Have you seen former President Bill Clinton lately? He's 24 pounds lighter and now America knows why. Clinton recently revealed the secret to his slimmer appearance: a new diet that shuns anything with a mother or a face. This vegan approach to eating has Clinton back to the weight of his youth. He looks good but what motivated Clinton to take the vegan leap was how his blood vessels looked. His history of bypass surgery and a stent left the former commander in chief concerned about his arteries becoming clogged again. He did his research and says he learned subscribing to a plant based diet can reverse the effects of heart disease.
The man behind this meatless approach is Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn who recommends the diet for healthy people as well as those with heart disease. In his book "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" he lays out the rules. No meat, poultry or fish. No dairy products. No consumption of any kind of oil including olive oil. No nuts or avocados.
Clinton recently told a television reporter that he makes up for the lost protein by drinking shakes in the morning. Since he no longer consumes milk, he blends almond milk with a non-dairy protein powder. Almond milk? The closest I had come was my daily bowl of dry oatmeal with almonds, over which I pour skim milk.
Intrigued, I headed to my local grocery store to purchase some. Almond milk is made from ground almonds and contains no cholesterol or lactose. I found it to be sweet and a lot like soy milk in taste. What I really wanted to know was how it compared to my standard skim milk in nutritional content. Here's the skimmy, I mean skinny on 1 cup of almond milk versus skim.
Calories: Almond- 60 Skim-90
Total Fat: Almond -2.5g Skim- 0g
Saturated Fat: Almond-0 g Skim-0g
Trans Fat: Almond-0g Skim-0g
Cholesterol: Almond- 0mg Skim-5mg
Sodium: Almond-150mg Skim-130mg
Potassium: Almond-180mg Skim-410mg
Total Carb: Almond-8g Skim-13g
Dietary Fiber: Almond-1g Skim-0g
Sugars: Almond-7g Skim-12g
Protein: Almond-1g Skim-8g
Vitamin A: Almond-10% Skim-10%
Vitamin C: Almond-0% Skim-4%
For now, I'm going to keep drinking almond milk which is a nice change for me. To cut the sweetness I add a little water to the carton. I'm also going to explore Clinton's heart healthy diet to see how it affects my body.
If you want to join me, Dr. Esselystyn recommends nutrient dense, leafy green veggies, root vegetables and those that liven up your plate with colors like red, green, purple, orange and yellow. Beans will be your new source of protein. All legumes are acceptable including peas and lentils. The good news is you don't have to cut the carbs! Whole grain products like bread and pasta are perfectly acceptable as long as they don't have added fats. Another sweet spot? Fruit. Dr. Esselstyn gives the green light to all fruits but the real question is what will you be drinking?
Hear what President Clinton and the doctors behind the diet have to say about it at the following link:
Now I'm getting thirsty for almond milk...go figure! Your writing is both colorful and informative. Good!
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