Book recommendation ...

Hello j12080!  Not only have I read the two books you've mentioned, I've studied them.  Every point you've made is Spot On.  I vividly remember the pictures in Esselstyn's book.  As I recall, there was barely a discernible difference in the before and after pictures of the lumens of those arteries, but enough of a difference to allow for much better perfusion.  As far as the China Study, there are entire provinces in China whose relationship with animal-based protein is scant at best.  The main side effect?  Extremely low rates of cancer.  That alone is proof enough for me.

Here's where I made a mistake, j12080, and I'm hoping other men don't make the same mistake.  I was open minded enough to have read other authors' books on nutrition and lifestyle changes.  As you're probably aware, there is a raging debate regarding what constitutes a healthy diet.  One ideology embraces the idea of healthy fats.  The other embraces a near vegan / vegetarian lifestyle.  After having read Esselstyn and Campbell, I also read Mercola and Taubes.  While the latter two are brilliant men, I do believe they're misguided.  Having followed their advice, my health deteriorated somewhat, and I wasn't even eating that much animal-based protein.  As I said, I'm now entering the third week of a phytochemical diet - a diet based on plants - along with an avoidance of meat - especially chicken.  At first, it was difficult.  Greger postulates that, given time, the taste buds themselves would change.  I just laughed when I read that statement.  Not laughing now.

You made the following statement:  "you can not name a single prescription medication that cures a disease."  I truly had to think about that.  It's true.  Finally, I'll leave you with a quote from Greger himself:  "Doctors get paid for recommending procedures and pills; not for recommending produce."  Thanks for posting.  All the best to you in your continued recovery.

Yes Alan, we agree, the taste buds do really change and that changes the desires. I now have absolutely  no desire for any kind of meat. I do miss eggs sometimes and I miss the cheese. But, I have a large variety of comfort foods that gets me through without any issue. The 180 recipes in the back of the Dr. Caldwell Esseltyn's book is where we started and now we have literally hundreds of recipes that are wonderful and make me have to practice portion control again.

In Texas, there is a rather famous dish called "King Ranch Casserole" that is really a great dish. Lots of native Texans know of this dish. My wife makes it in a Whole Food Plant Based recipe that is as good as the real thing without any processed foods, no cheese and no meats. You just can't stop eating it just like the real thing. She also makes me Mac and Cheese without any cheese. Just like the real thing, the left overs are better than the original dish. I am very lucky as she is very very talented in her WFPB cooking. 

When the Cardiologist that had heart problems started going to Dr. Esselstyn to get on his program, he knew he had a complete break through. Some of those patient's pictures of results are also in his book. Dr. Campbell points out that he discovered in the Philippines that Dairy products contain a very high level of CASEIN protein. This protein is also a very powerful carcinogenic as well as the main protein in Dairy Products. 

Plant Pure Nation is another outlet that I just love and it is a grassroots grouping of people who eat like you do. They are now spread with PODS of people in most cities who share information and ideas as a group who is dedicated to changing the way the S.A.D (Standard American Diet) has effected our people. We have gotten a lot of recipes and information from the PODs in our area. We also have made a lot of new friend.

You should look them up as it is all free and just designed to help. 

I do understand that you had to think a moment on the comment that "you can not name a single prescription medication that cures a disease." But that is what the Rx industry was built on and is designed to do. Treat the symptom, live with the disease and make lots of money in the process. But, people are starting to wake up. The way off the drugs is through the diet. The body will clean up. I got off all six of my scripts in my process. Oh yes, they still have a reason to push them at me but I am doing great without them or the effects of them. Notice I dropped the word side for effects. The fact is the effects are not on the side they are the reality and part of the drug. But don't despair, we have some other drugs for those effects!! 

Have a great Holiday season. Can you believe it, they are saying we may actually have a white Christmas season here in North Texas this year. I will only believe this when I see it happen. 

Points well-made, and well-taken, david77278.  One of Greger's statements that stuck with me regarding dairy was the fact that cow's milk will add 1,300 lbs to a calf in a matter of 20 months.  That alone gave me a moment of pause.  Regarding what's being done to livestock, we should be appalled. Two abominable things are going on in CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations);  saturating the animals with hormones (to fatten them up as quickly as possible) and keeping them on antibiotics (to keep them alive).  WE END UP EATING THIS CRAP.  Can't be good.  For further reading, I would suggest "The Omnivore's Dilemma,"  by Michael Pollan.  Of all the author's I've read, his dietary edict gets it exactly right in just seven words:  "Eat food.  Mostly plants.  Not too much."  And this last point – staying on the abstemious side of eating is probably the most important.  To wit; you may want to look up “Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds.”  The title alone says it all.  What it doesn’t say is that while the professor did eat junk food, he didn’t eat very much of it.  While it’s a horrendous way of eating, it makes the point that the quantity of the food measured in (yes) calories - could be equally as important as the quality of the food.  I do believe the kilocalorie is about to make a screaming comeback.

Pollan also has other zingers that are particularly relevant: 

"Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food."

"A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule."

"The garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet nature halfway."

You mentioned a gluten-free diet.  Another good read for overall health is "Wheat Belly Total Health: The Ultimate Grain-Free Health and Weight-Loss Life Plan," by William Davis.  Finally, while I can't remember the author of the following quote, the message stayed with me:  "If it comes from a plant, eat it.  If it was made in a plant, don't."  Thanks for posting.  Wishing you the best.

Have you read up on A2 milk and its supposed health benefits.

That is an excellent point, derek76.  That said, the author is of the opinion that it's never too late to start.