Vol. 1, Issue 9 / November 2010 By Chauncey Crandall, M.D.

Fight Heart Disease With

Dr. Crandall’s Life Plan Diet
W hen I have occasion to discuss diet with a
patient, he or she is usually eager to listen
because they have recently experienced a heart
Live Like a Caveman, Live to 100
Throughout my life I’ve had two great interests:
medicine and anthropology. I’ve traveled the world
attack or another traumatic cardiac event. Often,
to study ancient and contemporary cultures, and
the patient and spouse sit in my office, their faces
have learned to look at health as a culturally driven
drained of color, wondering if there’s hope. My
feature of human life. I have also learned that heart
message: There’s not only hope but the possibility
disease is a cultural phenomenon that is distinct to
of completely eliminating heart disease as a health
the modern Western lifestyle.
threat.
Other cultures simply do not suffer from
Most patients can hardly believe that such good
heart disease as much as Americans. This stands
news can be true, and are ready to leap tall buildings
as compelling evidence that heart disease is the
in order to realize this possibility. At least at first.
product of the way we live and eat.
Our instinct to survive is a powerful motivator —
This fact was brought to wide public attention
not the most powerful, but a close second. (I’ll let through the 2005 publication of The China Study
you know what I think is an even more powerful by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell.
motivation at the end of this issue of the Heart This book reported on the health and nutritional
Health Report.) practices among men in 65 rural Chinese counties
The way we live — our schedules, our jobs, where the population ate a largely plant-based
and our relationships with family, friends, and
community — largely rules how we eat. It has been
that way throughout human civilization. And the
truth is that almost every “diet” works. Not all are In This Issue . . .
heart healthy, but most diet plans, if you abide by
It’s Hard to Spot a Fat Finn........................................ 2
them, will help you lose weight.
Plant-Based Diets Can Treat Heart Disease.............. 3
But the opposite is also true: Diets don’t work.
Because unless we fundamentally change the way Dr. Crandall’s Life Plan Diet...................................... 3
we live, our long-term habits will eventually re- Case Study: The Dead Weight Fisherman................ 4
emerge and trump any dietary restrictions we try to Timetable for a Healthy Diet..................................... 5
impose on ourselves.
Quick Take: “Husky” Is Good..................................... 6
There will come a day when we’re tired, bored,
unhappy, or at our wits’ end — and then Ben and Dining Out Kills Diets................................................. 7
Jerry turn us back to Chunky Monkeys. Ask Dr. Crandall........................................................... 8
 The Campbells’ findings on nutrition and diet
IT’S HARD TO SPOT offer important insights on how we think about
A FAT FINN health and the Western lifestyle. The present
epidemics of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and
Recently, I was on a speaking tour in even certain types of cancer are the product of
Finland, and I noticed how healthy the people widespread affluence in the post-industrial age. We
there are. I learned that Finns usually eat only are addicted to living on starches, sugars, fatty meats,
two meals a day. They have yogurt at breakfast, and salt, and sitting in front of the television as we
whole wheat toast, eggs, sliced tomatoes, consume them.
cucumbers, berries — whatever is fresh. At
dinner, their servings of meat are small, and Many people are taking these findings to heart.
they eat a lot of fish. It’s hard to spot a fat There’s a whole movement — often called the
Finn! Caveman Diet or the Stonehenge Diet — that
But the healthy Finns weren’t always so encourages people to eat as ancient man did before
healthy. Not so long ago, the country’s thriving agriculture set in and large grain crops started being
dairy industry would weigh down Finnish tables produced.
with butter and soft cheeses. In the 1970s, Hunter-gatherer societies still exist, of course, at
Finland had the highest rate of death from the fringes of civilization. They still live off the fruits
heart disease in the world. And in the 1980s, of local flora and the root vegetables on the ground.
its obesity rate was twice that of Great Britain,
They still catch and kill fish and wild game.
which has now become as fat as America.
Then the Finnish government began an There’s a wealth of evidence that hunter-gatherer
education campaign focused on resolving this societies, both ancient and modern, exhibit
problem. The dairy industry started producing remarkably low incidences of heart disease, Type
low-fat cheeses; school lunches were reformed; 2 diabetes, arthritis, and dementia. Some have
Finnish children were weighed every year as suggested that if we tailor our diet to that of the
part of their academic record, and overweight hunter-gatherer societies, we would find ourselves
children were sent for nutritional counseling. similarly free of the diseases that plague us.
The entire nation re-embraced traditional
The ultimate case in point comes from my
sports like cross-country skiing.
patients who are 100 years old and older. I have
The Finns are now much healthier —
another sign that health is all about how we
many in my care now, and every single one lives the
live and what we eat.
same way. My centenarians are active: They garden,
write poetry, paint, do chores around the house, and
take walks. They live highly regimented lives, waking
diet. The authors found that death rates from heart up at the same time every day, going to bed at the
disease among the sample Chinese population same time each night, and even eat the same foods
were 17 times lower than American men. And even every day.
though the rural Chinese men consumed more They will have an egg, a piece of whole wheat
calories per kilogram than Americans, their body toast, and a piece of fruit for breakfast. At lunch,
weight remained 20 percent lower. they’ll eat a small salad and a bowl of soup. At

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2 November 2010
dinner, more vegetables, a starch such as potatoes or
rice, and a small portion of meat.
They never overeat and rarely snack. They have
disciplined themselves to eat small portions, eating
to live rather than living to eat.
That’s the way you live to be 100.
Plant-Based Diets Can Treat
Heart Disease
It’s long been known that eating right can
prevent heart disease and related problems such as
Type 2 diabetes. What fewer people know is that
with proper diet, heart disease can even be reversed.
The percentage of obstruction in the vessels can
actually be brought down. It takes only a small
improvement to make a major difference in blood
flow.
Dr. Dean Ornish and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn have
been among the leaders in showing that a plant-
based diet can bring about an improvement in over
82 percent of patients with heart disease.
Just what is a plant-based diet? It’s a diet
concentrated on raw and cooked vegetables of every
description, along with fresh fruit, whole grains, and
legumes (beans). Dr. Esselstyn excludes red meat,
chicken, fish, dairy, and oils from his plant-based
diet.
Dr. Ornish allows for egg whites and nonfat dairy
products. He also makes a distinction between what
he calls the “Reversal Diet,” which strictly excludes
meat products, and his “Prevention Diet” that allows
for modifications.
While I have tremendous respect for the work
that Drs. Ornish and Esselstyn have done, I have
come to believe that a strictly plant-based diet is not
the best choice for many people. Let me say quickly
that if you have serious cardiovascular disease, it is
absolutely the way to begin, and may be necessary
indefinitely.
At my medical practice in Palm Beach, Fla., we
run a “Metabolic Clinic” for patients who have
suffered a cardiac event. All such patients are advised
to go on a radical, plant-based diet and stay on it
until they hit a series of weight and blood profile
targets. However, once those targets have been hit,
the strict plant-based diet can be moderated to
include a more well-rounded diet.
November 2010 3
Dr. Crandall’s Life Plan Diet
There is now evidence to suggest that what
people often call the “Mediterranean Diet” is even
better than the plant-based diet for maintaining
long-term heart health. The Mediterranean diet is
also easier to follow for years on end. The inclusion
of Greek-style yogurt, olives, garlic, goat cheese, and
the occasional glass of red wine provide variety and
pleasure that make the diet more accommodating to
epicurean tastes.
“Dr. Crandall’s Life Plan Diet” incorporates
aspects of the Ornish/Esselstyn plant-based diet
along with features of the Mediterranean diet.
It avoids the dangers of Ornish/Esselstyn in
recommending too much starch (which can lead to
weight gain) and too little protein.
Of course, I’d like to be able to tell you that my
diet contains some secret formula that no one has
ever thought of before, bringing about a complete
revolution in nutritional thinking.
But, like most true things, my diet’s wisdom is
based on ideas that have been understood for ages.
Much of it as simple as what your mother told you:
Eat your fruits and vegetables.
In fact, you should fill up on fruits and vegetables
before anything else, because one of the amazing
Continued on page 5
About Chauncey Crandall
Chauncey W. Crandall, M.D.,
F.A.C.C., is chief of the cardiac
transplant program at the
world-renowned Palm Beach
Cardiovascular Clinic in Palm
Beach Gardens, Fla., where
he practices interventional,
vascular, and transplant
cardiology. Dr. Crandall
received his post-graduate training at Yale University
School of Medicine, where he also completed three
years of research in the cardiovascular surgery
division. He lectures nationally and internationally on
preventive cardiology, cardiological healthcare of the
elderly, healing, interventional cardiology, and heart
transplants. Known as the “Christian physician,” Dr.
Crandall has been heralded for his values and message
of hope to all his heart patients.
Heart Health Case History of the Month
The Dead Weight Fisherman
In each issue, I will share with you the story
of one of my patients, detailing how making
changes to your life can radically improve your
heart health. Names and some details have been
changed for privacy’s sake, but the problems and
their resolutions are real.
— Dr. Chauncey Crandall
Hunters tend to acquire the habits of their prey.
Turkeys are infinitely patient, stealthy, and cautious,
and hunting them successfully demands the same
virtues. A safari to Africa after the big five — lion,
leopard, rhino, elephant, and cape buffalo — requires
a steadiness equal to the cold-bloodedness of the
animals staring back.
The habits of catfish, on the other hand, are best
not imitated. They lie in holes on the bottom of
sluggish rivers and lakes sucking up anything and
everything that resembles food.
Recently, I became the doctor of a man known
as Willie the Catfish King, the greatest cane pole
fisherman on Lake Okeechobee in Florida. He made
his living selling catfish to the local restaurants, and
he was known to give a fish head or two to the poor
folks living around the lake.
Like his favorite fish, Willie had spent too much
time sucking up his meals, living on fried foods
and beer. At 48, he weighed 388 pounds. Such girth
might have made Willie a trophy catch, but it made
him a very sick man.
Like many men, Willie was reluctant to visit a
doctor, and only decided to seek medical help after
experiencing severe headaches, which, I told him,
were caused by extreme hypertension. He also had
adult-onset or Type 2 diabetes, with a fasting blood
sugar of around 170 (less than 100 is normal) and an
HgbA1c reading of 7.9 (less than 6 is normal).
Willie’s weight was also causing him problems in
his daily life. He was having difficulty getting in and
out of his small boat, and had narrowly escaped an
alligator attack on the shoreline because he could no
longer run. He could hardly walk!
Crossing the Bridge to Health
Medically, my immediate concerns were Willie’s
blood pressure and diabetes. But I knew that weight
loss would be vital to getting both under control for
4 November 2010
the long term, as well as restoring his ability to lead
the life he loved.
We started blood pressure control with a new anti-
hypertensive pill that delivers three small doses of
different medications. The idea behind this drug is
that the combination of medications will give global
blood pressure control while minimizing side effects
with low doses of each medication. I also prescribed
Willie Metformin to control his blood sugar.
But the most significant therapy we offered
Willie did not involve any medication. I sent him to
our recently established “Metabolic Clinic,” where
counselors put Willie on a 1,200-calorie-a-day diet,
supplemented by six daily protein shakes. The diet
was largely vegetarian, with small amounts of starch
and simple carbohydrates. Willie was also prescribed
one hour of walking per day, every day.
The initial round of medications had helped, but
Willie only really began to improve when he started
following the Clinic’s diet and exercise program.
Within two weeks, the Catfish King lost 26 pounds.
In the first month, he lost an astounding 42 pounds.
I always say that medications are meant to be a
bridge to health. They merely help patients achieve
desired target levels as quickly as possible in order
to prevent the condition from worsening. The better
part of healing begins when the body’s own curative
powers are allowed to take charge.
That was what was happening with Willie. His
body did not want to weigh 388 pounds! It simply
didn’t have a chance against the onslaught of bad
diet and sedentary living.
After the first month, the new regimen had
worked so well we soon had to cut back on Willie’s
hypertensive and diabetic medications due to
a significant drop in blood pressure and blood
sugar. But unlike the patients who find the first
improvements a good excuse to revert to their old
ways of living, Willie stuck to the program. He
continued to lose weight rapidly, and at four months
was off his medications entirely.
Today, Willie weighs just half of what he did when
I met him. These days, he jumps in and out of his
boat, and can outrace any gator that tries to come
after him.
That’s much safer for Willie in every way.
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Continued from page 3
things about fruits and vegetables is that you
positively cannot stuff yourself with them. Unlike
grains and meat, fruits and vegetables send a clear
signal to your brain that you are full, and it’s time to
stop eating.
In fact, over a period of two weeks to a month,
if you eat fruits and vegetables and little else, you’ll
find the urge to stuff yourself going away. That won’t
happen if you lard up your potatoes with butter; it
will if you just eat the potato.
You can add small amounts of olive oil to your
salads, but my prescription is that you use olive oil
alone. People have been thriving for millennia on
olive oil. It has tremendous antioxidant and healing
properties.
When you are “dressing” a salad, remember to
keep it skimpy. Use the oil sparingly in a vinaigrette
dressing, and put your portion to the side where you
can just dip your fork into it as needed.
The major difference between my diet and
Ornish and Esselstyn involves protein. Yes, it is
possible to get protein from non-animal sources like
nuts and beans of all varieties. A diet that allows for
goat cheese and nonfat hard cheeses contains an
additional source of protein as well.
But there is a real role for animal-based proteins
in any diet. After all, human beings have been
fishing and hunting wild game for eons. Today we
have to be more cautious about the meats we eat
because the way we get our food has changed so
much.
In times past, red meats were reserved for special
occasions, such as a wedding feast. Not only that,
ancient people didn’t have cows raised on antibiotic-
laced feed or hormonally plumped lamb chops.
Red meat should be avoided except on special
occasions, and even chicken should be consumed
in small portions. Since red meats should be an
infrequent part of your diet, try to restrict your red
meat to wild game like bison and venison.
I recommend that most of your animal-based
proteins come from fish. Fatty fish are rich in
omega-3 oils; leaner fish are nutrient-rich without
being high in calories.
November 2010 5
Timetable for a Healthy Diet
• 6:00 a.m. I kick-start my metabolism with a glass
of water with lemon, then I go for an hour-long
walk to get my blood flowing. Fresh air and
gentle, moderate exercise help get the day started.
• 7:00 a.m. When I come home, I have a breakfast
of three egg whites and two egg yolks, sliced
cucumber, sliced tomatoes, steamed spinach, one
piece of whole-grain toast with a little orange
marmalade, and a cup of coffee. Whole grains are
digested more slowly and evenly when they are
combined with protein. Eggs even out the insulin
production, and keep me feeling satisfied and
energetic much longer.
Not so long ago, I was eating only oatmeal and
fruit in the morning, just as the Ornish plan
recommends. However, I found that I ran out of
energy at about 10 o’clock each morning. Even
whole-grain starches cause a pronounced rise in
the secretion of insulin, which eventually leads to
a sudden drop in blood sugar.
• 12:00 p.m. For lunch, I have a salad with a strip of
chicken or fish. I use very little dressing and always
place it on the side. Once again, the protein helps
the meal carry me through the afternoon. For
variety, I’ll make myself a sandwich of hard cheese,
avocado, and sliced turkey on whole-wheat bread.
• 2:30 p.m. A handful of raw walnuts or almonds
helps me get through a hungry spell in the mid-
afternoon. I always have some nearby, just in case.
If I get really hungry, I’ll complement the nuts
with an apple.
• 6:00 p.m. For dinner, I have fish, steamed
vegetables, and a bowl of fruit for dessert.
• Every once in a while I’ll have a piece of dark
chocolate as a healthy indulgence.
Continued on page 7
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 Quick Takes: Tips for Better Heart Health Now
High BP From Boozing
A recent survey of 8,586 English
subjects, conducted by Lloyds
Pharmacy from January through
July of 2010, found that more
than a third of 16-to-34-year-olds
had high blood pressure. Worse
yet, 4 percent in that age range
were virtually off the charts, with
a reading of 180/110. (Normal is
120/80.)
According to experts, binge
drinking, poor diet, lack of
exercise, smoking, and obesity
are to blame for this high rate
of hypertension among young
people. In the last five years, the
number of adults diagnosed with
high blood pressure as the result
of alcohol consumption has
increased by 74 percent. Hospitals
in England treated 191,000 people
for alcohol-related high blood
pressure in 2004-2005, and 330,000
in 2008-2009.
Hypertension is an epidemic in
the United States as well, and the
binge drinking common to college
life is certainly part of the story.
Sugar: White Lightning for
Heart Disease
Too much sugar can make
heart disease risk factors worse,
according to a recent study
published in the Journal of the
American Medical Association.
Excess sugar elevates triglyceride
levels and lowers high-density
lipoprotein (HDL) — the “good”
cholesterol.
Researchers examined the diets
of 6,000 adults, and grouped those
surveyed according to sugar intake
and cholesterol levels. The average
person in the sampling derived 16
percent of his or her daily calories
from sugar. The top sweet-tooth
group averaged 46 teaspoons of
sugar a day, while the lowest group
6 November 2010
added only about 3 teaspoons of
sugar per day.
Soft drinks and processed foods
contribute the most to excess sugar
intake. The average cola contains
eight or nine teaspoons of sugar,
for example, and 33 percent of
teenage boys consume three
or more such soft drinks a day.
You can certainly see how these
“hidden teaspoons” might add up.
Brown Rice — ‘Husky’
Is Good
The next time you go grocery
shopping or eat at a Chinese
restaurant, buy brown rice
instead of white. According to a
study published in the Archives
of Internal Medicine, replacing
the typical consumption of two
servings of white rice a week
(about 12 ounces) with brown
rice lowers the risk of developing
Type 2 diabetes by 16 percent.
Replacing white rice with other
whole grains lowers risk even
more, by 36 percent.
White rice is derived from
brown rice by removing the
husk-like outer layers of the
brown variety. That layer includes
nutrients like magnesium and
insoluble fiber. The fiber in the
husk works to slow down the rate
at which the rice is digested; this,
in turn, slows down the rate at
which the body produces insulin
to aid with digestion.
Wild swings in insulin
production lead the body to
become less sensitive to its
presence. Fewer spikes in insulin
production help the body use
the insulin it produces more
efficiently. Insensitivity to insulin
can lead to Type 2 diabetes.
What’s true of brown versus
white rice is also true of other
whole grains versus processed
grains. The nutritional difference
between the flour used to make
whole-wheat bread versus white
bread comes from the additional
processing that strips out the
white flour’s fiber.
Refined carbohydrates like
white flour are, to a degree, “pre-
digested,” as their natural structure
has already been broken down.
Thus, the body converts them
quickly to sugar and pours out
insulin for that purpose.
Keep the fiber in your grains
and you’ll have a better chance of
avoiding Type 2 diabetes. You’ll
also feel fuller, and feel that way
longer, after a meal.
Nighttime Sleep Is Vital
It’s critical for children under
the age of 5 to get enough
nighttime sleep. A study in the
journal Archives of Pediatrics &
Adolescent Medicine followed 1,930
children ages one to 13 from
1997 to 2002. These children were
divided into two groups — the
younger group were aged 1 month
to 59 months, and older kids from
ages 5 to 13 years.
After five years, 33 percent
of the younger children and 36
percent of the older children were
either overweight or obese. Lack
of sufficient nighttime sleep in
the younger children showed a
strong correlation with obesity.
What’s more, it didn’t matter how
much these children slept during
the daytime; the sleep they were
missing at night could not be
made up through napping.
Haven’t you found yourself
overeating as a means of
comforting yourself when you
haven’t gotten a good night’s rest?
Similarly, when working long
hours, it’s all too easy to eat an
extra meal to keep going.
Continued from page 5
I eat like this every day, especially during the
work week. On the weekend, my wife and I allow
ourselves a little variety to keep the diet from feeling
like a burden. That’s OK as long as you go right back
to the plan and stay with it.
In sum, keep it simple, keep it light, and keep it
fresh. Find healthy foods that you enjoy, and explore
the whole world of seasonings that can make
healthy meals like this into real taste treats.
Lifestyle Change Is Necessary But Hard
Many people ask how they can implement such
a diet gradually. The truth is, you can’t. You have
to challenge yourself head-on. Throw out all the
junk in your house, go shopping with a completely
altered shopping list, and learn how to cook tasty,
healthy meals from the foods I’ve recommended.
The other day, a somewhat famous person came
into my office. He was the brother of a big movie
star, and he was accustomed to living the high life,
eating and drinking whatever he wanted, whenever
he wanted. The result: He had a massive anterior
wall heart attack. His blood pressure and cholesterol
were elevated; he was overweight and inactive. He
sat in my office with his wife, and I gave him the
good news — that heart disease can be reversed —
and the bad news — that it was going to require a
complete change in his lifestyle.
The man and his wife both balked. They enjoyed
their lifestyle — or claimed they did — and didn’t
see the point in living if they couldn’t indulge
in their customary pleasures. They left my office
without taking any of my advice, and now my one-
time patient is likely on his way to a premature end.
At least they were honest. Many people I see
in my office believe the exact same thing, but the
fear engendered by a cardiac event masks those
sentiments — for a while. Once they start feeling
better, their addiction to indulgence resurfaces.
They quit their diets and don’t want to talk to their
doctors anymore — until the next cardiac event.
Such attitudes are one reason physicians do little
more than prescribe drugs. Doctors don’t want to
take the time to educate patients because so few
patients are willing to comply with their advice. It’s
easier to control what medications the patient takes,
and so doctors are content to control what they can.
November 2010 7
DINING OUT KILLS DIETS
In certain parts of America, many people now
dine out every night. But dining out is one of the
biggest enemies to staying on my diet (or any
diet, for that matter), because when you’re in a
restaurant you don’t know really what you are
getting. And the calorie counts of many restaurant
dishes are astronomical.
Fast food in the United States constitutes
the fast lane to the emergency room. Make no
mistake, fast food restaurants like McDonald’s and
Hardee’s have done their homework in their quest
to make their food addictive. If you are overweight,
sedentary, and eating at fast food restaurants, you
will get heart disease, period.
The Most Powerful Motivator: Love
With patients who have a strong religious faith,
I often feel I can speak more freely. I remind them
that their lives ultimately belong to God, who made
them for a greater purpose than mere indulgence.
All of us were put on this Earth to love our families,
our neighbors, and even our enemies. We can’t do
that properly if we are sick, and bad eating habits are
one of the main causes of sickness in this country.
The Apostle Paul writes to the church in Rome:
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating
and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in
the Holy Spirit.”
Even if you are not a person of faith, you should
be able to see that implementing the diet and
lifestyle changes necessary to beating heart disease is
ultimately a matter of what you value. Fear of death
can only motivate you for a little while. In the end,
it’s what you truly love that will determine whether
or not you take the steps to successfully fight heart
disease. That is the most powerful motivator in the
world.
Do you love eating and drinking more than your
family? More than what you might yet accomplish
in your life? Have you given up, or do you want to
live?
If you start eating as I’ve recommended, you’ll
feel so much better that you’ll rediscover the joys in
life. Eat right in order to live a life that’s truly worth
living — that’s my life plan diet.
 Ask Dr. Crandall
Dear Readers,
I will try to answer as many questions as I can.
However, because of the volume of questions, I
cannot answer each letter personally. Please include
your full name, city, and state when submitting.
If you have a question for me, please e-mail it to:
askdrcrandall@newsmax.com.
I have been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and
pulmonary hypertension. My treatment is 125 mg of
Tracleer, twice a day, and oxygen around the clock.
Do you have suggestions for what else I can do?
— Ellen S., Bend, Ore.
In addition to the medical treatment you are
currently receiving, you should be pursuing
pulmonary rehabilitation. I have found the best
form of rehabilitation for patients with conditions
like yours is rowing. Work out in an air-conditioned
room on a rowing machine while continuing to
take oxygen. My patients who have pursued this
therapy have seen dramatic improvements in
breathing capability.
I am not overweight, I exercise regularly, eat properly,
and take heart supplements like fish oil and CoQ10,
but I am still borderline hypertensive. Is there
anything else that I can do without taking drugs?
— Frank V., Sanford, N.C.
For many people, magnesium supplements help
control blood pressure. I recommend 400 to 800 mg
daily. There is also some evidence that biofeedback
is helpful, but it usually proves to have only a short-
term benefit.
Measures to reduce stress are also helpful. Are you
getting eight to 10 hours of sleep a night? Do you
take time to talk with people who are close to you
each day? Letting people in your life know what you
are up against is a primary means of stress reduction.
Finally, I always recommend prayer. In an earlier
newsletter, I noted a case where the medications
with which I treated a woman were of little help
until she began praying regularly. A consistent half
hour to an hour a day in prayer can work wonders.
If you are not a believing person, simply sitting
in silence for the same length of time and allowing
your mind to empty of cares and distractions also
can be helpful. Find a comfortable, peaceful spot
where you can either pray or keep silent.
If you implement the above and still find that
you are hypertensive, be open to the medications
your doctor prescribes. About 85 percent of people
with “essential hypertension”— that is, high blood
pressure not caused by secondary factors — will
require additional treatment.
I have very high triglycerides. I take Gemfibrozil and
it has lowered them dramatically to normal levels. I
would like to be off of the meds. What can I do?
— Thomas D., Jupiter, Fla.
Believe it or not, a good treatment for elevated
triglycerides is a can of sardines packed in either
olive oil or mineral water three times a week. You’ll
be surprised at how effective this can be. Another
option would be to take niacin (vitamin B3). Start
with 500 mg and gradually build up to 2,000 mg
daily, if you can tolerate that high a dose.
You should be warned that about 15 percent of
people experience flushing from niacin — growing
red in the face and neck and sometimes other parts
of the body, with a prickly sensation that can be
intense. For that reason, don’t rush when elevating
the dose. Stay at a tolerable level for three months
before any increase.
To your heart health,

Please note: All information presented in Dr. Crandall’s Heart Health Report is for informational purposes only. It is not specific medical advice
for any individual. All answers to reader questions are provided for informational purposes only. All information presented in Dr. Crandall’s Heart
Health Report should not be construed as medical consultation or instruction. You should take no action solely on the basis of this publication’s
contents. Readers are advised to consult a health professional about any issue regarding their health and well-being. While the information found
in Dr. Crandall’s Heart Health Report is believed to be sensible and accurate based on the author’s best judgment, readers who fail to seek counsel
from appropriate health professionals assume risk of any potential ill effects. The opinions expressed in Dr. Crandall’s Heart Health Report do not
necessarily reflect those of Newsmax Media.

8 November 2010