Taking the steeper path

 I can't believe I'm writing this, but I actually talked to Dr. Esselstyn on the phone yesterday! Here's what happened: 

  • At my last cardiologist visit, I asked her to put in an order to get labs on my cholesterol levels. Surprised I had to ask, but my sense is that the conventional docs have so much faith in the statins that they don't even bother to check.
  • The results showed a total cholesterol of 112, which was up a bit from my results in October. LDL was down, though, and both my cardiologist and PCP had already told me that LDL is the only thing they look at. I'm not buying that. The main thing I was/am concerned about is that my triglycerides went from 101 in October to 245.
  • Even though I know I haven't been doing a perfect job eliminating oil from my diet, my thoughts immediately went to the preferred idea that maybe something else was affecting my triglycerides. After all, I'm on steroids (still) and I like to blame them for everything.
  • So I'm in search of a cardiologist who supports, or at least understands, the whole-food/plant-based regimen. I thought there might be someone at the Wellness Center at Cleveland Clinic, even though I know they no longer list Dr. Esselstyn as being on staff. I called and explained what I was looking for, and was transferred to the "Heart Disease Reversal Program" extension where I left a message. 
  • Several days went by before I received a call. I explained that I was looking for someone who I could consult about my triglycerides, and was told that Dr. Esselstyn would give me a call!
  • The next day (yesterday) he called me.
We talked for 15 or 20 minutes, and here's what Essy (now that we're friends) told me:
  • Alcohol can really mess with your triglycerides; this was the #1 suspect.
  • I agreed that I need to go the last 5% and totally eliminate prepared foods with any traces of oils. Thank god I found a flour and corn tortilla last weekend that I like. And to get soft bread, I'll make it myself.
  • We also talked about sugar; Essy said to eliminate it altogether as well as sweeteners. I'm still resisting this one. I'm going to allow myself date sugar on a limited basis. He advised strongly against artificial sweeteners, and I'm going to try to develop a taste for tea with nothing added, but I've done a little online research and I really think erythritol may be OK. Here's my proof: Erythritol — Healthy Sweetener or a Big, Fat Lie? (healthline.com).
  • He also strongly encouraged me to sign up for his Heart Disease Reversal Program, which they are doing on Zoom. It's $800, but I decided to go ahead and do it. I sure hope it's not all focused on how to cook without oil. I've got that figured out! So I'm signed up for the January 22nd session, and Steve is going to sit in on it with me. He's thrilled. (Not.)
In related news, yesterday I went back to review a season 2 Plant Strong podcast in which Rip interviewed Essy and they referred to the work of Dr. Nathan Bryan, who has done a ton of research on nitric oxide, so I then listened to the podcast in which Rip interviewed Dr. Bryan and learned that I'm doing several things that may be working against the health of my endothelium. So now I'm going to stop taking Prevacid (I'm afraid I'm really going to miss it - I was having terrible heartburn back in October), I'm switching to a non-flouride toothpaste, and I've ordered Dr. Bryan's book to try to find out what else I'm doing wrong. I'm also going to do the six-servings-per-day of leafy green vegetables that Essy recommends. We didn't talk about it on the phone, but the podcasts make clear that he feels strongly about it. I'm not sure there's super solid scientific support, but luckily I really like spinach and swiss chard and roasted beets. Not kale so much, but I can tolerate it and there are lots of alternatives.

I'm excited about getting to 100% compliance on the Esselstyn diet. I'm hoping to lose about 8 more pounds, and I really want to get my lipids to a place that makes sense. It feels good to feel that you're on the right track. But I expect results, so this better work!

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