Last week I started experimenting with a vegan diet. My inspiration is Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, his research on stopping and reversing heart disease, and related research. For at least 28 days, I am giving up meat, dairy, extracted oils and most sugar. I’m eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes almost exclusively. A lot of what I am eating is raw, in the form of huge salads, sliced fruit on my morning oatmeal and snack fruits throughout the day. I’m even giving up fruit juices and eating the whole fruits instead.
I’m doing this primarily for health reasons but I’m also concerned about the ethics of eating fellow earthlings and the sustainability of how most meat and dairy is produced. I’m not trying to push veganism on you. I’m experimenting. I’ve gotten some great results already and I hope you will get something out of this as well! Please check out the video above and let me know what you think.
4 replies on “I’m Experimenting with the Esselstyn Vegan Diet”
Well done, George. Many will say a plant-based diet is extreme and too difficult. To me, stents, angioplasty, and by-pass surgery are extreme and too difficult. Cardiac intervention has dangers. What are the dangers in this diet? None. Friends and family think you’re weird and some are actually hostile about it, as if it’s challenging them and their choices. I agree that you can’t proselytize, because it’s counter-productive. The only thing more boring than your diet is how much money you made on your house or your last stock trade. No one wants to hear it.
Mild angina started my quest for alternate cures, and I read several books, including China Study, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Dean Ornish, and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. They are all telling the same basic story.
I started the diet in February. I lost weight and my cholesterol plummeted. I have tested my angina several times with fast walking on full stomach, and it has not recurred. Not even a twinge. You’re right about the energy level. You don’t get that heavy feeling after eating. And your cravings change. After about three weeks, I noticed that the veggies tasted better and I stopped craving the junk sweets.
The biggest challenge is adding variety. The veggie, bean, and fruit world has lots more variety but we have to explore and experiment with preparation.
It’s the hostility that has most confused me.
I’m lucky as where I live there is a great variety of fruits and vegetables produced locally.
Thanks for your comments. Nice to hear from someone else who is doing this. :)
I am currently reading The China Study, and I find it profoundly eye opening. This summer I have been transitioning into eating a low fat vegan diet. With mostly raw fruits and veggies and some cooked grains. I have noticed I physically feel so much better with more energy.
I don’t know why there is hostility when one tries to be a healthier person. My dad who is vegan warns me of not eating properly. I wouldn’t say he is hostile, but he definitely thinks my version of vegan-ism is more dangerous then his. However, I’ll be getting more nutrients, minerals, vitamins, and enzymes from fruits and veggies then he will from pasta.
Good luck with your experiment.
-Karen
Thanks Karen!