One Friday, I went to the cardiologist to find out why my heart rate skyrockets to 160-170 beats-per-minutes when we hike uphill. At 67 years old, I'm no spring chicken, but I have no other health symptoms of concern. And I like hiking in the mountains each week.
The cardiologist sends me next door for an EKG and a treadmill test. The EKG is clean. But when the treadmill technicians increase the slope, my heart rate immediately leaps to 150.
"Can you increase the slope?" I ask them. 150 bpm is nothing. My breathing is barely labored.
Instead, they slow down the treadmill, reduce the slope, and stop the machine. "We don't want you to have a heart attack, Ibu," they tell me. What? (It's better to have a heart attack up in the mountains while I'm hiking?)
They smile tolerantly at this old person: "Maybe you're too old to hike and you should do something easier."
Well, that's not helpful. The doc schedules an angiogram and blood tests for Monday,
"What else can I do?" I ask the doctor. He ignores the question, smiles, and writes out a prescription for beta blockers, blood thinners, and aspirin to be taken all weekend until the test. We buy the meds.
On the way home, I look up the side effects of the drugs = yikes. And the test itself? It has potentially dangerous complications.
There's no way that's my first option! I cancel the Monday appointments. The helper has baked a 12 egg yolk pound cake this morning. I'm not eating it.
Instead, I send it to the doctor's office with heaps of frosting and a heart made of
sprinkles. According to my general-doc friend, it's the cardiologist's birthday today.
"Happy Birthday, Doc!" Better that he and his staff eat that cholesterol-rich treat than than I.
I was a vegan for 7 years in my 40s and that diet eliminated my severe depression, hot flashes, and anxiety. Anything animal-related (honey, eggs, dairy, meat, etc.) gave me a hot flash within a minute or two, and a swift retreat away from people.
It happened over and over, whether there was a bit of egg white in a cookie or a little honey in a salad dressing. I wouldn't know there was anything in the food until the hot flash hit me. Then bammm! I'd be out of commission for a few days.
I found
McDougall Medicine online, a strict vegan diet with no added salt, sugar, or oil. Why not test it for 8 weeks? That was a set time, and if it didn't help, nothing was lost. (#drmcDougall)
Wow - my physical and social energy rebounded in 3 weeks, after years of depression and cloistering. My weight dropped back to college level in a few more weeks, and I felt completely my energetic and happy self by the time the 8 weeks were up. It was miraculous.
I remember asking my husband a few times if something so stupid, direct, and swift as a little animal food was all in my head. "Am I making this up? It's too weird." If someone else had told me it was true for them, I would have thought they were a hypochondriac.
"Nope," he replied each time I asked. "It shows on your face within minutes and your personality changes." I cooked regular food for him and the kids, but he was happy to have me back to life with vegan restrictions.
I added in some convenience foods, like readymade vegan "meatballs." I found recipe cheats for tastes I missed, like "cheese" and "sour cream" using soaked cashews, nutri-yeast, and lemon juice. I made fake meats from tofu and gluten.
Food was medicine. It wasn't always easy to cook separately. When we went out with friends, I'd bring along my own meal.
Once in a while, I'd try animal products or meat. Thanksgiving? Christmas dinner? At least twice a year, I warned my husband and kids I was eating a full turkey dinner and they could expect consequences. Usually that meant a week in my room, utterly exhausted and withdrawn.
That lasted for 7 years. Then suddenly, meat, dairy and animal products didn't bother me.
What happened? I have no idea. So I went back to the Western diet for 20 years.
Post-Covid, my breathing is shallower and labored. But this heart rate thing - resulting in breathlessness and weakness - finally caught my attention.
So now I'm back to a vegan diet. Let's see what happens! I'm monitoring my heart rate with an app. I'll get a blood test in a few months to see if the markers are normal.
Is there a food fix for unhealthy heart symptoms? How much easier it is to change my food rather than getting on the endless circuit of drugs and side effects!
