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Originally Posted by Golfingnut
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But you don't understand. Euell Gibbons ate meat. According to Carl Esselstyn we're all supposed to live on lettuce and celery. If you follow his program and you are not losing weight, he'll tell you that you're eating too many carbs. If it's still not working, you're eating to many calories. Then maybe you're eating processed foods.
Dean Ornish who has written books prescribing almost the same program that Esselstyn has, has admitted that their diets are very difficult to stick with.
Also there are hundreds of nutritionists and cardiologists who disagree with their premise. Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist is Miami is one who feels that sugar is more of a problem than fat. Sugar is in almost everything we eat and the amount of it and, more importantly, how quickly it is absorbed into our blood stream may have a more deleterious effect than eating healthy fats. To Esselstyn, there is no such thing as healthy fats.
Esselstyn has some anecdotal evidence where his program has been successful, (as does every other nutritionist and doctor with a diet book out there) but there have been no long term studies have been conducted to show that people who adopt this style of eating will, number one, stay on the diet If they do manage to follow this very difficult program there is no hard evidence that they will lose weight and improve their cardiovascular health.
Some doctors also have concerns about the detrimental effects of a completely plant based diet. Not only is it unnatural for humans but the lack of certain nutrients may cause other problems in the long run.
This has worked very well for President Clinton but that doesn't mean that it will work for everyone.
And as someone else pointed out what is the point of living a few extra years if you can't enjoy some of the finer things in life?