Healthy appetizers: Hummus and Spinach Dip with carrots, pita chips, pepper slices, and broccoli.
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Tuesday, April 2, 2019. 12:45 pm. Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, Continuing Medical Education lecture.
Cardiologist, Vegan, Ultra-Marathon Runner and Ironman Triathlete.
NEW LOCATION!
MY NEW OFFICE --
18663 Ventura Blvd, Suite 202, Tarzana CA 91356
818-938-9505
Heather Shenkman, MD FACC
- VeganHeartDoc
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- I am an Interventional Cardiologist practicing in the Los Angeles area. I believe that lifestyle -- including diet and exercise -- are crucial parts of our health and well-being. Here, I share my insights on medicine, ideas and information about vegan diets, and my triathlon training adventures.
About Dr. Shenkman
Contact Information
Call 818-938-9505 for appointments:
18663 Ventura Blvd, Suite 202Tarzana, CA 91356
Upcoming Speaking Engagements
Monday, April 1, 2019. 7:30 pm. South Bay SDA Church, 16 Day Health Challenge.
Bike
Swim
Run
DISCLAIMER
The statements and opinions on this blog are mine alone. They do not represent my practice or any other organization. Further, they are not a substitute for care from your own physician.
Patient Information on Heart Disease
My Favorite Posts
- How I Became a Triathlete
- Statins for Primary Prevention -- My Thoughts
- Ironman St George 70.3 Race Report
- Motivation
- Vegan Passover
- My Experience as a Patient -- The Ablation
- My Experience as a Patient -- SVT
- Worst Race Ever
- My Cholesterol Numbers :)
- Ironman Lake Placid -- Pictures
- Ironman Lake Placid -- Race Report
- Article About Me (from company newsletter)
How to Go Vegan!
Find a Nutritionist
Triathlon Training
Heather Shenkman MD FACC
18663 Ventura Blvd, Suite 202, Tarzana CA 91356
3 comments:
Hi Heather,
My question is not about this entry. Nevertheless, I would really like to hear your point of view about this issue.
I have read books written by Dr. Esselstyn and Dr. Ornish and I am aware that they have effectively used a very low fat (10%) vegan diet to reverse heart disease.
However, more and more often I read that vegan RDs advocate against the low-fat approach. They say that just replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats is sufficient to lower cholesterol.
My parents are in their 50s and since one of their friends recently underwent a by-pass surgery they are scrambling to make changes in their diet to avoid the same faith. I am trying the best I can to help them transition to a healthier more plant based diet and eliminate as many animal foods as possible. However, I am not sure what I should tell them in regards to their fat intake. I am pretty sure that they might have some plaque in their arteries and don't know whether a recommendation of 30% fat intake will be sufficient to reverse the course. What do you say to your patients in regards to this?
Thank you,
Lisa
Heather:
I came over to your blog to pass this onto you, in case you have not seen it:
Atherosclerosis: its cause and its prevention. The American journal of cardiology yr:2006 vol:98 iss:11 pg:1550 -1555
http://www.camenaegroup.com/NTCC07/Materials/Roberts-Atherosclerosis.pdf
And since I'm here and a vegan RD, I'll give my view on Lisa's comment: Replacing saturated fat with poly and mono unsaturated will lower LDL and raise HDL. There other factors, namely fiber and exercise that play an important role, but in regards to fat, it's all about saturated. I eat 30-35% fat. Good luck!
Philadelphia -- to add to what Matt had to say, consuming non-saturated fats instead of saturated and trans-fats will have beneficial effects on lipids. The question of low-fat is a tough one, though. The WHI (Women's Health Initiative) that looked at a "low-fat" diet showed no benefit. However, their "low-fat" diet was nearly 30% of calories from fat -- hardly a low-fat diet! Ornish has shown excellent results with a diet that results in less than 10 percent of calories from fat.
There is no true threshhold for exactly how much fat one should get, but I'd say it's well under 30%. I hate to tell people to count every single gram of fat and every calorie because that takes the fun out of eating. Aiming for a healthier diet, with less (and preferably no) animal fat, and lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is the best approach.
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