Still, many Americans doubt the healing potential of the human body when given the correct fuel. They are addicted to disease-causing foods and attracted to “high-tech” solutions. They do not understand that cholesterol-lowering drugs, stents and bypass surgery do not cure heart disease. Cholesterol-lowering drugs carry serious side effects, and there is no evidence that statin use reduces risk of death in individuals with elevated cholesterol when used for primary prevention.3-5 Patients who undergo stent and bypass procedures have not removed the cause of their disease, and so they continue to experience progressive disability and most often die a premature death as a result of their heart disease. 6 Nevertheless, drugs and surgical procedures are still the standard care for treatment of elevated cholesterol and coronary artery disease.
Atherosclerotic plaque can be reversed, and cholesterol lowered without drugs or surgery. Making significant dietary and lifestyle changes allows people who suffer with coronary heart disease, high cholesterol, obesity and/or high blood pressure to reduce or even eliminate their dependence on medications, and avoid invasive surgical procedures.
What is the optimal diet for heart disease prevention and reversal? Certainly not the small dietary changes recommended by government agencies and other organizations – these are only modest changes to the average American’s diet, and the average American starts developing heart disease during childhood.7 Unfortunately, these widely voiced recommendations have made many people think by eating reduced-fat processed foods and replacing red meat with egg whites, fish and chicken, they will be protected. They will not. These changes are simply not rigorous enough to assure predictable reversal.