Broccoli and cantaloupe, not bypasses

It’s a terrible indictment of the entire medical establishment that we experience such high rates of cardiovascular (CVD) diseases, suffer such misery, and spend so much money on medical approaches to a largely avoidable disease. Dean Ornish, the late Nathan Pritikin, and others have found that many of their heart patients could avoid surgery or drugs by adopting a lifestyle that includes exercise, lentil soup, and broccoli instead of daily burgers and fries.

While the government gives lip-service to healthier diets, its brochures and policy statements have little impact on people’s choices. Doctors are much more likely to prescribe drugs or surgery over cantaloupe and carrots. It’s high time that physicians, the American Heart Association, schools, parents, and a food industry made healthful diet the norm rather than something that people must make a Herculean effort to consume.

Ironically, the causes of cardiovascular disease are well known. Risk is determined largely by diet, physical activity, and tobacco use. A diet that is low in saturated fat, trans-fats, cholesterol, and sodium and high in fiber-rich foods lowers the risk dramatically. This kind of diet is based largely on vegetables, beans, whole grains, fruits, seafood, and low-fat animal products, with only occasional servings of cholesterol-raising meats, cheese, and other foods. In Fallbrook, being a rural community, we are fortunate that it is much easier for everyone to find and be able to make these food choices! Eating this way, you wrap a protective shield around your heart and arteries.

We spend more than $30 billion a year on drugs to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, according to the consulting firm IMS. Americans undergo CVD surgeries that cost $70 billion/year. Overall, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke cost the nation more than a quarter of a trillion dollars each year in direct medical costs. But cardiovascular disease operations and tests are not risk-free, are not cures, and are not available to many people at highest risk — those without health insurance or access to medical care.

Instead of just reimbursing endlessly for surgery and drugs, the government could mount hard-hitting campaigns that promote healthy diets, give bonus food stamps for fruits and vegetables, then trans-fat, limit sodium levels and processed foods, and require chain restaurants to at least disclose calories and other nutrition information on menus. It should also reward/subsidize farmers who raise fruits and vegetables, lean or cattle, and deliver milk that’s lower in saturated fat. And to help people who already have cardiovascular disease, the government could train a heart corps of non-physician specialists who could help motivate/educate patients to adopt healthy lifestyles.

Please e-mail me with your suggestions, questions, and comments on healthy living at: [email protected] Please remember to always check with your physician before incorporating any changes in your exercise or diet.