Why would a man who is famous for voracious appetites of all kinds — food, knowledge, and other things — go vegan at the age of 64? A quadruple bypass and a later angioplasty are two reasons. The former pres also wanted to lower his cholesterol, lose weight and have more energy. CNN reports that after last year's angioplasty, Clinton told his friend and heart diet expert Dean Ornish that he felt that he had been playing Russian roulette with his health. "Even though I had changed my diet some and cut down on the caloric total and cut back on much of the cholesterol in the food I was eating, I still — without any scientific basis to support what I did — was taking in a lot of extra cholesterol without knowing if my body would produce enough of the enzyme to support it," he said. "Clearly it didn't or I wouldn't have had that blockage. So that's when I made a decision to really change." Today, Clinton says, he eats no meat, no dairy, and almost no oil. HIs dietary guides are Ornish and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr., who directs the cardiovascular prevention and reversal program at The Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. Both doctors have concluded that a plant-based diet can prevent and, in some cases, actually reverse heart disease. Is it working? "All my blood tests are good," says Clinton. "My vital signs are good, and I feel good, and I also have, believe it or not, more energy."
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I wonder if this is my fate, eventhough being prescribed cholestrol lowering meds and already being on a diet that’s red meat reduced.