confused about the diet for afib

I am a little confused about the type of diet best for those with a history of afib. Since my ablation in October, I have been doing fine. However, I want to eat healthy so I don't get afib again.

I have read several books on different types of diet. Specifically, I read two books on the Paleo diet, the Wheat Belly book by William Davis, the Grain Brain book by Perlmutter, the Super Health Diet book by Craichey who did an interview on The Truth About Cancer series, the Eat Right 4 Your Type book (according to blood type), plus many books on the Hallelujah diet which discourages meat and diary consumption.

So, here are my questions:
1. Is meat protein bad for you?
According to Rev. Malkmus of the Hallelujah diet, meat can cause cancer. Rev. Malkmus healed himself of
colon cancer when he was in his forties by changing his diet with no meat, sugar, dairy, or processed foods. He eats
plenty of vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, plant protein, and juices every day. Dr. Colin Campbell who wrote The
China Study also believes mean protein causes cancer from his research. From what I read, I gather there is an ongoing
debate about what type of protein is best - meat or plant. But, according to those who write about the Paleo diet, one
should eat meat protein.

2. Are whole grains and legumes good or bad?
From what I have read, one should stay away from wheat products. What about buckwheat or
quinoa? These grains do not come from wheat. According to the book, Eat Right 4 Your Type, buckwheat is beneficial for
people like me who have blood type A. Even black beans are beneficial for me. But, according to the Paleo books, one
should stay away from beans due to inflammation.

I am starting to get a little confused. With regards to my diet, I know to stay away from sugar, processed foods, diary (except eggs), and MSG foods. I do eat salads, lots of vegetables, nuts, and fruits. I occasionally juice vegetables and have a green smoothie every morning. Now here is the tricky part. I have started to eat some meat protein (grass fed) again, but I also eat some grains, mainly, buckwheat and quinoa. In addition, I eat eggs even though people like Rev Malkmus disagrees. I guess you could say that I was a vegetarian for a short time before my afib problems. Since having afib, I started to eat more meat protein, eggs, and include healthy fats.

I would like to know what others think about the best diet for those with afib. The book, Eat Right 4 Your Type (recommended by a health doctor) suggests for me that I eat meat protein and eggs only 3x a week, vegetables in an unlimited amount, and grains 5-9x a week, and beans 2-5x a week. I, personally, think the grains are too many but I could be wrong.

I would appreciate it if we could have a discussion on this topic. Maybe I should be reading some good resources. Thanks.

If you look through various posts here, you'll find people who swear by a variety of diets. Personally I think that because afib is such an experiment of one, things that make it worse or better can also vary by person. What worked for me was paying attention to food/s that seemed to trigger episodes as well as foods that didn't cause me any problems at all.

Pay attention to your body and listen to what it is telling you.
Nancy

No Marsh, natural organic range or grass fed meats are not inherently carcinogenic. Where a meat carcinogen association arises is from high temperature cooking of meats as in heavily charred fats and blackens seared surface of the meat combined with well-done centers of the meat is not a good choice for preparing any meats. Such a cooking scenario is not the healthiest way to prepare meats at all.

A slower cooking, lower temperature cooking process insures the healthy life-affirming qualities of meats, fowl and fishes as well as avoiding processed meats like nitrate-ladened salami, pepperoni etc. etc. Note: you can get organic nitrate and chemical free processed meats at most Heath food stores, but keep these too to not an everyday consumption.

Especially as we get older we need a robust source of anabolic proteins and high quality saturated fats (medium chain triglycerides as an example of excellent quality fat most folks get far too little of).

At the recent A4M annual congress on functional and integrative life enhancing medicine I worked at for 5 days assisting my endocrinologist friend Dr Thierry Hertoghe from Brussels, there were a good number of talks from a variety of integrative/functional Med docs discussing their real-world experience with multiple diets over the years in their patients.

The overwhelming consensus was that while obviously a vegan/vegetarian diet can be, and often is, a very effective way to improve the heath of people, especially in younger years through their mid-fifties, who had previously suffered from the excesses of the typical 'Standard American Diet' ( named the 'SAD diet' appropriately enough). as time and age advance, the downsides of the more restrictive vegan/ vegetarian diets had become increasingly obvious to the majority of these astute integrative/functional medicine MDs based on careful examination of their patient bases and all of those patients who, by definition, are dedicated to one degree or another toward a proactive improvement in their own 'Self-Health' programs.

I must have heard 6 different speakers last week at the conference warn against going too far for too long as the patients age with veggie/ vegan-only eating. With the caveat that indeed some folks seem genetically better suited to doing well longer with such veggie diets than others, but these appear to be a distinct minority who can still thrive while avoiding all animal proteins and who get by on relatively low protein low-fat consumption and assimilation. For most such people, the problems gradually but clearly start to show up from mid-50s to after 60 and onward, precisely when the downsides and consequences of our typically declining anabolic hormone production really starts to set in.

I've heard these reports for years now from a growing army of functional, integrative and bio-identical hormone replacement therapy docs in the field about how, ironically, those with the most fanatic avoidance of good quality proteins and fats simply look worse and fair worse over time in their collective practices. And I've seen time and again comparative blood tests showing skewed values in B vitamin assimilation and status, anabolic tone, bone strength and skin collagen quality among other issues in such long term veggies/vegan as they age.

More nutritional and biochemical blood imbalances tend to show up in later years as one's endogenous anabolic hormones start to decline, such veggies who up
until the early golden years might have been able to maintain reasonable muscle and bone quality as well as skin tone and thickness after years of veggie/vegan eating very often start to lose those core symbols of good robust bodily health even while still benefitting from the robust levels of antioxidant intake from loads of great fresh veggies and fruits, nuts etc.

Some veggies/vegans through lucky genetics, and most often with a very dedicated daily effort to replenish good quality proteins and fats can still do very well as they age, especially those that also restore their anabolic hormone levels with expert guided BHRT replacement protocols to reset their anabolic levels more toward ranges they had in their mid-30s.

However, for many folks, it's very hard to get enough good quality amino acids, fats and other co-factors needed long term to compensate for the general decline in both anabolic and catabolic hormone production and balance without eating any high quality organic range and grass fed animal proteins too that are prepared in a safe low-temperature cooking fashion along with the same large and varied intake of good organic veggies, selected fruits and a range of nuts etc as most vegetarians consume as well.

The reason so many people become almost religious zealots over one diet or another is from the major impact for the positive on the way they feel, look and perform after switching from a nutrient poor often processed carb-laden quasi-junk food diet for many years. Switching to a truly far more healthy vegetarian/vegan diet from such typical all American/European grazing diet where they eat any and all things that look tasty all day long kind of a 'diet', can literally work miracles in turning around one's health, clarity of mind and improve one's sense of well-being big time.

I know that process well, as I was a strict vegetarian for over 22 years from age 14 to 36. I felt great most all of that time while still having the bulk of my own endogenous anabolic hormones at work.

But you will see the very same and equally enthusiastic responses to a well-followed Paleo-like diet ( with individual modifications tailored to specific genetic factors and/or anecdotal experiences) with the various diets to find the best blend for you.

But just looking at overall nutritional intake of a high quality diet that is based on the obvious observation that we, as a species, evolved as pretty much omnivores and not just veggie and fruit eaters, there is no comparison in the broad range of essential nutrients that are consumed each day by the broader menu diets that still feature just as many varieties and quantities of great organic veggies and berries as most vegetarians consume, but with a much wider range of other foods too, that when prepared safely, can give a more solid foundation of nutritional repletion across the board, especially so in our older past mid-50's years.

Anyway, that's been my experience and careful observation after having been practitioner of both vegetarian eating and more Paleo-like (but not entirely strict Paleo) eating over the last 15 years. I have witnessed time and again that for most people in our age group, the Paleo-like (or some good variation there-of) is superior for the larger number of folks entering our golden years than is a strict vegetarian or vegan diet.

One anecdotal observation underscores what we now see in ex-President Bill Clinton. His overall health has no doubt benefited from his adoption of a vegan diet inspired by his daughter and supported by his doc. He has also reduced sugar to a bare minimum which is great too. After having had CVD and a CABG operation, his lipid profile and loss of excess weight no doubt has helped improve his CVD risk factors and I applaud his dedicated effort. But I'm also sure he could achieve a very healthy weight loss goal as well as improve his blood CVD risks factors just as much and yet look and feel far more energetic and less frail than he now does. He is thin to the point of sarcopenia it seems from seeing him over the last year on TV.

Much of the weight loss is super, but it's clear too that a fair portion of that loss is also muscle weight and likely bone too. It's certainly better than his jelly donut double-fried chicken belly he sported in the White House, but in my view his almost shocking appearance in recent interviews reflects the kind of one-pointed focus on lowering a few parameters deemed important targets while overlooking the overall balance of good health... Treating the labs rather than the whole patient to a degree can result in such rapid physical changes that, while overall are in the right direction, nevertheless raise some red flags that something vital seems missing in the man these days. ( and I'm talking strictly physical and not political or personal, obviously)

A good number of veggies/vegans can still make it work long into their golden years, but it almost invariably requires far greater effort and dedication to conjure up the missing nutrients and co-factors along the way as we move well into our 60s and beyond that, in my view, should all at least be available too in a truly well-rounded human diet.

If a veggie diet is working well for you, that's great! I'm all for it so long as you partner too with a good functional medicine MD, or learn for yourself with an open mind the pros and cons of this approach long term and then learn to take those extra steps often needed to fill in the blanks that tend to get more and more noticeable and consequential with aging if key anabolic proteins and fats are missing in sufficient levels over the long haul.

There are multiple variations on 'the best overall diet' and no doubt as our genetic understanding and ability to accurately discriminate continues to evolve at such a rapid pace as we are seeing now, I feel certain far more targeted and effective personally-enhanced ways of eating will drive major changes in health care and the health of those populations lucky enough to be able to benefit from such knowledge going forward.

Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2015 06:41PM by Shannon.

Shannon,

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation!! I so appreciate it. The other day I read about a doctor who said vegetarians seemed to do worst health wise in their later years.

Lately, I have been thinking about my parents diet and lifestyle. Their diet consisted of meat, vegetables, and potatoes. Mom hardly ever cooked pasta, grains, or beans. She lived until age 92 with her passing a few weeks ago due to a stroke. Starting at age 90, dementia started to creep in. My dad, also 92 years old, is doing very well with no evidence of dementia. Mom was very active involving herself at LA Fitness until 2 years ago. Dad still goes to LA Fitness center about every other day. Neither of them have been vegetarians. Although, they like their sweets and they do have heart problems. Mom's heart would go out of rhythm at times but it was controlled by a beta blocker. Dad has had several stents and is also on a beta blocker. Both have had skin cancer. My dad has such a positive outlook on life.

When I was in my early 20s, I was diagnosed with hyperglycemia. Thus, I went on a high protein diet which was the recommendation at the time. I ate a lot of fish and not a single bit of sugar. After 6 months, I felt like new with so much energy. However, I started to cheat and eat sugar again. And, my energy went down.

So, since I am in my 60s, maybe I should look at the above examples that I shared and the information shared from you, Shannon. It is just good to know that someone was willing to share some of the thoughts I have been thinking about and answer my questions. Thank you again, Shannon! And thank you Nancy for sharing your thoughts. I so appreciate this website and the knowledge people share with each other.

Marsh - As Shannon explains, many people do well initially on vegetarian or vegan, but my FM MD notes in her community health talks, that some of the most nutritionally-deficient people she's treated are vegetarians. Paleo "style" eating allows for optimizing the protein one needs to support a healthy functioning body and facilitates the elimination of the high carb burden that causes so much damage from Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) and the resulting oxidative stress and inflammation damage that results. Sugar and starchy carbs are truly the enemy.

I’ve been listening for many years to countless recorded webinars from holistic and functional medicine practitioners and when speaking about the best eating plan, the overall consensus seems to be... "eat clean" which emphasizes choosing organic foods, fresh and not canned, packaged or processed or commercially prepared so you avoid consuming BPAs, too much sodium added for taste appeal, cheap detrimental oils and, above all, pesticide residues that accumulate right into the plant itself and then transfer to our body putting extra burden on our detoxification system. Eating clean also eliminates unhealthy choices for beverages including tap water loaded with chemicals. Organic dairy, eggs and grass-fed meat are especially ‘clean’ protein sources because those animals are not fed GMO grains, antibiotics and hormones.

No dietary plan is complete without the inclusion of high count probiotics to ensure the abundance of gut bacteria needed for detoxification, brain health and production of serotonin, regulating our immune system and inflammation.

Beyond the fundamentals of what constitutes optimal nutrition, everyone has slightly different metabolic requirements and what’s optimal for one may not be for another so don’t be mislead by strictly following one specific plan. It takes time and experimenting to learn what fulfills your biochemical needs best. If you have access to metabolic profile testing through a functional medicine practitioner, that’s often the shortest route to selecting appropriate foods for your specific eating plan.

Jackie



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2015 07:19PM by Shannon.

Thank you so much Jackie for your response. You have been such a big help! I appreciate all the knowledge you share on this site! Thank-you!