Lifestyle changes as effective as angioplasty for heart disease

As obesity has increased in the United States, diabetes has reached near- epidemic levels. About 24 million people are afflicted, most of them with Type 2, also known as adult-onset, diabetes. Cardiovascular disease is one of the most common effects of diabetes: About 65 percent of diabetics die from heart disease or stroke.

The Los Angeles Times reports research results showing that, “for most patients with diabetes and clogged arteries who have not had a heart attack, treatment with drugs and lifestyle changes are as effective at reducing death as immediate bypass surgery or angioplasty.” (italics are mine)

A 2007 study of nondiabetics also found that drug treatment and lifestyle changes were as effective as angioplasty in preventing deaths.

Hmmmm… Let me get this straight. Does this mean that someone suffering from heart disease, be they diabetic or not, could get the same clear-artery results just from changing their lifestyle (diet and exercise) and drug regimen as they can from undergoing a traumatic and invasive angioplasty procedure?

I’m not going to address the drug regimen as I’m not a medical doctor, but as a Certified Nutritional Consultant I do feel absolutely comfortable with the statement that one of the best lifestyle changes you can do to manage or reverse heart disease and/or diabetes is to follow a Perfectly Whole Foods Diet as much as possible and eschew the processed, artificial foods so prevalent in our modern world.

The mainstream medical community is starting to recognize that the prescription for robust health and healing must include as a whole foods-based diet. More and more alternative therapies are being integrated into mainstream medicine. Maybe some day more doctors will prescribe better foods along with or instead of more drugs and surgeries. The change is coming.