{"id":15878,"date":"2019-02-01T10:00:29","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T18:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/?p=15878"},"modified":"2026-09-15T00:07:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T07:07:23","slug":"heart-healthy-foods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/heart-healthy-foods\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Diet in Preventing and Reversing Heart Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you were a cardiac surgeon and you decided to set up your practice in Okinawa, rural China, or central Africa, you would have a lot of free time and not much income. That\u2019s because, according to Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, there\u2019s practically no cardiovascular disease<\/a> in those parts of the world.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s kind of mind-blowing, considering that heart disease is the #1 cause of death on the planet (for humans, that is).<\/p>\n

Quick poll: Do you know anyone, perhaps a friend or family member (or maybe even yourself), who has had a heart attack?<\/p>\n

Chances are you do. According to the American Heart Association\u2019s 2018 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, about<\/a> 92 million American adults are living with cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n

And every 40 seconds, someone in the US experiences<\/a> a heart attack.<\/p>\n

Heart disease has become a global epidemic. But why? And why are there a few spots on the globe where it\u2019s practically nonexistent?<\/p>\n

To explain this conundrum, let me tell you a family story. I never even got to know my great-uncle, Burt Baskin, because he died of a heart attack six years before I was born.<\/p>\n

How Heart Disease Affected My Family<\/h2>\n

You see, my great-uncle Burt was one half of the ice-cream company, Baskin-Robbins. And the other half was my grandpa, Irvine Robbins.<\/p>\n

Can you guess what they ate their fair share of daily?<\/p>\n

We\u2019re now pretty clear that ice cream is not a health food. But in the 1950s and 60s, my grandpa and his brother-in-law were pumping out delicious flavors by the dozen.<\/p>\n

Eventually, my grandfather began suffering from a host of health problems, including heart disease. His doctor told him he likely only had a few years of life left.<\/b><\/p>\n

But his cardiologist recommended changing his diet and handed him a copy of my dad\u2019s book, Diet for a New America<\/i><\/a>. And then, Grandpa Irv started to turn his health around<\/b>.<\/p>\n

(Backstory: My dad had walked away from the family company and ice cream fortune. And he followed his own \u201crocky road\u201d and became a globally recognized health authority. And now one of his readers was none other than my Grandpa Irv.)<\/p>\n

Remarkably, my grandpa listened to his rebelious son. He started eating fewer processed foods and less meat. He gave up sugar and, amazingly, he even gave up ice cream. He started eating a lot more veggies, fruits, and whole foods.<\/p>\n

And he got results.<\/p>\n

Before long, Grandpa Irv lost 30 pounds. He ditched all his diabetes and blood-pressure medications. And he enjoyed more energy than he\u2019d had in decades<\/b>. Despite the grim prognosis, he ended up living 19 more healthy years.<\/p>\n

So what did I learn from my great-uncle Burt and Grandpa Irv\u2019s heart disease?<\/p>\n

The Standard American Diet leads to the Standard American diseases. And if you want to turn it all around, <\/b>diet is at the heart of the matter.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

What is Heart Disease?<\/h2>\n
\"Heart
iStock.com\/simarik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Heart attacks aren\u2019t the only form of heart disease (or cardiovascular disease).<\/p>\n

Heart disease affects not just the heart but the blood vessels and arteries as well.<\/p>\n

There are many types<\/a> of heart disease. Heart disease is a general term used to describe dysfunction of the blood vessels in various parts of the body that lead to organ dysfunction.<\/p>\n

The most common types of heart disease are:<\/p>\n