Diabetes / heart desease

[Stone64]

Hello,
I'm new to this forum and I was hoping to get some answers. I have diabetes and 3 years ago I had quintuple bypass heart surgery. I want to eat healthy and want avoid having another heart surgery and reverse the diabetes. What forks over knives book (s)will help me and have the best foods to fix my health issues ?

Thank you

[Mom+Me]

Stone64,

Welcome to the Discussion Board! I'm so sorry to hear of your health issues, but you definitely are in the right place! Your desire to get healthy with your fork, spoon, and knife is wonderful!

I'm assuming you have Type 2 diabetes? For everyone, but especially those with cardiovascular issues, including Type 2 diabetes, you want to stay away from high fat items. It sounds like you're familiar with Forks Over Knives, their documentary, right? If so, then you know it's wise to steer clear of meat (including chicken and fish), dairy products (milk, ice cream, cheese, etc.), and eggs (including egg whites). It's also extremely important to stay away from all oils (including olive, coconut, flax seed, etc.) and margarines or shortenings, even if they're vegan.

I do have a couple Forks Over Knives cookbooks that I haven't looked at for years--I tend not to use any recipes--but, Forks Over Knives recipes can often have nuts, seeds, and higher fat foods like avocado and tofu. These foods, while whole and natural (okay, tofu is processed some), should be consumed in varying amounts depending on age, health, activity level, and weight. But even a super fit athletic person is wise not to have too many high fat plant foods, but rather center their diet (way of eating) around whole starches like corn, potatoes, rice, and beans/lentils.

Have you seen Dr. McDougall's Color Picture Book: “Food Poisoning”? It's so simple but very educational: https://www.drmcdougall.com/education/information/cpb/

Here you'll find wonderful articles and success stories of those who've reversed their diabetes: https://www.drmcdougall.com/education/c ... /diabetes/

Heart Disease & Atherosclerosis: https://www.drmcdougall.com/education/c ... t-disease/

And finally, lots and lots of yummy, healthy recipes: https://www.drmcdougall.com/recipes/ (Just be mindful that some of these recipes do occasionally contain high fat plant foods which are not ideal if a person wants to turn their diabetes and heart disease around).

Hopefully all these links will help. As far as actual books (there isn't anything like a real book in your hands ), Dr. and Mary McDougall have written a lot of them:
The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook: Over 300 Delicious Low-Fat Recipes You Can Prepare in Fifteen Minutes or Less
https://www.amazon.com/McDougall-Quick- ... 163&sr=8-4

The Starch Solution: Eat the Foods You Love, Regain Your Health, and Lose the Weight for Good! Has almost 100 recipes. https://www.amazon.com/Starch-Solution- ... 312&sr=8-5

I apologize for forgetting how to put links where you don't have to see the whole link.

Best wishes to you, you can do this! And if at first you don't succeed, just get right back on track. We're all cheering for you, and keep asking questions as you have them.

[Stone64]

Thank you for the the quick response.... Yes I have type 2 diabetes and I'm 58 years old. I weigh 200 pounds. I was told by my cardiologist to only eat fish so it gets very confusing on what and what not to eat.

Yes I saw the documentary and what stuck with me was the gentleman that had type 1 diabetes and how Dr Alona Pulse reversed it by showing him what and how to eat. I got in contact with those Drs but soon realized that I couldn't afford to visit them. You see I was forced to retire due to an accident then most recent my heart. So I guess what I'm asking to make it easier on me financially is a list of foods the will correct both my issues. I'm trying to get my son through college and so money is very tight.

Thank u again for the links. I will post if I turn my health around.

[Mom+Me]

No problem, I'm glad it worked out that I happened to be checking out the Board, but I'm sure someone else would have replied.

I saw Forks Over Knives a couple times, but it's been so long. I remember being impressed by it.

The great news is that the diet (way of eating--not just a quick fix, but something you implement for a lifetime, a lifestyle) for helping diabetes, heart disease, and weightloss are all the same.

I'm so glad you found Dr. McDougall and this Discussion Board. Since you have access to the internet, you really do not have to spend one penny on anything. Dr. and Mary McDougall are truly the most generous people in the WFPB (whole food plant based) world as their entire program, including so many recipes, and scientific studies, etc. are all for free on their website.

There also are a lot of free videos on this site and if you search on YouTube. But try to stick with the McDougall ones. There are other MD's out there who are similar and good, but some focus on certain "super foods", supplements, etc.. The only supplement Dr. McDougall recommends is B-12.

Dr. McDougall has been practicing and "preaching" this way of eating for over 40 years. He still stands by all he said and wrote all those decades ago. His Plan is based on solid evidence. His picture book that I linked to above will help you know what to eat, not to eat, and what to eat in moderation.

Unfortunately most doctors really don't know what a healthy way of eating is. It is not their specialty and they receive very little nutritional training. Even registered dietitians have received their degrees where wrong foods are pushed by lobbiest. So it's very easy to get confused.

Another thing that's great about Dr. McDougall's advice is that it's a very economical way to eat. Yes, inflation is unfortunately making all foods more expensive, but a pound of dry beans, a pound of potatoes, a pound of rice (preferably brown), and some fresh or frozen vegetables and a couple pieces of fruit along with a few herbs and spices are still the best bang for your buck and health.

Thank you for replying! Again, ask any questions. Oh, and please don't beat yourself up if you have trouble changing over to this way of eating. It's not always easy to change, but it's definitely doable. You can also check out videos by Doug Lisle, PhD. He has excellent (and fun) presentations on how to implement this way of eating. Lots of us have hard, bad eating habits to break. And our current environment of cheap, hyper palatable "foods" does not help. So give yourself grace, but keep pressing on towards getting more and more compliant, as the rewards are great! And you can keep meals real simple:. oatmeal made with water topped with fruit, baked potatoes with frozen broccoli and a bit of ketchup, etc.. Eat plenty of the right foods, especially the starches that are Green Lights.
.

[barryoilbegone]

I was told by my cardiologist to only eat fish so it gets very confusing on what and what not to eat.

I have to hope this cardiologist had best intentions, but what they're saying has a flimsy scientific basis, at best. He or she probably thinks that omegas 3 found in fish are the reason for this recommend. Politely, they need a re-education, as are they just parroting the likes of AHA statements? Dr McDougall has long critiqued that, so you might find the below helpful:

https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl ... ssions.htm
https://www.drmcdougall.com/newsletters ... alth-food/

Peace.

[michaelswarm]

Stone64, welcome the the Dr McDougall forum!

This way of eating can be very good, and at least as tasty as your previous way of eating.

I've been eating this way for over a decade now, and my kids are growing up eating and learning to cook this way too. My life changed when my girlfriend was diagnosed with cancer. I thought we were both young and healthy. We were in our early forties. We went overnight from young and enjoying our careers to retired and trying to stay alive. I read and researched widely and among various experimental drugs, supplements, herbs, whole foods, and juices also found the works of Drs Ornish, Esselstyn, McDougall, Campbell and others. During a visit to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston we adopted a vegetarian diet, and a few months later attended the Dr McDougall 10-Day Program and adopted the Dr McDougall diet. My girlfriend, who chose to avoid surgery and accept radiation treatment, passed away 2 years later. I lost 40 pounds and 4 inches at the waist and my high cholesterol reversed. I continued eating this way, practicing and improving my cooking skills, met my future spouse, and had 3 children.

The evidence has grown even clearer over the last 10 years, and a growing community of doctors and medical professionals, small but in the thousands, are adopting this way of eating and educating their patients. Compared to all the doctors and all the people, this group is still tiny, but there are now documentaries, web sites, video channels, blogs, books, medical journals and professional conferences all coving this material.

Where you should start depends on things like your cooking skills, cultural and ethnic background and food tastes.

My recommendation is focus on preparing a the staple foods you enjoy:
- rice
- wheat
- corn
- oats
- potatoes

These are where the majority of your energy comes from. Build your menu around a handful of recipes you enjoy for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

For my family, our menu looks something like this:
B: oatmeal, pancakes, amaranth cereal or toast
L: soup, bean tacos, leftovers
D: pasta, burgers, pizza, chili, spinach curry, bean tacos, Chinese rice

Perhaps you can describe what you are current dietary habits are and what foods you enjoy?

Above all, just get started!

[Matcha]

Hi Stone64,

a friend of mine, 60, 5'10", 195 pounds, long time type 2 diabetic, recently just got out of an 8 day stay at the hospital after suffering multiple heart attacks. i look forward to hearing about how the starch solution help you regain health. Different opinions on how to approach and improve health can be confusing. Would a continuous glucose monitor be helpful?

[pundit999]

Hi Stone64:
Welcome to the Forum. Rest assured you have come to the right place.
You can search the forum for my posts over the last decade, but the summary is that I have reversed my heart disease and have managed to stay away from medical care by just changing the way I eat.
I eat only whole plants, mostly starches.
If you follow the guidelines of the strict program (Maximum Weight Loss, MWL, plan), you are sure to see improvements fast.
Try and get some used books:
- anything Dr McDougall has written
- prevent and reverse heart disease by Dr Esselstyn
- Diabetes book by Dr Neal Barnard.

And start the change today!