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Re: [OM] (OM) Off Topic; Book on diet and heart disease & cancer

Subject: Re: [OM] (OM) Off Topic; Book on diet and heart disease & cancer
From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:12:53 -0500
Before wholly accepting Esselstyn's statistics you might want to read 
this bit of coverage of Dr. Esselstyn. 
<http://rawfoodsos.com/2011/09/22/forks-over-knives-is-the-science-legit-a-review-and-critique/>

There is some in-depth coverage of food consumption in Norway during the 
war and mortality from circulatory diseases.  One must remember that 
simple correlation is not the same as causality.  Different sorts of 
facts emerge when one looks under the covers.

And from an earlier part of the paper "Animal foods, it seems, are 
synonymous with the Western diet, and meat exists only in industrialized 
countries. Non-Westernized populations like the Masai, traditional 
Inuit, Australian aborigines, and countless hunter-gatherers have 
conveniently vanished for the duration of this movie. It must be awesome 
to selectively choose reality like that!"

Einstein reportedly said: "No amount of experimentation can ever prove 
me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong."  The vegan and low 
fat proponents conveniently ignore the lack of heart disease in certain 
cultures which exist primarily on meat, blood, milk and fish.

I'd not heard of Esselstyn before but he sounds very much like Dean 
Ornish.  Hopefully Esselstyn gives details of his research with Ornish 
refuses to do.

Chuck Norcutt


On 12/30/2011 6:26 PM, Brian Swale wrote:
> On NZ National Radio this morning there was a very interesting interview
> with an age 78 USA medical doctor, surgeon and researcher about heart
> disease. He has written a book; and I have just ordered a copy through
> www.bookfinder.com.
>
> As one book notice has it - - -
> Dr Caldwell B Esselstyn;
> Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically
> Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure,
> A powerful call for a paradigm shift in heart disease therapy. Based on the
> groundbreaking results of a twenty-year nutritional study by Dr. Esselstyn, a
> preeminent researcher and clinician, this book illustrates that a plant-based,
> oil-free diet can not only prevent and stop the progression of heart disease
> but can also reverse its effects.
>
> This is some of what I remember he said.
>
> He discovered that the epilthelial cells which line our arteries produce 
> nitric
> acid, and this keeps them clear of plaque and all that stuff which blocks
> them. The epithelial cells are severely damaged by the products of eating all
> forms of meat and other animal-based food. And some processed vegetable
> oils.
>
> After WW2, medical studies in Norway showed that from 1939 to 1945 when
> the occupying Nazi forces removed all livestock to feed their troops and the
> Norwegians had to live on veges, their rates of heart disease dropped
> dramatically. Like, close to zero, despite being in a stressful environment.
> When the war was over, the farms were re-stocked, meat returned to their
> diet, and heart disease saw them going to hospital in increasing
> numbers..This study was ( if I remember rightly ) published in the Lancet.
>
> Many other studies followed, of the arterial condition of young USA soldiers
> killed in battle, and of the incidence of arterial heart disease in 
> populations
> which eat no meat/fish/poultry, such as inland Chinese&  Japanese farmers,
> some Papua New Guinea tribes, a remote Mexican area, and others I don't
> remember. The findings reinforced those of the Norwegian study.
>
> He also reported on the health of ethnic Japanese who originated in an area
> free of heart disease, and moved to the USA where they produced families
> of ethnic Japanese, and on the typical western diet there, their rate of heart
> disease steadily increased. I suppose this is recorded in his book.
>
> Applying these findings to a group of 24 of his heart disease patients, 
> putting
> them on to a diet rich in leafy greens, beans, wholegrain cereals, (and I 
> don't
> remember what else) and avoiding milk, cheese, meats, and processed oils,
> these patients regained better health with the linings of their arteries
> improving markedly.
>
> He said that the meat etc-free diet he promotes reduces not only heart
> disease, but also diabetes, breast cancer, bowel cancer, and invasive
> prostate cancer, all to negligible levels.
>
> He mentioned the implications for the USA economy. He said that the
> rapidly increasing cost of medical care was a major factor in the decline in
> the USA economy - I think he put it as being the cause of much of the
> country's debt burden. He says that a change in diet could reverse that.
>
> He gave some interesting statistics.
> About 1,200,000 stent operations are performed annually in the USA. The
> average mortality rate on the operating table is 1%. 120,000 people die
> there. The business of making stents is worth about $12 million annually.
>
> Cardiac operations. I *think* he said 48,000 ops/an, but I am not sure. He
> did say however that the mortality rate is 4%. 4% of 48,000 is 1920.  Hmm,
> I'm sure he reported a higher number of deaths, so 48,000 is probably
> wrong.
>
> In the book he said there are 150 recipes for meals, developed by his wife.
>
> Anyway, for a cost to my letter-box of about $19NZ I should have new copy
> of this book here before too long. ABE Books say no postage cost, so that's
> nice too.
>
> Brian Swale.
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