Whole food plant based - no oil, sugar or added salt

[TimH54]

I followed the above way of eating and lost 30 pounds literally without trying or getting exercise.  I started because my family history of heart disease is terrible.  The weight loss was a pleasant bi-product and I feel great.  I'm recommitted to following this path and getting out to move finally.  I'll let you how I do in 2020. 

Today I weigh 223.0 lbs. and I'm 5'7" and 65 years old.  My goal weight is 153 so 70 lbs to go.  I'm determined to not have my weight limit the second half 🙂 of my life.      

[Dominique]

Congrats for your achievement! Favouring whole / minimally processed foods certainly makes a lot of sense. The less we eat products that come packaged from a factory with a long list of ingredients, the better off we are.

I understand the point in limiting sugar and salt intake, but how about oil? Does it apply to all types of oil, or only highly-processed ones? Asking as a big fan of olive oil (the extra-virgin sort made from cold-pressed olives) and mediterranean cuisine (which makes generous use of olive oil).

[TimH54]

Hi Dominique,

Happy New Year!  I know that eliminating oil is difficult and many people consider olive oil to be healthy.  Remember I'm coming at this from a hearth heath perspective and the weight loss was a pleasant bi-product.  Since my family history is so bad, I follow the guidelines of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn from the Cleveland Clinic. He points out a couple of things:

1.) Oil is pure 100% fat - any kind of oil - 9 calories per gram and damaging to the endothelial cells in the arteries. 

2.) Olive oil got it's reputation as "healthy"  from the famous Mediterranean diet study.  Although the participants did have a lower incidence of heart disease, there is some evidence that result was caused by the higher amount of plant based foods in that diet and not necessarily the olive oil.  The participants also did get heart disease but at a lower rate than people consuming the standard western diet.

Dr. Esselstyn has achieved remarkable results in arresting and in some cases reversing cardio vascular disease.  His program is very similar to that of Dr. Dean Ornish who has also shown disease reversal.  It works for me.

Best to you in the new year!

....Tim   

[Dominique]

OK, I see. I’m familiar with Dr. Esselstyn’s theses. His recommended diet is very restrictive, since it also exclude all animal products (also fish, eggs, dairy etc.), but if you can adhere to it and it works for you, go for it!

[Dominique]

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@TimH54 wrote:

Dr. Esselstyn has achieved remarkable results in arresting and in some cases reversing cardio vascular disease.  His program is very similar to that of Dr. Dean Ornish who has also shown disease reversal.  It works for me.

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Indeed, the Ornish diet was just ranked #1 in the Best Heart-Healthy Diets category.

More info on Best and worst diets for 2020, ranked by experts.