THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

First, a disclaimer—this post is NOT about the movie, the western.  It is about THE WESTERN DIET!

Let’s start with THE GOOD.

The new long-anticipated  Esselstyn cookbook has arrived and it is GOOD! VERY GOOD!!  THE PREVENT AND REVERSE HEART DISEASE COOKBOOK by Ann Crile Esselstyn and Jane Esselstyn is beautiful, accessible, informative, inspiring and full of mouth-watering recipes I can’t wait to try. But it’s much more. This cookbook is about inspiring people to take control of their health through delicious simple plant-based eating.  The Esselstyns show us how to transform our health, whether we have heart disease or not, by choosing food that nourishes and heals.  They serve as guides leading us toward optimum health and away from the artery-damaging Western Diet of oil, meat and dairy. I read the foreword and introduction of this stunning new book to my husband at breakfast this morning.  He was riveted.  You will be, too.

I’d like to dwell on THE GOOD, but must deliver THE BAD as well.

In contrast to this gift of good health and good eating from the Esselstyns, and only a day before the book’s release, comes a report of a new medical/nutritional study titled A CALL FOR A LOW CARB DIET THAT EMBRACES FAT published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, funded by NIH.  This study touts the benefits of FAT in our diets and the dangers of CARBS!  I wouldn’t have given it the time of day if I hadn’t read about it in The New York Times (9/1/14).  Unfortunately, The Times lends credibility to a seriously flawed study whose conclusions run contrary to good sense, good nutrition, good science and good medicine.  Let me just say, as a corrective to the study, that FAT from all sources, whether extracted as oil from plants or consumed as an animal product, is problematic to human health.  (The new Esselstyn cookbook is OIL-FREE and ANIMAL-FREE!)

In addition, contrary to the claims of the new study, CARBS from whole plant-based foods are our friends!  We all need them for energy, for fiber, for satisfying our hunger.  Potatoes, squash, whole grains, beans, and fruit are filled with carbohydrates essential for health.  Eat them and thrive.  But do avoid highly processed carbs that are found in white breads, crackers, cereals, pastries and many other packaged foods.

Now a few words about THE UGLY.

The dissemination of dietary misinformation as promulgated by the report in The New York Times, does irreparable harm.  Whether from a “trusted” professional or media source, such misinformation can destroy health and ruin lives physically, emotionally and financially. This is indeed THE UGLY!

Here Is what I do to guard against being derailed by erroneous nutritional information:

1. Seek out professionals who “walk the talk” and “practice what they preach”.
2. Seek out written materials based on sound evidence-based science and medical practice, published in peer-reviewed journals.
3. Test one source against another checking references .
4. Educate myself about nutrition and health.

I have experienced more than my share of THE BAD and THE UGLY on my journey to restored health.  But when I first read about the Esselstyns and then met them, I knew that I had found THE GOOD.  My hope is that you, too, enjoy THE GOOD that is available to everyone in this wonderful new book, THE PREVENT AND REVERSE HEART DISEASE COOKBOOK.