President-Elect of the American College of Cardiology is Vegan!

How beyond cool is this?! http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/advice-from-a-vegan-cardiologist/

The head of a mainstream medical organization is vegan and recommends his patients do the same! What is the world coming to?

In my slide shows I do when I speak around the country, I show a slide of my lipid levels from the past 20 years. I kind of thought everyone saved their annual physical exam blood work results. When I ate vegan before I had children, my total cholesterol was 130. When I spent 5 years working in financial services where the only choice I got for our working lunches and dinners was what topping I wanted on my pizza, my cholesterol shot up to 203. Docs were ready to put me on Lipitor. Facing a hysterectomy from hemorrhaging fibroid tumors, I had one courageous OB who said, “Go back to that vegan diet and call me in the morning.” Within 6 weeks, all signs of menopause were gone, including hot flashes. My cholesterol trotted right back down to healthy levels.

Every few years I annoy my docs and get my blood work done, given that I often joke I may come from the sickest family in America. My mom, aunt and both sisters had breast cancer, with unhealthy doses of heart disease and diabetes lopped on to that. When the nurse calls with results, she goes, “Remind me again…you’re on Lipitor, right?” “Nope…I’m ON plants,” I say very slowly and deliberately. “Oh that’s right, you’re our vegan patient.”

I hope that with more courageous docs like Dr. Williams, my doctors will have a tough time remembering all the vegan patients. Ask your doc if veggies are right for you.

Btw…I’m doing two cooking demos at Chicago’s Veggie fest this weekend 8/9-10. They say they’re the largest event of its kind…25,000+ last year. Honored that this will be my second year speaking there. Hope to see you. Their schedule is here. Hope to see you! Gotta run!