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Turning 42 Today


Jeremy Igo

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1 hour ago, Jeremy Igo said:

I turn 42 today, but I feel 10 years younger. 

Late last year I was on the precipice of heart disease. One day, I found myself in the emergency room with blood pressure high enough to cause a heart attack or stroke. I laid on their bed as they got it under control, and all I could think about was how my wife was overseas and my kids have no one to pick them up from school if something happened to me. 

After they fixed the issue, that day I went to my primary care physician who then put me on two blood pressure meds along with a cholesterol med.

I turned 40, they said, these things happen. It is your genetics, no way around it. I realized I was now a guy that had to be on a prescription med tether the rest of my life. That didn't sound good. 

So, for months I did all the reading up on the issue I could. Anything nutrition related I read, listened to, absorbed. I investigated all of the latest trends, some I was very familiar with. I have been doing the low card high protein thing off and on for the better part of this century. Some sounded like they were just made up (blood type diet? huh?). 

Then, one day I stumbled upon one way of eating that had actual scientific proof of not only halting the progression of heart disease, but actually reversing it. One way of eating had randomized double blind peer review studies and even angiograms of arteries being opened up again. 

So, at Christmas last year I started a Whole Foods Plant Based diet. Basically, I cut out all animal products and processed foods. The idea is to fill your body with foods loaded with nutrients at every opportunity, and stop eating foods that are proven to contribute to heart disease. 

For breakfast, instead of eggs and sausage, I would have a fresh smoothie with berries, leafy greens, and oatmeal. 

For lunch, instead of a burger and fries, I would have a big salad with beans and corn. 

For dinner, instead of pizza I would have perhaps a bean and brown rice burrito with whole wheat tortilla. 

Snacks throughout the day were apples, oranges, pears, unsalted mixed nuts. 

I do enjoy a glass of red wine in the eves. 

To be completely honest, I was hoping this new way of living did not work. It seemed a bit extreme, but not as extreme as cracking open my chest for surgery. I would give it a few weeks, see what happened. 

Fast forward 4 months to today, my 42nd birthday. 

I have lost 33 pounds. (218 to 185) Having to buy new clothes is the only downside I have discovered. 

I am off all blood pressure meds. My BP now hovers at 110/70 which is ideal for anyone of any age. 

I am off all cholesterol meds. The only cholesterol in my body now is the cholesterol it makes itself. 

I went from 4 cups of coffee a day to a single cup in the morning. I have so much energy now that I just don't need it. 

A few weird things happened also. My chronic back pain I have had for years went away. This might be due to the anti inflammatory nature of plant foods. Also, my household has been sick a few times with cold, flu, and a nasty stomach bug. I, however, was not touched by any of it. That is definitely new for me.

Anyways, I wanted to tell you all this in case you ever find yourself in the spot I found myself in. If you find yourself on cholesterol, blood pressure or type two diabetes meds, it is extremely likely you don't have to be. It is a lifestyle choice that led you there, and it can be reversed. In fact, you can start to see reversal in just a few weeks. Your body is eager to fix itself, you just have to stop injuring it so that it can catch up. 

Am I saying you should have zero animal products? No. I now have a nice piece of fresh fish every other week or so. Just a choice I have made. You can have up to 10% of your daily calorie intake be from animal products and still see the same benefits that I have seen. Just make sure it is a nice cut of meat and not a hot dog or lunch meat. Processed meats are classified as Group 1 Carcinogens by the world health organization, alongside cigarettes and asbestos. 

If you want to know more, here are some resources I found helpful, all based in science and nutrition. 

The China Study - Book

Forks over knives - Netflix Documentary

The Rich Roll Podcast - Podcast

nutritionfacts.org - Website

If you want to try it out, a free 21 day kickstart plan can found here -> http://www.pcrm.org/kickstartHome

 

Congratulations and happy birthday. Great news. I love to hear stories how people turned their lives around and make the necessary life style changes to live a healthy and happy life. Keep it up. 

 

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Happy birthday, Jeremy!  Been happy to see your updates on your turnaround.  Definitely inspiring.

I'm getting back into exercising and fixing my diet after being derailed twice over the last two months.  I started a mostly paleo diet about 2 months ago, but then got hit with an emergency appendectomy.  That put me out of the gym for 5 weeks or so.  Then i went off the rails woth my diet while recovering, got back into the gym for a week, then my kids brought home the flu and that put me down for about another week.  Now, I'm back in the gym AGAIN lol, but have to clean up my diet.

The more and more I've read recently has me seriously thinking about making the switch permanently to a vegan/pescetarian diet.  I somewhat suspect that binge eating red meat during my paleo foray may have led to or contributed to my appendix betraying me, and i've been seeing more and more articles on how red meat is a carcinogen, point blank, period.  The most recent article i read cited a study that said they found the digestion of red meats produces a rare sugar that creates inflammation and disease in humans that isn't a byproduct of true carnivores' digestion process.

In the meantime, when you say get a good cut of meat vs processed, what do you mean exactly?  Because in my mind, pretty much all meat is processed to some degree, outside of maybe getting some cuts from the farmer's market or whole foods. Regardless, over the next few months, I'm planning on cutting out red meat, then chicken, and whittling my diet down to just fish, fruits, and veggies.

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Happy Birthday!

My mother had similar problems w her heart and she has been earning like you (but with more animal protein) and was able to get herself off of Lipitor. My father and brother are both on it. Because I have been in amazing shape every time I deployed, I have been eating healthy (again with more animal protein) I don't have their problems.

You can beat genetics to a degree, as you've found. I find that simple is best. Roasted beets w a green vegetable and a nice piece of meat is great. I also only eat once per day. I'm not active enough to warrant more food. And I need to change that. Also need to quit smoking. Thanks for the motivation...well that and the @RoaringRiot Jax takeover...I'm single ladies. :)

Seriously though, I'm glad you've taken control. Again, happy birthday. I'm only a year ahead of you.

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