Diet wins over stents and drugs

Last Updated Aug 2007

A multi-billion-dollar medical industry has arisen from great marketing as opposed to good science. This newly created industry involves giving as many stents as possible to cardiovascular patients to reduce the risks of a second heart attack. It sounded like a good idea. In fact, it sounded so good that no one ever tested it. In the meantime, thousands of cardiologists were suddenly ordering stents for their patients, and they started making money just like heart bypass surgeons without going through years of surgical training. Now they, too, could be surgical heroes instead of pill pushers.

Now the bad news. A study was done to compare pushing pills to a heroic push to get the patient into surgery for cardiovascular stents. The results indicate that drugs and stents do an equally good job of preventing death and future heart attacks. Given the choice of surgery or taking pills, most patients would probably opt for the pills. But if your real goal is to live longer and better with heart disease, then put your trust on real science. The Lyon Heart Diet study has indicated a 70-percent reduction in cardiovascular death rate for people following a diet rich in fruits and vegetables with adequate protein coming from fish and chicken and monounsaturated fat and a diet low in omega-6 fatty acids. The best drugs could do was a 20-percent reduction in cardiovascular mortality. The GISSI study has indicated 1 gram per day of EPA and DHA generates a 20-percent reduction in overall cardiovascular mortality compared to those taking the standard drug therapy without fish oil. The JELIS study has indicated 20-percent reduction in mortality in patients taking statins and 1.8 grams per day of EPA over those taking statins alone.

Let's see. Consume a diet rich in fruits and vegetables with adequate amounts of low-fat protein, low in omega-6 fatty acids and rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as EPA and DHA, and you live longer than you would through stents or drugs. That dietary approach sounds suspiciously like the Zone Diet to me.