Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe

Two nights ago CNN aired a special called The Last Heart Attack. The program was narrated by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical correspondent for CNN and explored the belief that you can prevent, reverse and eliminate heart disease with a plant based diet. As part of the context of the show, Dr Gupta interviewed former president Bill Clinton who has now adopted a vegan lifestyle in an effort to take control of his heart health after a quadruple bypass surgery several years ago.  They share openly about Clinton’s previous lifestyle of enjoying fast foods, greasy foods and a rather unhealthy approach to food consumption, especially during his Presidential days.    Today, the former President claims to feel better than he ever has and is maintaining a youthful weight that he recalls from his school days.

In several segments, Dr Esselstyn from one of  our fave vegan movies, Forks Over Knives appears talking about how you can reverse heart disease with a plant based diet. The show is a soft sell for veganism, it only comes up in one comment….but takes a much stronger approach to advocating a plant based diet if you want to live another day, heart attack free. What I liked about the program is that it made veganism seem doable, palatable to the many. It focused on the health of the individual. The “What’s in it or me,” thing and I think that is brilliant. This vegan for one, doesn’t care why others choose to adopt a plant based diet, but she does care that by doing so, a lot of animals will be spared, whether you thought about it that way or not.

Here is a link to the CNN special The Last Heart Attack. It is available courtesy of VegSource. The show is approximately 45 minutes long and does not have commercials. Please share it with anyone and everyone interested in better living through food rather than pharmaceuticals and surgery.

The Last Heart Attack

Tags: Bill Clinton, CNN, compassionate eating, dairy free, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, going veg, plant based diet, The Last Heart Attack, trying vegan, trying vegetarian, vegan, vegan challenge, vegan transition, vegan wannabe, vegetarian transition