Category Archives: Plant Based People Profiles

Plant Based Lifestyle Reverses One Man’s Angina

Sometimes one man’s story allows us to zoom in and witness the impact of lifestyle change on disease.

The peer-review Cardiology journal Hindawi reported a dramatic reversal of angina in a case study published earlier this year. Presenting with chest discomfort, emotional stress and a family history of acute myocardial infarction, a 60 year old man had borderline elevated blood pressure, BMI (body mass index) and lipid levels, with limited functional capacity due to angina.

The patient declined invasive testing and drug therapy, including antiplatelet and cholesterol lowering agents. Instead, with physician counseling, he chose to adopt a whole-food plant-based diet and gradually increase his exercise regimens.

Within weeks of his lifestyle change his symptoms improved. After four months, his BMI and cholesterol were controlled and his blood pressure normalized. Previously unable to exercise, he could now walk one mile without chest pain. Two years after initial presentation he remains asymptomatic without traditional interventions and jogs four miles without incident.

Researchers note that evidence shows “A whole-food plant-based diet improves plasma lipids, glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, reduces weight and blood pressure, improves vascular function, may profoundly improve coronary artery disease , and is associated with reduced mortality.”

They conclude by stating “Our case reinforces these findings and highlights that even in our ‘modern’ Western society such improvements can be achieved without medications or procedures.”

 

Glycemic Index Aside, this Doc Goes Vegan

Dr. David Jenkins is a Canada Research Chair in nutrition, metabolism and vascular biology, a professor in the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, and scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital. In addition, he is the first Canadian recipient of the Bloomberg Manulife Prize for the Promotion of Active Health.

Dr. Jenkins is a frequent subject of worldwide news, particularly in Canada, but recent reports have more to do with his change of mind than his list of accolades. Dr. Jenkins, who also happens to be the lead architect of the glycemic index, announced recently that his personal lifestyle of choice is plant-based. Though his research inspired some of the most famous diets in the U.S.—Atkins, The Zone and South Beach to name a few—he is now stepping into the arena himself, by proposing a global revolution in the way we eat.

For his reasons why, and an overview of Canadian perspectives on plant-based nutrition, check out this article from Toronto’s Globe and Mail.