Why Heart Disease Need Never Exist
“Coronary heart disease is the leading killer of women and men in western civilization. And truth be known, it is nothing more than a toothless paper tiger that need never exist. And if it does exist, it need never ever progress.” [1]
- Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. author and creator of The Esselstyn Heart Disease Program at Cleveland Clinic.
In 2020, nearly 700,000 Americans died from heart disease. The CDC reports that nearly twice as many people died from cardiovascular disease than COVID-19 in 2020.[2] In the United States, someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds, with someone dying from cardiovascular disease every 36 seconds! [3] [4]
This tiger is toothless because of our ability to prevent and reverse heart disease through lifestyle choices – most importantly by eating predominantly whole plant foods.[5] [6]
You are never too young to improve your eating pattern for heart health. Atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries due to plaque build-up, begins in childhood, with children raised on the Standard American Diet showing fatty streaks in their arteries by the age of 10! [7] [8]
It is never too late to reverse heart disease.
A fifteen-year study followed over 123,000 post-menopausal women in reducing heart and cardiovascular risk factors through adhering to a plant-based lifestyle. [9]
After suffering from a heart attack at the age of 42, Mike Emmons watched the documentary Forks Over Knives, which features Dr. Esselstyn and nutritional biochemistry researcher Dr. T. Colin Campbell. This led him to read Dr. Esselstyn’s book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. Inspired by his own heart disease reversal, Mike founded Whole Harvest. He is on a mission to do his part to eliminate heart disease by educating the public while providing delicious, convenient whole plant food. Never before has a heart-strong diet been so easy and tasted so good!
A whole-foods plant-based eating pattern is, hands down, the best way to prevent and reverse heart disease.
In the words of Dr. Kim Williams, former president of The American College of Cardiology, “There are two kinds of cardiologists – those who are vegan and those who have not read the data.” [10]
Check out Whole Harvest's meal plan -- fresh, plant-based, ready-to-eat meals delivered to your door!
Sources:
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIlkBCyJ7gc&t=36s
[2] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm
[3] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db103.pdf
[4] https://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html
[5] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/plant-based-diet-heart-failure#plant-foods-and-heart-health
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4315380/
[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17015535/
[8] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5346899/
[9] https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.121.021515
[10] https://www.plantstrongpodcast.com/blog/kim-williams