxatives? Triphala, Senna based herbal preparation suits me but many people say it interferes with blood thinners.

[sandybrown in reply to Adityac]

Take a table spoon of Fenugreek with three pepper corn with water in the morning, this can clear the path!

Also eat plenty of Methi.