A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Stockholm by Robert Lefkowitz

Author:Robert Lefkowitz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2021-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Exercise was not the only approach I took in trying to defuse the time bomb in my chest. During my medicine sub-internship at Goldwater Memorial Hospital in 1965, I gave blood for a study on lipids and learned that my total blood cholesterol level was 260. At the time, this was not particularly troubling to me, as a clear link between blood levels of cholesterol and atherosclerotic vascular disease had not yet been established. In the early 1980s, a blood sample was drawn during a routine annual physical and I was again told that my cholesterol was over 250. By that time, there had been multiple studies suggesting that cholesterol levels higher than 200 were linked to cardiovascular disease, so my Duke colleagues raised alarm bells over my high cholesterol readings. It seemed probable that my high cholesterol levels were due partly to genetics, which were likely a major contributor to my family history of heart attacks and other cardiac disease. However, diet was also certainly a factor, as I ate a standard American diet of the era, including plenty of McDonald’s and other fast food offerings with my young children.

Following my quadruple bypass surgery, I developed a totally different mindset about my diet. I was heavily influenced by the writings of the cardiologist Dean Ornish on the benefits of reducing fat intake. Ornish wrote a best-selling book called Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease, which recommended a stringent low-fat diet as a means of combating coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis. However, I was also influenced by other studies of this era demonstrating that not all fats were created equal: saturated fats can raise “bad” LDL cholesterol levels, but mono- and polyunsaturated fats can actually help to reduce LDL cholesterol values. Thus, I began an Ornish-style diet that evolved over time into an almost-vegan diet featuring lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, and olive oil. This transition was not difficult since Lynn was a vegetarian, so by association I also became vegetarian, finding like most vegetarians that I didn’t miss meat at all. The eating plan that Lynn and I evolved over time was very low in saturated fats, although not especially low in overall fats.

Once this dietary regimen was in place, I never wavered from it. I was zealously observant even when eating out at professional events, which sometimes prompted colleagues to comment on my strict adherence to my diet.

“Bob, are you sure don’t want to try the dessert? It’s amazing. You don’t know what you’re missing!”

In truth, I had no problem adhering to my new diet because I didn’t think of myself as “on a diet.” I grew up in a kosher home. Even when my family ate out, we observed kashrut, the set of dietary laws dealing with foods that Jews are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared. In observing kashrut, you either observed the dietary laws or you didn’t; there was no in-between. You didn’t eat a pork chop or ham sandwich every once in a while just because it was a special occasion.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.