Originally posted by aztimm
I took a quick skim through, but didn't see anything about genetics, and how that can be a cause of heart disease. Yes, there are some factors within our control, however some certainly are not.
Every day I fight the battle against genetics. Both sides of my family have long histories of heart disease.
I take medication. I eat pretty well (pork and chicken and tuna are my main sources of protein, which every swimmer needs). And I've been a competitive swimmer since 6 years old, so I know that helps.
I could never be a vegan/vegetarian. I love pig products too much.
My teenage daughter calls herself a vegetarian, but she has declared that bacon is a vegetable.
My early 20's still-at-home son will eat meat, but only if he catches or kills it himself (he says we are "too remote" from what we eat. But he likes beer (which he does not brew himself) a lot...
sigh...My wife has gone on a no-salt diet (blood pressure)...I sure like going to swim meets & eating out...
However, what has really helped more than anything is eliminating almost all sugar from my diet.
Sports drinks and juice drinks are loaded with sugar. And it's surprising how much of this is consumed by athletes as a daily part of their training regime. A healthy dose of unrefined carbs and water after a workout is an excellent alternative to a half gallon jug of sugar laced energy drink.
...salmon, ground flax seeds, and omega three oils are wonderful for the heart...www.drweil.com has great information about the benefits of these things and more.
Originally posted by Peter Cruise
But he likes beer (which he does not brew himself) a lot...
It seems to me beer should be o.k. with this diet plan. Entirely plant-based and no fat. You'd have to be a pretty extreme vegan to consider yeast an animal!
About 6 years ago I read the Ornish book and was convinced to try the sub 10% fat diet. I never felt or swam so badly. I guess it is an individual thing. After about 3 months I drank a milkshake (with whole milk), felt great the next day, and have never looked back since. Good luck to all you that want to live forever - I think very active people require more fat than that.
The postings about vegetarians perhaps having in general a greater body mass than their meat-eating counterparts, is concerning to say the least.
Having studied obesity at college several years ago the message I seemed to glean from a plethora of different studies seemed to indicate that the opposite was in fact the case. Clearly we will be easily misled if we concentrate on anecdotal evidence based on one or two vegetarians who we might happen to know who .. just happen to have a high BMI. .
Surely we should err towards the larger and more robustly clinically controlled studies on which to base our conclusions.
For example, check out
sci.cancerresearchuk.org/.../2003-9313169-27-728-734.html
From the research I conducted in the 1990s this seemed to be a fairly typical finding.
Just my 2 cents.
Originally posted by jim thornton
...low dose aspirin to inhibit blood clotting
a beta blocker to control blood pressure
a statin drug to lower cholesterol and, perhaps more importantly, stabilize whatever plaque you have...
Excellent point--statins in particular have had a tremendous impact. However, you should also include exercise and weight loss, as well as not smoking (none of which can be solved with a pill).
Originally posted by battle
About 6 years ago I read the Ornish book and was convinced to try the sub 10% fat diet. I never felt or swam so badly. I guess it is an individual thing. After about 3 months I drank a milkshake (with whole milk), felt great the next day, and have never looked back since. Good luck to all you that want to live forever - I think very active people require more fat than that.
Try Omega 3 fats, instead. You can find a lot of them in seafood. Sharks eat lots of seafood, and look at how fast they swim!:)
Genetics plays a role in heart condition. I have know 2 guys who were great atheletes & dead by 55 yrs of age from heart attacks. It can happen to anyone.
