The Low-salt, Low-fat Diet. Part 2

What kind of exercise is permissible? 

Among muscular activities that are suitable to patients who have recovered from heart attacks are swimming, walking, square dancing, fishing, gardening, bowling, and horseback riding. They may also resume normal sexual relations and otherwise live normally. More violent forms of exercise, such as tennis or squash, however, are definitely dangerous. Moderate physical activity is recommended for coronary patients because during mild exercise, there occurs a nutrient withdrawal from the blood to meet increased metabolic needs. This withdrawal, in turn, results in a lower serum concentration of fats and consequently of cholesterol.

Should you smoke? 

One of the first questions a smoker will ask his physician following a heart attack is, "Doctor, do I have to give up smoking?" In most instances, the doctor will have to say "yes." In general, smoking is not good for the circulation. In fact, it is often quite injurious to circulation in the legs, if the patient is sensitive to nicotine, as many are. In some persons, smoking produces a tightening or further narrowing of the blood vessels, an action that physicians call vaso-constriction. In cases of coronary artery disease, the added squeezing down of the arteries as a result of smoking can be quite dangerous. Available evidence from research is not sufficient to show that smoking causes heart attack, but physicians know that some patients with angina pectoris (a form of coronary artery disease) may easily aggravate their condition by heavy smoking. Many of my patients have found it extremely difficult to give up the tobacco habit. For them, I usually recommend filtered pipes instead of cigarettes or cigars. For others, denicotinized tobacco, or a substantial reduction in smoking is effective. 

Should you avoid alcohol?

The use of alcohol in moderation is permitted and is, in fact, often beneficial. Just a few reminders will be touched on here. Temperate use of distilled liquors and wines is usually healthful, for they tend to dilate or open up the arteries, and thus to improve circulation. As a rule, I do not recommend the use of beer, because it is a gas-former. When beer is taken with a heavy meal, the resulting gas in the stomach may embarrass the heart or restrict its free function. My experiments, showed that severe gas-pressure could damage the heart or even arrest its action and thus affect the coronary arteries adversely. Many deaths that have been attributed to "acute indigestion" occurred in this way - gaseous ballooning of the stomach that actually squeezed life out of the heart. An additional disadvantage of beer, other than its gas-forming properties, is its salt content, which may be harmful to certain patients. For most coronary patients, moderate amounts of Scotch, brandy and wines, however, are recommended.

What about coffee and tea? 

Coffee and tea are also stimulants which, if used in moderation, may be helpful, since they too tend to dilate the blood vessels, permitting an increased flow of blood. But, as in the case of other stimulants, they can be harmful if they are used to excess.

Care of the bowels. Proper care of the bowels is essential. Constipation, which often results in straining at the stool, is harmful and may even be dangerous. Not infrequently I have known patients to precipitate heart attacks by straining to force a bowel movement. Because the importance of easy elimination in treatment of coronary patients is not generally known to the lay public, there was a good deal of surprise and amusement throughout the country when Dr. Paul Dudley White, the President's cardiologist, issued his now famous medical bulletin on the second day after the Chief Executive's coronary attack. At that time he stated that the President's condition was encouraging and that he had had a good bowel movement! This celebrated event is said to have been reported around the world. And the rejoicing was reflected in an upward swing in the stock market! On the matter of regulating the bowels your doctor is, of course, the best advisor. Most individuals require a well-balanced diet, containing fruits and vegetables, together with an adequate intake of water. They also need to take sufficient time for a relaxed bowel habit. Many of my patients have found that a glass of prune juice on arising in the morning, or one or two glasses of hot water with lemon juice or tea, are beneficial. Others have found that strained vegetable juices (cabbage juice, for example) or fruit juices taken upon arising stimulate natural bowel function. Still others have to resort to the natural, bulk-producing mild vegetable laxatives such as plantago (called Metamucil), psyllum seeds, "Saraka," "Serutan" and so on.

Can you continue to have sex relations? 

Mr. L., 43, had just recovered from his first coronary attack and was about to leave the hospital. His attractive young wife, who was his constant bedside companion, stepped out of the room to pay the hospital bill, leaving us alone for the first time without either his wife or his nurse in the room. The first question he asked: "Doctor, when will it be safe for me to have sexual relations with my wife?" This is one of the most pressing questions in the mind of most male patients under 60 (and even in some who are older!). This spoken or unspoken fear is so intimately linked with the patient's fear that he has "lost his manhood" or his virility, or that he is to be an invalid or semi-invalid from then on, that it is a deep psychological concern to men. It is a fear profoundly linked to the male personality, so shaken by a threat to existence as brought on by a coronary attack. Some men are like my patient, Mr. A., aged 63, who, whenever he attempted the sex act following his coronary attack, developed severe anginal pains. Even administration of nitroglycerine for pain prevention was to no avail. Mr. A. finally had to resign himself to the inevitable and seek gratification from other things in his life. This he did with resourcefulness. He developed the hobby of water-color painting and derived keenest pleasure and pride from this art. To most men and women who have made a good recovery from their "coronary," however, the sex act is an expression of love and devotion and is generally a relaxing, healthful experience. However, this is always so when carried out in moderation, never to the point of strain, or when fatigued or during unfavorable circumstances, since the heart actually does significantly increase its action during the sex act, as shown by recent published medical research. One businessman, a 44-year old European patient of mine, Mr. H., is an example of a well-recovered "coronary" case with a relaxed, philosophical attitude toward life. A devoted husband, deeply in love with his attractive, loving wife, he finds great satisfaction from frequent sexual relations. Mr. H. assures me this is the best "sedative" he knows, and that it banishes the daily tensions of his work. Love-making both refreshes and soothes him and is as necessary to "nourish" his love-life, as his daily food is necessary to nourish his body.

What is the best "coronary climate"? The ideal climate, as far as the coronary patient is concerned, is a temperate one. Extremes of heat and cold should be avoided. High altitudes, especially those above 5000 feet, are also a strain on the heart. Newspaper readers are well aware that during heat waves or hot spells, hospitals and emergency treatment rooms are kept busy treating patients who have collapsed from both heat strokes and heart strain. Similarly, patients who suffer from angina - a heart or coronary disease - experience their worst pains when they walk about in cold or freezing weather. Sections of the United States that are favorable to the coronary patient are the central and southern areas of California, the southern portions of New Mexico, Arizona, and Florida. There are other temperate localities in the country where the coronary patient will experience no discomfort from the weather. Your physician can advise you which locality would be best for you. To demonstrate how some men with initiative lick a climatic problem, there is a 59-year old former patient of mine who came to see me 10 years ago from a northern part of the state of Washington. Mr. 0. had had a coronary but, on exertion, suffered from anginal chest pains only during cold weather, in the winter season.


I persuaded him to leave his wheat farm after harvest time to the care of his son-in-law, who farmed with him, and to drive down and live in a trailer during the winter months in a charming spot between Los Angeles and San Diego, by the ocean and the desert. He now spends practically half the year working on his Washington farm and half the year living with his wife in their trailer in Southern California. For 10 years now he has had no anginal pain, but here is the "pay-off": After his first winter spent in Southern California, he returned to Washington so tanned, healthy, and happy that his friends (and even people he did not know but who had heard of him) formed a "Coronary" Club, and established a trailer settlement in this Southern California spot. Here a sizeable settlement from North Washington was formed, and the amount of fishing, bathing, card playing, and general fun and relaxation for members of this "Coronary" Club are a delight not only to those who have had a coronary attack, but to those men and women who are desirous of avoiding one and who wish to enjoy life and good health in their older years.

The Low-salt, Low-fat Diet. Part 1

General instructions for following a low-salt diet. You should eat only foods low in sodium content. Use no table salt (sodium chloride) in food preparation or at the table. Neo-curtasal, Diasal, Lacasal, Co-Salt (sodium free substitutes) may be used to season foods while cooking or at the table. Do not use bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) either in cooking or as an antacid. Use distilled water.

Rest. 

Sleep and rest are important. With a return of normal health, the heart patient may be inclined to do more than he should. Avoidance of fatigue from work or social activity, however, is the wisest course. Most patients should get from eight to nine hours of sleep in these hectic times. Some people, it is true, seem to get by with only five or six hours of sleep. But they are exceptional people. Patients must also be guided by their own reaction to work and daily activities. If they find themselves feeling tired or "run down" during the day, they should take a little time out for a nap. A good time for such cat-naps is the middle of the day and just before the evening meal. I often advise businessmen patients of mine to take a half-hour to rest, either in their offices or clubs, once or twice during the day, while their secretaries or business associates "cover" for them. They find that being "out" a half hour once or twice a day causes no great inconvenience, occasions no comment from their clients and is most refreshing. Social activities must be pleasant, non-taxing, and of the kind that induce a cheerful and relaxed mood. The coronary patient has always to bear in mind that he is better off away from scenes of anxiety, tension, or conflict - at play as well as at work. The value of relaxation to the coronary case and development of keen interest and enjoyment in activities outside work is especially appreciated by the physician. Several years ago in Los Angeles, a number of my colleagues formed a "Coronary Club." To be eligible, you had to be a physician and you had to have suffered a coronary thrombosis. Club members have developed the highest skills in their hobbies. Some of the most widely enjoyed of these hobbies are oil paintings, chess, sculpting, and water-color painting. Several of the doctors have already won recognition and prizes during the annual "shows" that local and national medical societies give for painting and sculpture. Indeed, one of my colleagues finds that he can hardly wait to get away from his office in order to work on an oil painting of his daughter!

Should you exercise? 

The kind and amount of exercise you take assumes a more important role in your life following a heart attack. Some people are almost fanatical in their belief that physical exercise is the only way to maintain good health. They are the persons who insist upon the efficacy of such gadgets as treadmill machines, Indian clubs, bar bells, and a variety of exercising machines. They will assure you that your heart trouble was caused in the first place by lack of exercise. The only way to regain your health now is to "restore the vitality and muscle tone that can come only from exercise." Some years ago I treated Dr. B., a brilliant and well-known biochemist and bachelor. After he recovered from his coronary attack he tried to live the exemplary, perfect life, living at home alone with his mother. After one year of excellent physical health, a new symptom developed: severe and persistent headache. The following conversation took place in my office: "Doctor Morrison, this headache of mine is just about killing me. I feel as though a vise were squeezing and crushing my head." "Well, Dr. B., you know your heart and blood pressure as well as the rest of your 'physical exam' are now perfectly normal". "But, Dr. Morrison, why do I suffer from this infernal headache? I lead an ideal life. I watch my diet, I don't smoke, don't drink, retire every night at 10 p.m., never keep late hours, am home every night with mother, never go out, don't even bother with women. What can it be?" Looking him straight in the eye and with a grin, I said: "It's simple, Ben, your halo is just too tight".

There was a startled minute of surprise and silence. Then Dr. B. himself grinned and saw through this joke into his own overstriving for perfection, having forgotten that the body needs more than physical tending to - it needs diversion, recreation, mental relaxation. I prescribed a holiday, a large dose of fun, a deep draught of gaiety and diversion, to be followed by regular, frequent doses of the same "medicine." His headache, obviously from tension and accumulated anxiety, vanished quickly! Actually, the extent of your physical exertion in any activity is a matter that must be decided by your physician. He knows that patients vary widely in their capacity for exercise and their body's tolerance to physical exertion. He knows also that exercise is nothing more than a means of stimulating the body's metabolism, of changing the body's chemistry through its effect on both circulation and on improved elimination. At least one half of all patients who experience a coronary thrombosis make a complete recovery and are able to resume normal physical activities. Of the other 50 per cent of patients, about one quarter find they are definitely limited as to their physical exertion or work. The remaining 25 per cent are either retired from work and normal activities entirely, or assume a disabled status.

President Eisenhower is a good example of those who recover completely. Despite the complication of ileitis added to his initial trouble, he made a satisfactory comeback following a coronary thrombosis. Although he was placed on a prolonged program of anti-coagulants (drugs that prevent clotting in the blood), he continued to play golf occasionally; he exercised with care and moderation, and returned to his customary Presidential duties.

Growing Younger With The Years. Part 4

Several more years of research on this question convinced us of the value of an ideal combination of: (a) low-fat, high-protein diet, (b) large amounts of Vitamin-B complex together with lipotropic (fat-preventing) agents such as choloine, betaine, and inositol (all members of the vitamin B complex) and (c) nutritional supplements such as liver extract, lecithin, and Brewer's yeast. Since it was now apparent to all medical scientists that the vast majority of the population was already afflicted with atherosclerosis by the time age 50 or 60 was reached, it was clear why this condition ranked first now as the cause of death and illness in the United States. What was not so clear, however, to most investigators and physicians was that atherosclerosis, or the "aging process" as it has so often been called, was responsible for the remarkable prevalence of premature old age, or "getting older." And what was equally important was the incredibly widespread symptoms in those who were past 50 or 60 of fatigue, lack of energy and vitality, nervousness and depression - not to mention a multitude of digestive tract, circulatory, mental, and other disturbances that stemmed from the combination of atherosclerosis and chronic nutritional deficiencies.

To put these realities to the "acid" test, my co-workers and I selected from our hospital research service 102 cases of generalized atherosclerosis and divided them into two main groups. Cases in one group of 40 patients included mostly individuals who had proven atherosclerosis of the brain, heart, and other organs. This group was given the combination of diet, massive amounts of vitamins and nutritional supplements as just described and as outlined in Chapter 5 ("Lecithin and Food Supplements"). Another and identical "control" group of 40 patients, having the same atherosclerotic conditions, was observed for comparison. This group received no dietary or nutritional treatment. Both groups had equal representation of men and women. Their ages also were comparable and ranged from 38 to 80 years. The average age for both groups, however, was 60. This is an ideal age from an investigative point of view, because clinically this age seems to be the one most widely associated with the Symptoms of so-called "aging," as previously described. At the end of one year, we published the results in the December 1953 issue of Geriatrics,] the official journal of the American Geriatric Association. (Gentries is the medical term describing the field of medicine devoted to the health and care of the elderly.) Our findings were as follows:

1. Twenty-five per cent of the group of 40 atherosclerosis cases not treated by our diet and nutritional program had died of complications from Atherosclerosis, mostly in the heart, brain, and kidneys.
2. There were no deaths in the group of 40 cases of athero sclerosis who adhered strictly to the intensive treatment of the diet and massive vitamin-nutritional supplements.
3. What was equally striking in the treated group was the im provement constantly noted in well-being, high spirits, in creased ability to work, to concentrate, and the remarkable vitality that most patients felt. Typical remarks, volun teered by patients after a few months on the treatment pro gram, were: "I feel like I have a new lease on life," "Never felt better in my life," "Doctor, I feel like a million," "It was like charging a rundown battery."
4. The proof that these remarkable improvements were not psychological was also found in comprehensive biochemi cal analyses that my colleagues and I carried out in all these cases. The blood fats and cholesterol levels in the treated series of patients decreased; from a previous, pre-treatment, slightly abnormal level, they developed into ideal blood biochemical levels at the end of a year. The protective phospho-lipids and lipo-proteins rose to very high, ideal levels. Some cases even showed remarkable improvement in their electrocardiograms (the electrical tracings made by a special instrument to measure the health and action of the heart).
5. As our published findings stated at the time, these clinical, chemical, and instrumental findings "indicate arrest or regression of the process of atherosclerosis in the arteries." This was a careful, scientific way of stating that "the evidence indicates that the aging process in the arteries can be stopped or that the arteries may be actually improved and restored to a healthier state." In still other words, it is apparently not beyond the realm of possibility to create a rejuvenating process or a return to a healthier, younger state in the body by adhering to the dietary, nutritional program recommended in this book.

One delightful example among these cases was Professor L., aged 70. A widower, he had taught at universities for a lifetime, was retired, inactive, depressed, and extremely unhappy. He could not work for long without feeling exhausted; his powers of concentration seemed to have gone, he was constantly tired and dispirited. To top it all, he suffered continuously from "indigestion," which he attributed to his own housekeeping, cooking or eating out in restaurants. Thorough examinations and X-ray studies revealed that there was no physical or organic disease present, other than the usual amount of atherosclerosis to be found in a man of his years. He then agreed to follow faithfully our dietary-nutritional program as previously described. Within a month there was already a surprising change. But after three months, his improvement was really remarkable. Gone were all the digestive symptoms. Professor L. literally bounced into the office, the picture of vitality and youthful vigor. He complained he had so much energy he just had to release it, or he felt he would explode! "Doctor," he said, "I simply must go hack to teaching again, I feel so wonderful. Would you please help me fill out these physical examination forms so I can get 'medical clearance'? I did so with pleasure and wished him good luck. A little later he secured a position in a private school. Imagine my surprise and delight when he came to my office smilingly several months later. With him was a charming, matronly widow. They had come in for their Wasserman tests, as required by the law in the State of California for pre-marriage certificates. They were leaving soon for their honeymoon! Apparently it's not only never too late to feel young, but it's also never too late to act and be young!

We all know that when you have such a sense of well-being and feel young, your whole attitude towards life is younger and fresher. One's entire philosophy can change to a more youthful, optimistic one, in place of the stagnating and defeatist attitude that so many older people have. When you feel young, you act young; you want to do youthful things and you think young. This feeling and philosophy of life prevents many mental and bodily ills that are especially apt to afflict elderly people. In this way can you maintain health, vigor, and happiness with the advancing years. It has been said that "There is really no cure for old age; only those who die young escape it." But the low-fat nutritional way of life can really help you "Grow Younger With the Years."

Growing Younger With The Years. Part 3

Weight control also contributes to healthy old age. 

The case of our manufacturer Mr. J. brings up and emphasizes also the necessity for ideal weight in older people, as well as in the younger ones. Particularly if you are past 50 or 60 years of age and are overweight, you can feel healthier and better by reducing your weight to normal. Suppose that you weigh 170 lbs. and should weigh 150 lbs., so that you are 20 lbs. overweight. If you are the average active person, you take at least a thousand steps each day. This means you "drag" around daily with you 20 lbs. x 1000 (steps) or 20,000 lbs. This is about 10 tons. Your heart then must pump all the harder to carry this extra 10 tons around with you (on your back, so to speak) every day! No wonder your heart tends to wear out sooner and shortens your life.

Can youth be restored in the prematurely aged? Perhaps the greatest challenge to experimental science has been the question, "Can youth be restored in the prematurely aged?" In both animals and humans whose premature aging is contributed to by vitamin and nutritional deficiencies, nutritional science has been able to answer "yes" in many cases. There is an old saying used by both the medical profession and the public, "You are as old as your arteries." This concept led us to investigate whether it would be possible to produce "old age" in the arteries, heart, and brain of experimental animals, and to attempt the crucial challenge of whether these arteries could be restored to normal health and youth again afterwards. Accordingly, in 1945, my associates and I fed a high-fat diet and cholesterol to a series of 43 experimental animals. Within 30 to 90 days we were certain that the majority of the animals had already developed from moderate to severe atherosclerosis in the vital arteries around the heart as well as in other parts of the body.

Then, over a 6-month period, we fed daily large quantities of concentrated extracts from Vitamin-B complex to the animals in one group and no vitamins at all to the other group. These special vitamin extract feedings were based on the recent, original discoveries of the value of these nutritional substances (called "lipotropic" or fat-preventing) made by Doctor Charles Best and his associates at the University of Toronto. Dr. Best was the co-discoverer, with Dr. Frederick Banting of Canada, of insulin. We soon noticed great changes in the untreated animals, who had rapidly developed significant atherosclerosis. This contrasted sharply with another group of "controls" that had not been fed the high-fat, high-chholesterol diet, and who were free of atherosclerosis. At the end of a year, the atherosclerotic animals were sluggish, inactive, and disinterested in what went on around them. They showed a drying up and sparseness of hair; poor tooth and nail growth; "rheumy" eyes, and poor appetites. In short, they presented the picture of "old age," even though, chronologically, they were still young animals. But after six months of intensive feeding of very large quantities of Vitamin-B complex constituents to the atherosclerotic group of animals, the changes that took place in them were startling. After examination of the artery tissues in the animals, we found (to quote from our scientific reports published in the medical journals) that "there was re-absorption of atherosclerosis in the majority of those animals whose atherosclerosis had been produced by the fat and cholesterol feedings." In other words, the aged arteries, filled and damaged with the fatty plaques or deposits that were destroying the blood vessels, had become normal and healthy again!

The changes that took place in the appearance and behaviour of the treated animals were also a pleasure to behold. They were frisky again, full of play and mischief, alert to every sound and movement about them, and in great spirits. Their appearance was also remarkable. Hair growth, color, and texture had become youthful and luxuriant, their eyes sparkling, and their appetites voracious. Similar results were also found in the absorption of atherosclerosis in experimental animals at Columbia University by Doctor Albert Steiner and his associates. Other investigators, as well, demonstrated similar results in the experimental production and reversibility of "old age." These nutritional lessons have been very quickly learned by the farmer. He saw to it promptly that large daily supplies of vitamins and nutritional supplements were fed to his livestock and his poultry. They have become healthier, and yield more milk, butter, and eggs, and tastier beef, ham and pork. In addition, they resist illness far better, reproduce their young more efficiently, grow faster, and are far superior in every possible respect.

I recall a memorable case that brought this lesson home to me in an unforgettable way. Over 20 years ago, I was attending a group of ward patients at a university hospital in Philadelphia. One of my charges, Roy W., was a pathetic case - a young student who suffered from a chronic infection of the bone that he had had since childhood. It was imperative that, to cure the condition, he undergo surgery by our brilliant and gifted professor of orthopedic surgery, Doctor John Royal Moore. Unfortunately, this young man's nutritional state - his emaciated condition from his chronic and life-threatening infection - was so bad, that he was judged to be in no condition to undergo the badly needed surgery. Even his liver and other organs had become damaged by the chronic infection. But the most appalling damage was his visible aging. This 19-year old looked like a very old man and talked and felt like one. His hair was graying, his eyes dulled, his skin was wrinkled and his voice feeble. No types of nutritious diet, routine vitamin pill daily intake, or medicines were of any avail in overcoming his weakness. It seemed impossible to improve his health to the necessary pre-operative level. In desperation, in the attempt to counter the boy's obvious nutritional deficiencies and his premature aging, I decided upon a nutritional approach - we would feed him massive amounts of nutritional supplements. In addition to Herculean doses of all known vitamins, I persuaded his broken-hearted mother to go to the city abattoirs and get the freshest liver available. The liver was then pressed by her own [hands and squeezed to get the fresh juice. Huge amounts of this were combined with large daily doses of flavored Brewer's yeast and whole wheat germ in addition to the large amounts of vitamins mentioned above. An amazing transformation took place in this young boy within two months. He became strong, bright, alert, and looked his age again. His whole appearance became altered. His skin, eyes, and - strangely enough - his graying hair, were rapidly becoming normal in color again. The endless, back-breaking hours that his mother had spent daily preparing and taking his life-sustaining nutritional aids to his bedside at the hospital had been rewarded. Roy made a splendid recovery after his operation.

He became the picture of health, and later married and took a position as librarian at a famous university. His history was truly a triumph of the wonders of nutrition - nutrition as it affects the young as well as the old, The next step in our research was to see whether our experimental results with animals in "restoring" old arteries to their youthful state meant anything as far as humans were concerned. First, my co-workers and I studied for three years the effects of members of the Vitamin-B complex group (such as choline, betaine, and inositol) on the atherosclerosis of 230 patients suffering from coronary artery disease. When we published our encouraging results of treatment in the American Heart Journal for May 1950, we were persuaded to use a comprehensive treatment method in attacking the problem of atherosclerosis.

Growing Younger With The Years. Part 2

Growing Younger With The Years. Part 2

Begin now to feel young and really alive. The point of describing all these extraordinary results in making older as well as younger people feel vital, young, and fresh, filled with the zest and capacity for living, is that it is never too late to feel young and really alive again! No matter what your age is, the right diet and nutrition described in this book may do wonders for you. If you really work at it, it can repay you tenfold. It is not enough just to eat "three square meals" a day and take a vitamin pill. That way you can still age before your time and just "exist" during your lifetime. There is evidence that the aging process may be reversible. Out of the horrors of Hitler's concentration camps there came just recently some amazing news announced at the 1956 International Congress on Arteriosclerosis. A crucial question was asked of the general assembly as to whether there was definite evidence that the low-fat diet could effect actual absorption (or reversal) of the fatty deposits in the arteries. The question was also expanded to ask, "Is the atherosclerosis or aging process reversible?"

Growing Younger With The Years. Part 1

To those Americans among the 20 million who are 60 years and over, some may ask, "Of what value is the low-fat diet to me? If I were 40 years old, a book like this would be my Bible. But it's too late for me to benefit from this book now, so late in my life. I only wish that it had been written and that I had read it 25 years ago." It's never too late. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Extensive medical research recently carried out in this country and abroad has shown how dramatic changes in health and well-being result regularly when an intensive nutritional program is followed. There are, in particular, the recent Swedish reports of amazing improvements in the health of older people resulting from the low-fat nutritional program that I originally recommended. Doctor G. Lindquist and Doctor B. Isaksson at the University of Gothenburg Hospital applied the low-fat diet with nutritional supplements to a series of 19 hospital in-patients who were known to be sufferers from hardening of the arteries of the brain. These patients, whose number is tragically legion, are generally regarded by moist physicians as hopeless and are simply to be kept alive as long as possible. Many doctors still view these pathetic people as the inevitable result of old age, the results of wear-and-tear of the arteries - the hardening of the arteries in the brain. The Swedish physicians only recently published their remarkable findings, carried on over a three-month period in men and women patients whose ages ranged from 50 to 87. The diet adhered exactly to the original low-fat, low-cholesterol diet that I had published and advocated (which they graciously acknowledged) containing only 25 grams of fat a day. Some of the patients received a regular daily supply of multiple vitamins. All cases had been previously studied and carefully examined and observed before the dietary treatment was begun, and their clinical condition was stationary. All patients, with one exception, had suffered from a stroke or cerebral thrombosis as a result of hardening of the brain arteries. The one exception suffered from Parkinsonism, or the shaking of the hands (tremors), so often seen in the elderly. All patients had experienced some disability or paralysis of legs, hands, or arm muscles following their strokes. The symptoms were characteristic: nervousness, mental depression, weakness, listlessness, and despair. The following results are taken practically verbatim from the published scientific reports of their research.

The low-fat diet brought amazing improvements. After the three months of treatment by supplements were completed, not one case worsened. Most of the men and women showed striking and dramatic improvement both mentally and emotionally, even those who were mentally confused prior to treatment. The youngest improved patient was 50 years of age and the eldest was 87 years old. The patients were found to have grown more lucid, and to have improved perception and judgment. As a result, they established better personal relationships with doctors, nurses, and members of their families. To further quote the Swedish investigators, the capacity for concentration and endurance was remarkedly increased. This was demonstrated from the energy with which the patients carried out their physical exercises as part of the physical treatment for paralysis and muscular weakness. What was even further remarkable was the improvement in mood and personality. An additional welcome surprise was the improvement in actual physical power and movements in half of the cases, even after this brief period of treatment. Some of the patients made such extraordinary mental and physical progress that they were sufficiently well to be discharged from the hospital. As so many other careful research physicians had done, psychologic and suggestive factors were assiduously avoided. The patients were reported as pleased with the palatable and varied diet.


The very cautious publication reporting the above results appeared in the world medical literature, and confirmed my own original research as well as the findings of others. What was of considerable interest was the fact that the blood fats and cholesterol had decreased rapidly in amount during the short three-month period. One of my patients, whom I shan't forget, was an 83-year old lady, who was wheeled into my office in a wheelchair not so long ago by her 60-year old daughter. Mrs. A. was too feeble to walk, almost blind, partly deaf, and too weak to feed herself. The thin flame of life was kept burning in her by the devoted spinster daughter. Her selfless dedication to her mother, her feeding her and tending to her every want was touching, even biblical in character. Somewhere the daughter had heard that farmers were feeding their animals with *superchargers* of vitamins and other nutritional products to make them healthier, more vigorous, and so produce finer specimens and higher profits. She reasoned that possibly such treatment might help humans, even her mother, who was rapidly becoming like a vegetable. Two months of our treatment followed. Large amounts of natural and synthetic vitamins, plus nutritional supplements such as lecithin, soya oil and liver extract were given in addition to the low-fat, high-protein diet. Under our very eyes, a nutritional miracle then took place. Mrs. A. walked in to see me, under her own power. She was able to see, even though not as clearly as at one time. Because her hearing had returned, we were able to carry on a conversation. And I found - marvel to behold! - that she still had a sense of humor. She was able to poke fun at herself and spoke of my "robbing the grave." Or take the case of Miss R., a 65-year-old maiden lady who had a stroke or cerebral thrombosis, the result of atherosclerosis. Her vision was failing and she was partly paralyzed, desperate, and depressed. Except for one friend, she was all alone in the world. After several months of using the low-fat nutritional program described in Chapter 5, Miss R. recovered much of her muscular powers, her partial paralysis gradually disappeared, and she became a radiant picture of cheerfulness and optimism. Her vision had greatly improved, and when last seen in my office she asked me brightly, "Doctor, could I go swimming?" I replied, "Indeed yes, but - no diving!" During the past decade, many reports of repeated research in old folks' homes or centers for the elderly have shown in these people the failure of many vital organs (like the liver) to keep up with the older persons' physical and mental needs. Poor functioning of the kidneys, liver, heart, and other glands was noted. When tests were made of the vitamin levels in these elderly people, they were shown to be deficient. However, research constantly shows us that humans vary widely in their nutritional needs. The nutritionist for the Canadian Government, Dr. Lionel B. Pert, speaks succintly of "the illusion of vitamin requirements." He finds, as do most other scientists, that there are no known exact requirements of vitamins and nutrients for humans.

You need more than a "normal" or "average" diet. It is emphatically not enough to eat merely the listed standards of nutrients. They vary widely in their ability to be absorbed, depending on the individual's vitamin, mineral, nutritional requirements and his biologic pattern. Chapter 5 on lecithin and nutritional supplements is therefore of greatest practical value for the older person as well as the younger one. One perfect example gathered from many is the very recent and ingenious study carried out by Doctor Tom Spies, one of America's great nutritionists. He studied over 893 men and women who were suffering from weakness, nervousness, poor mental concentration, ease of fatiguability following any physical or mental exertion, and depressive feelings. Many had to stop work, as they were unable to hold a job. Some women found it impossible to care for their families and homes. In brief, these men and women were "old before aging" and most of them looked it. Most of these people complained of symptoms from various digestive, nervous, or mental ailments. Previous physicians had proven that none of these symptoms were due to actual physical disease, but were merely disturbances in the normal function of the body. These people were sent to Doctor Spies' medical center and research facilities in Birmingham, Alabama, by physicians who had been unable to help these puzzling and difficult problem cases. These individuals showed no physical or laboratory signs as explanations for their physical or mental breakdowns; they were on the regular, average American diet and had seemingly normal food habits. The research team headed by Doctor Spies tackled the clinical puzzle of these 893 "mystery" cases as a nutritional challenge. The nutritional supplements and vitamin supplies used were mainly those described in Chapter 5. They included lecithin, vitamin supplements, and nutritional aids such as liver extracts and brewer's yeast. These were administered in an intensive way to all cases, together with a high protein diet. Astounding changes promptly took place in these people.

Within a few months it was difficult to recognize many of them. Gone was the weakness, malaise, the lethargy, the nervousness, depressions, the exhaustions, and myriad accompanying symptoms characteristic of chronic poor nutrition. Cheerfulness, optimism, a sense of well-being, physical and mental vigor, a remarkable increase in physical and mental stamina was evident in the great majority of cases. Within a few months almost all of them were able to return rejuvenated to work, home, and normal, healthful activities. A number of the younger ones entered the armed forces. Hundreds of them began to look younger and fresher. The skin developed lustre and a healthy texture where before it had been dry and wrinkled. A sparkle came back to the eyes, physical movements became vigorous and youthful. Some of the patients lost the mental symptoms and depressions that had caused a suspicion of actual mental disease. These really dramatic lessons and "cures" are additional demonstrations of the greatly increased nutritional requirements of both younger and older people, who are victims of our current food and cooking habits.