The Power of Food for a Healthy Heart

This month is Valentine’s Day – the holiday of love and the heart.  To be there for the ones we love it helps to have a healthy heart.  Yet heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in America for both men and women and continues to increase.  To prevent heart disease the mainstream advice is to avoid saturated fats and cholesterol.  Fortunately other voices with a different view have persisted in communicating their beliefs and are now being heard and successfully applied. These are the beliefs that I teach.

I thought it best for you to hear not from me, but a real life story.  Meet Paula.  She attended a workshop and this was her real experience. The books she lists are all books I highly recommend.  What she did is not a secret. The food plan she followed you can find on my web site on the Private Clients/Getting Started page near the bottom – The Page Food Plan.

Remember – she did this all with food!!

Here is her letter…

I've been wanting to write you for some time now. I want to share my health changes since attending your "Calories Are Bull$@%*" workshop at Field of Yoga on December 1, 2012. Since it's the one year anniversary of my healthy eating journey, I thought I should just get this letter done.

I came to that workshop looking for ways to change my eating so I could lose weight and feel better. I was twenty pounds overweight and was taking cholesterol and blood pressure meds. I was exercising 6-8 hours a week and not losing weight. As a matter of fact, my waistline was continuing to expand. I felt bloated all the time, my knees hurt, I lived with constant muscle and joint pain, was tired most of the time and just didn't feel good. Your workshop started with a description of my symptoms and the negative effects of statin drugs. Light bulbs were going on and bells were ringing. I knew I was in for an education that would totally change how I look at food and medication.

I made the commitment to change my eating and get off medications. I called my doctor and told her what I was doing and that I was going off my cholesterol meds immediately. This was strongly discouraged but I did it anyway, agreeing to come in at the end of three months to see how I was doing. Within three days I was eating non-processed, whole foods. No more cereal, hello protein shakes for breakfast. No more reduced fat diet food. Instead of focusing on what I couldn't eat, I focused on what I could eat. I let myself have unlimited protein, fruits, and vegetables. I severely restricted carbs and sugars. I started reading nutrition and health books, including The Great Cholesterol Myth, Wheat Belly, Sugar Nation, The Omnivore's Dilemma, Grain Brain, and Salt Sugar Fat. I continued with my 6-8 hours of weekly exercise, adding the 5 Tibetans I learned at your workshop.

Many of my symptoms listed above were significantly improved within days. I was amazed at how fast the bloated feeling and knee pain went away. I started feeling better in general and the inches seemed to melt away. The weight came off slower at about two to four pounds a month but I felt so much better it didn't matter. Other health changes I noticed include a clearer complexion, fewer headaches, no more joint pain and more energy than I have felt in years.

There were a few missteps with my medication and other health issues. At about week seven of healthy eating I developed diarrhea that lasted three months. I worked with a gastroenterologist who could find no reason for the on-going diarrhea. I was a day away from an exploratory scope when I was in for a cholesterol check with my regular doctor and I complained of low blood pressure.  She agreed to stopping my blood pressure meds and I cancelled the scope for the next day. My digestive tract was completely normal within days. One med done! After 3 months of no simvastatin, my cholesterol numbers were terrible and I reluctantly agreed to go back on cholesterol meds. This time it was Crestor but only twice a week. My previous symptoms returned almost immediately. By this time I had lost 20 pounds and had been eating clean for six months. After a month on the Crestor my doctor agreed to another three month trial with no cholesterol meds. This time my numbers came back in very normal ranges.

So, where am I one year after starting this journey? I am down 20 pounds, no blood pressure or cholesterol meds, no knee, joint or muscle pain, only the occasional headache, my energy levels are good and my skin looks better than it has in years. I went from a size 12 to a size 6. And while I have not missed a single day of doing The 5 Tibetans, I still have gray hair. I love the way I eat now and plan to maintain it as a lifestyle.

I am so appreciative of the Calories Are Bull$%&* workshop. Your presentation changed my life.

Happy and Healthy,

Paula Goetz

Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Mequon, WI. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.