MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

ABSTRACT: Coronary heart disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. In the United States, this disease is responsible for one in every four deaths. This presents an epidemic in which health practitioners must emphasize not only treatment, but long-term prevention of CAD. Research has found that plant-based diets high in fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, beans/legumes, and nuts can prevent, treat, and reverse CAD. Observational studies of areas with the lowest CAD rates and prospective cohort studies have consistently reported a link between more plant-based diets and decreased CAD rate (Hu, 2003, and Bazzano et al., 2001). Case studies of individuals adopting a plant-based diet have shown reversal of the disease through coronary angiograms, along with other benefits including termination of CAD medications, improved erectile function, and reversal of type II diabetes (Esselstyn, 2014 and 2001). Two longitudinal clinical studies of patients on low-fat plant-based diets found reversal of CAD based on coronary angiograms, and long-term prevention of recurring cardiac events (Esselstyn, 1995 and 2014). A randomized-control trial in which participants with CAD were assigned to either a lifestyle-change group focused on plant-foods or a conventional treatment group found that coronary atherosclerosis diameter decreased by 7.9% in the lifestyle-change group, and increased by 27.7% in the conventional care group (Ornish, 1998). Because of the significance of the findings in these studies, plant-based diets deserve more emphasis in medical education and in doctor-patient communication.

WC = 232

READER’S PROFILE: I imagine a fellow medical school student who does not think patients would be willing to adopt a plant-based diet.

READER’S RESPONSE: While the data seems to support the plant-based diet in CAD prevention, I don’t think patients would be willing to make a change to what they eat. Eating habits would just be too difficult to influence, so we’d be better off continuing to treat CAD with medications.

REVISED THESIS: Heart disease presents a health epidemic in which health practitioners need to emphasize prevention over treatment. Research has increasingly shown that a whole-food plant-based diet can prevent, treat, and reverse the disease over the long-term. However, despite these findings, nutrition receives very little recognition and coverage in medical education. This serious knowledge gap results in physicians entering the field with little to no nutritional education, which contributes to the public disconnect between food and health. Therefore, in this medical school seminar paper, I will present my fellow medical students the scientific evidence that has shown the effectiveness of plant-based diets in long-term prevention, treatment, and reversal of heart disease.

VOICE: My voice will remain formal and primarily 3rd person as I am referencing scientific literature and research.

CITATION: APA citations. In-text citations referencing mainly published studies throughout the paper, especially the middle. I may use some natural language citations in my ending to refer the reader to well-known doctors of plant-based nutrition research and patient-communication.

To address the difficult patient, this is when you might note the attractiveness of the approaches by Furman, Barnard, Peake, Northrup, and others.

Also, well, we need to re-aquaint ourselves with time at the table, for conversation and community, too. So, even the communal and spiritual aspects of food.

Good topic that we ALL need to pay attention to!