In Episode #90, I sat down with former president of the American College of Cardiology, Dr Kim Williams, to discuss the role that our diet plays in preventing, suspending, and reversing cardiovascular disease. While many of us see heart attacks and strokes as ‘inevitable’ and a ‘normal’ part of getting old, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Many populations with different diets are significantly less likely to develop cardiovascular disease. Observational science and controlled trials both point to a predominantly or exclusively plant-based diet as the ultimate way to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.
If you want to know what foods are causing your arteries to ‘clog’ and how to avoid this, then I highly recommend listening to this exchange. Kim is an absolute wealth of knowledge, and unlike so much of what you see on social media these days, his stance is based on hard evidence from all different levels of scientific investigation.
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Enjoy, friends.
Simon
More about Dr Kim Williams:
Born and trained in Chicago, Dr Williams was a professional-level tennis player and coach before choosing to pursue a career in cardiology. Since 2013, he has headed up the cardiology department of Rush University Medical Center, where many of his colleagues have also adopted a plant-based diet.
Dr Williams has served on numerous committees and boards at the United States national level, including but not limited to the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the American Medical Association. Among other presidencies throughout his distinguished career, Dr Williams was the 2016 president of the American College of Cardiology.
Kim is the inaugural editor in chief of the International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention (IJDRP). This new journal has been created to document the science of nutrition and lifestyle to prevent, suspend, and reverse disease. Kim is also on the International Advisory Council for Doctors For Nutrition – a wonderful Australian organisation dedicated to equipping healthcare practitioners, institutions, and the public with evidence-based information and education on optimal human nutrition.
Additional resources:
- Jupiter study – we spoke about this when discussing LDL cholesterol and inflammation
- A second study looking at LDL cholesterol as an independent risk factor
- The ACC/AHA 2019 guidelines – the Predimed trial we spoke about is discussed within these guidelines. Pay special attention to the ‘provegetarian’ aspect of that paragraph. Essentially, those within the Mediterranean diet group who ate less meat, dairy, and eggs did even better and had a 41% lower risk of premature death compared to controls. Ultimately, when done well, the Mediterranean diet is not healthful for the animal products it includes but rather for the abundance of whole plant foods it offers. This finding speaks directly to this point.
- The relationship between dietary cholesterol and egg consumption and cardiovascular disease
