While I gave up pizza in April 2020, I still hadn’t fully given up dairy.  I suspected I had a problem specifically with melted cheese and was debating adding melted cheese to my list of things to give up.  This of course was my way of keeping cheese in my life as long as it wasn’t melted and my brain was in full on bargaining mode to keep cheese in my life. 

It took me over six months after giving up pizza to say melted cheese was off my plate. Once melted cheese was out, it was easy to fully give up dairy.  I am so thankful I started with giving up my most addictive food first, as it was easy to eventually give up all dairy.

This same month I decided to book my husband and I into a private clinic that does extensive bloodwork testing for a hefty price.

Because I was a Weight Watchers “WW” member at this time and had lost maybe 20 lbs. or so, I thought I was on the journey to health and had it all figured out.  I never followed the weight watchers program, but did weigh in weekly.  I figured if I paid to be weighed, then I would do it and wouldn’t stick my head in the sand like I had in the past. It worked.  I have kept the weekly weigh in habit to this day.

The competitive side of me thought if Paul came to the clinic with me, I would blow him out of the water in terms of health and the results would wake HIM up to change because of course I had already changed (note sarcasm). This wasn’t even a fair competition.  The reality is Type 1 diabetes is horrific on a person’s system and the complications from this disease are endless – heart disease, neuropathy, blindness, amputation, and kidney failure to name a few.  I would prefer to have Paul on this earth as long as possible and thought this would be the defining moment that would wake him up.  Spoiler alert, it did not wake him up, but it did help to wake ME up.

As our results were being revealed to us, like the Cheshire Cat with a smirk in my heart, I was ready for them to give it to Paul.  I would be redeemed as the good girl and would be validated that I was on the right path and Paul would be forced to wake up and change.

What was revelated was shocking to me.  I was 41 at the time of the tests and a carotid ultrasound of my arteries revealed I had an average artery age of 63.  Paul’s average artery age was 58 and he had some plaque. Hold on a minute, 63 for me!  What the heck?!  Oddly, my endothelial function was considered above average while Paul’s was average.  I’ve learnt from Dr. Esselstyn, that your endothelial is like a life vest for your heart and you want to protect it.  I’m paraphrasing and oversimplifying here, but this is the key to preventing and reversing heart disease and you protect it by consuming foods that protect your endothelial function and eliminate foods that harm it.  Any food with a mother or a face is harmful and whole plant foods, especially greens are protective.

The results are measured in optimal, moderate or high risk for heart disease.  Many of my markers were marked red for high risk.  I even had high risk for one of the markers for insulin resistance. My c-peptide was above the highest risk factor level, indicating that I was on my way to a possible type 2 diabetes diagnosis.  YIKES.

Paul even laughed as they went through the nutrients as I was deficient in most everything.  He admitted at that time, I ate healthier than him, so it was quite shocking to see these results.  As I later learnt from Dr. Greger, it’s not about what you eat, but what you ABSORB and the inflammatory dairy that had pummeled my system for so long was no doubt hindering my ability to properly take in nutrients.  That and I imagine like most people on the SAD diet, I was severely lacking fibre.

Let me pause here for a moment and suggest that before you embark on any heath changes get bloodwork done so you can see where you are at now and can measure changes as you progress.

The report also calculated our heart age which was calculated based on all of the results combined.  Paul’s overall heart age was 74 and mine was 49. Have I mentioned how horrific diabetes is on a person’s entire system? 95% of of diabetics are type 2 and have a chance at reversing this horrible disease. Type 1 diabetics cannot reverse the disease but can get enormous benefits from a whole plant food lifestyle. This episode featuring Dr. Neal Barnard and Marc Ramirez from The Exam Room Live was pivotal to our understanding of how a whole plant food diet could help Paul manage his diabetes and avoid the horrific complications of diabetes or at least stave off those complications as long as we can.

Naturally, I was in shock.  As a solution, the place offered to sell us supplements for over $1,000 for a few months’ supply.  I eagerly bought everything they recommended.  They also gave us each a one-page sheet on a diet to follow which was all over the place and recommended copious amounts of oil and also fish; two things I have since learnt are absolutely not things that help prevent or reverse heart disease and both contribute to damaging our endothelial lining, our protective life vest.

Their recommendations for how to get back to health and avoid a heart incident were all over the place and not in line with the research of a whole plant food diet I was already familiar with.  While the recommendations did suggest eating vegetables and leafy greens, they also recommended eating lots of fat in the form of nuts, seeds, avocados, eggs, 3-5 tablespoons of olive oil per day, fatty fish, chicken, turkey, duck, shellfish and specifically mentioned to eat more egg yolks, which are horrifically high in cholesterol.  Many of these foods are the opposite of heart health according to the over 100 years of research that exists and I learnt more about the research available when I eventually listened to Dr. Greger’s massive book, How Not to Die on audible.

It’s hard for me to understand how a place that sells themselves as a heart clinic, hasn’t read the research available and relies on supplements and incorrect nutritional information as the solution.  The quote below sums my thoughts up perfectly.

December 2020

The over $1,000 pills I purchased were staring at me in the cupboard.  My husband was pissed I even bought them.  I cannot take pills; I am not good at it.  I don’t know what I was thinking purchasing these pills I cannot even take.  A few times I emptied the capsules into water and drank the horrible concoction, but this was not sustainable.  I was already over the pills, but I didn’t want to admit that to myself or my husband. My husband never took one pill.

I have a friend who is also a nurse and I had confided in her that I was going to a private clinic to get extensive bloodwork done so she asked me for an update next time she saw me.  I shared with her how horrible my results were and that I purchased all the supplements they recommended but that I hate pills so wasn’t taking them and was debating what to do next. My family doctor wanted to put me on cholesterol medication after seeing these results and he had brought medication up to me in the past. I refused the medication and promised I would take steps to improve my cholesterol, so my family doctor agreed to forego medication for now.

My nurse friend shared with me a personal story.  By no means was this meant as a dig towards me, but my story triggered her to share that she had a someone in her life who was constantly relying on a pill to bring her to good health.  She said she had shared with this person that they won’t find good health in a pill.  She said while you may experience temporary results, if you want real change you have to change.

This was a huge seed that immediately hit home.  I had the new realization that if I wanted to change, I had to CHANGE.

I tossed all of the pills in the garbage.  Most bottles were unopened, and I assumed I couldn’t get a refund, so I threw them out and decided to do what my friend Shannon had been telling me all summer long; check out Dr. Greger who started the non-profit site, nutritionfacts.org. Dr. Greger also has a short video that showcases Heart Disease Starts in Childhood that I recommend giving a watch.

Lucky for me, Dr. Greger’s enormous book, How Not to Die was available on audible and I started a habit of listening to his book any time I was in the car or cooking in the kitchen.  By the time I finished the book, I knew all animal products had to get off my plate and I was shocked by what I had learnt and sad that industry caused so much confusion that us humans don’t even know how to eat to best nourish our bodies.

The research is undeniable and showed consistently, time and time again, that a whole plant food diet was the way to heal my body and sustain my health for the long term.  Dr. Greger has a funny sense of humor in the way he reads his book, there’s lots of sarcasm in the way he reads which makes listening quite enjoyable.  Turns out, my solution was not in a pill, but was tied to my lifestyle and what I put in my mouth every day.

Peace, love & plants,

Michelle 🙂

p.s. Have you checked out Dr. Greger’s How Not to Die presentation yet? It’s a must watch. I highly recommend listening to his How Not to Die book on audible as well. Make a habit to listen while you drive, cook, walk or while taking a bath. Taking in this information can easily fit into your life.