Beating heart disease with nutrition (and the "Dirty Harry" diet)

When he was in his 30s, musician Bob Walpole decided he wanted to be healthier.  He went on a low-fat diet, and lost 35 pounds.  “I’ve been interested in nutrition ever since,” he says.   So, when doctors told him last October that he had a 90% blockage in one of his coronary arteries and scheduled him for angioplasty, it came as a bit of a shock.

“I still thought of myself as being pretty healthy, but I guess I really wasn’t.  Over the years, my lifestyle had gotten less active and I'd gradually gotten out of shape and gained weight.  When I ended up in the hospital for heart surgery, it was a wake up call.

“After the procedure, I decided to radically change my diet.  I started shopping for more natural foods and found myself in sections of the store I’d never seen before.  I tried keeping a spreadsheet to track my nutritional intake, but that was so much work, I stopped after four days. It was taking me half the evening to do the spreadsheet.

“Then I found NutritionData and I’ve been logging my meals [using ND's pantry tool] almost every day for the last six months.  The reports make it so easy to see how I am doing. I love the Caloric Ratio Pyramid; I try to keep it right in the center, to balance carbs, fats, and proteins. I also keep close track of my sodium and calorie intake, and pay attention to what kinds of fats I’m eating.

“The nutrition facts label is terrific for getting the quick picture. If I see something off, then I investigate to see what’s throwing things out of balance.  Lately, I’ve started to focus more on the glycemic load and inflammation factor of my diet. I’m becoming convinced that these are really important.

“ND helped me go from 218 pounds to 178. I also got my cholesterol levels down so low that they had to cut my medication dosage in half. My cholesterol had actually gotten too low! (I don’t think they count on people really watching their diet when they set the dosages for these medications.)

“The doctors originally told me that the reason my artery was clogged was mostly hereditary because my diet was pretty good. But I’m convinced now that it really was more about diet. I thought I was eating healthy, but when I really delved into the details, it wasn’t quite what I thought.

“Even though I’m at my goal weight, I still continue to use ND almost every day for reference. Maintenance can be tricky.  How do you relax a little bit without completely letting it all go? Tracking my diet on ND makes me accountable. Sometimes for fun, I plug in what I used to eat —just to see the difference.”

“I’m grateful that I had this scare, because it forced me to be more aware. Sometimes I call it my “Dirty Harry” Diet. I picture Dirty Harry standing behind me with a .45 to my head. Every time I feel like having a doughnut, he asks me, “Are you feeling lucky?”  I turned 60 in January and I feel that I’ve bought myself another 30  years. I’m living proof that you can take control of your health by taking control of your diet!”

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