{"id":2320,"date":"2015-12-06T17:32:02","date_gmt":"2015-12-06T15:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hbne.co.il\/?p=2320"},"modified":"2019-11-05T13:42:07","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T11:42:07","slug":"we-loved-not-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbne.co.il\/?p=2320","title":{"rendered":"We Loved Not Enough"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"dad<\/a><\/p>\n

A Daughter\u2019s Longing<\/h2>\n
\n

Dear Dad,\u200e<\/em><\/p>\n

You left abruptly. Although you made every effort to let us know that your \u200etime was limited, I chose to let your words pass over me. Your doctors \u200ewarned of severe arteriosclerotic heart disease with an exceptionally \u200eenlarged heart. A prompt heart transplant was your only hope, otherwise \u200eyou had but a few months to live. \u200e<\/em><\/p>\n

We were oceans apart: you in the golden state and me in the land of milk \u200eand honey. Not yet thirty, I was a young mother with two toddlers and I \u200epreferred to suppress this depressing news and bury it deep. In the past, \u200eyou had been known to over exaggerate on occasion, and I found comfort in \u200ebelieving that this was but another inflated disclosure.\u200e<\/em><\/p>\n

In retrospect, it should have come as no surprise, all of the warning signals \u200ewere there: obesity, depression, high blood pressure, a diet rich in fats and \u200esugars and a lack of physical activity. At the time heart transplants were \u200einnovative and the surgical teams were pioneering their way. Against all \u200eodds, you hoped that your case would pique the interest of UCLA\u2019s medical \u200etransplant team. For it was very clear that without medical insurance or \u200efinancial means, you had no hopes of financing the costly procedure.\u200e<\/em><\/p>\n

We were penniless \u201ckibbitzniks\u201d. Even if we had wanted to come to your \u200eaid, we had nothing to contribute.\u200e<\/em><\/p>\n

Dad, you were a gadget freak, innovator and computer pioneer. How in \u200echaracter would it have been for you to have gone under the knife at the \u200eforefront of medical technology! You were always the first on your block to \u200ehave the latest electronic device. This last time lady luck was nowhere to be \u200efound. You never made it to the operating table.\u200e<\/em><\/p>\n

Your prophecy came to life as a few months later you left this world.\u00a0<\/em>You \u200ewere but 54 years in your passing!\u200e<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

At the Forefront<\/h2>\n

It was 1989. While the surgical elite perfected the cutting edge and \u200ecomplicated surgery, a handful of lone healers, in search of "whole hearted \u200ehealth", walked the unbeaten path towards their nonetheless innovative \u200evision.\u200e<\/p>\n

About this time, an American surgeon became aware of areas in the world \u200ewhere heart disease was virtually nonexistent. Peoples such as the Papua \u200eHighlanders of New Guinea, central Africans, Rural China, and the \u200eTarahumara Indians of northern Mexico who were strangers to heart \u200edisease.\u200e<\/p>\n

The correlating factor appeared to be a vegan diet based on plant based \u200enutrition.\u200e<\/p>\n

Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr.\u200e<\/h2>\n

Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. was one of those lone pioneers. He was \u200efrustrated that modern medicine seemed unable to prevent the next patient \u200efrom knocking on his door. In search of true healing and prevention of the \u200ewestern chronic disease epidemic, he envisioned himself doing more than \u200ejust disease management.\u200e<\/p>\n

He decided to devote his time and efforts to tackling the number one cause \u200eof western deaths: coronary heart disease.\u200e<\/p>\n

In addition to his surgical workload, he asked to take on a group of \u200ecritically ill patients. Thus he found himself leading a group of 24 \u201cwalking \u200edead\u201d, coronary heart disease patients. The \u201cwalking dead\u201d had failed \u200ebypasses, triple bypasses and angiograms had no further viable surgical \u200eoptions available.\u200e<\/p>\n

Understanding that if the problem had been created on a plate, then there \u200etoo the solution was to be found, Dr. Esselstyn decided to establish a \u200enutritional focus. His patients were instructed to maintain a vegan diet: no \u200emeat whatsoever, eggs, dairy or oil of any kind (even plant based oils).\u200e<\/p>\n

Nothing with a mother; nothing with a face!\u200e<\/h2>\n

The objective was to reach and maintain a total serum cholesterol level \u200ebelow 150 mg\/dl a LDL or bad cholesterol level below 80 mg\/dl.\u200e<\/p>\n

Esselstyn, while well aware that heart health was dependent not only upon \u200enutrition but also physical activity, stress reduction and relaxation, chose \u200enot to fight his battles on all four fronts. He knew that from a physiological \u200eperspective, creation of sustainable change on the nutritional front alone \u200ewould be challenging enough. He had his work cut out for him.\u200e<\/p>\n

Esselstyn was very strict with his patients. There would be no leniency, no \u200erounding of corners and no excuses. During his initial meeting he would \u200emeet his patients for a five hour seminar. He would utilize this time to \u200eexplain the science behind heart disease and make sure each patient \u200eunderstood how the SAD (Standard American Diet) had created the disease \u200eand how whole plant based foods would heal and create whole healthy \u200ehearts. Afterwards, for the first few years he met with patients on a \u200ebimonthly basis and later continued on a quarterly basis.\u200e<\/p>\n