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| Be Well - Vol 1, # 7: The Remarkable Story of Robert Cross |
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BE WELL “Enjoy Vibrant Life and Health”
The Robert Cross story is so notable on several levels that I am focusing on it for this issue of the newsletter. It is the story of a man who was skirting cardiac disaster a little over a year ago, but who then made a dramatic turnaround in his lifestyle. His recent nuclear heart scan in May 2009 (just two months ago) showed evidence of nearly total return to normal cardiac blood flow. Equally convincing, his health improved so greatly in every way that he is like a new man. He rejuvenated himself in just a little over a year! Two weeks ago, I mentioned his story, and I have now summarized it for my newspaper column next week. I will not go into more detail about that story here, but I will comment on the deeper significance of his story. First, here is the link to my article about him: Significance of the Robert Cross Story: This story is significant on three levels, each of which deserves some emphasis. On an individual level, Robert Cross was so strongly motivated to take responsibility for his own health that he went well beyond the usual individual response to a serious health problem. He researched the Internet on his own to find out if there were any effective steps he could take to help himself in his situation, and he studied those steps carefully. Then he chose and implemented a plan of action for himself, based on what he learned. More than that, he personally contacted and hired Jeff Novick, Registered Dietitian for the McDougall Program, as his personal nutritional coach. Finally, he convinced his own doctors to let him have a dietary trial under medical supervision, rather than go for angiograms and probable angioplasty and stent placement as they recommended. After one year, the results of his dietary trial were so clear and convincing that even his skeptical cardiologist agreed to let him forego any surgical intervention. However, it did not take a year for the improvements to begin showing up. As Robert Cross comments, the changes in his life began showing up quickly, and he improved so steadily that his internist eventually took him off almost all his medications. A few Robert Cross quotes on changes he made: “I look back on this lifestyle change as one of the most significant things I have ever done. The improvements have gone far beyond the reversal of the disease in my heart’s arteries. So many everyday problems have vanished... [The] pills and my old diet made me look and feel awful. I now have a new lease on life... Although it was not easy at first, I cannot imagine anyone who tried this program for thirty days, who would not decide that it is a far better way to eat and live than what is commonly called the Standard American Diet.” On a professional level, as typified by Robert Cross’s cardiologist, a large portion of the medical profession still has little awareness of the powerful impact of lifestyle on the health of patients. The idea of healing or preventing life-threatening health problems by prescribing lifestyle change simply doesn’t occur to these physicians. They seem to have a huge professional blind spot with regard to the impact of lifestyle on health. On the positive side, there are some medical professionals who are making tremendous contributions in this area. Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. McDougall, and Dr. Esselstyn are among a number of specialists who are leading the way in showing people how to improve their health significantly through simple lifestyle changes. Some day, the scientific work done by these medical pioneers will become widely accepted, and when that happens, the entire paradigm of health and health care in our country will shift profoundly. On the national level, Robert Cross’s experience tells us that millions of people could improve their health in simple life-enhancing ways. Chronic diseases such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and obesity are preventable to a large extent. If the majority of patients took ownership of their own health by adopting truly healthy lifestyles, new standards of health and health care would evolve. My purpose in writing and publishing the Wellness Newsletter is to raise awareness of the marvelous health potential within each one of us. I want to include some nugget of information or inspiration in every issue that is helpful to someone. The following piece of information may be helpful for many people. The Habit Guide: The difficulty of changing long-established habits can be a major problem for anyone working on making even simple lifestyle changes. Mike Kinnaird struggled with this problem in dealing with serious health issues for nearly two decades. Out of his experience, he has written The Habit Guide, and it will soon be published on the Internet. I have read his book and believe his advice is excellent. If you’re interested in his book, click on my link to his website (below). He is offering a free report called The Happiness Secret this week, and the book itself will be available the week of July 13th. You can learn more about it through this link to his home page, and you can buy it there if you think it can help you. Just so you know, if you buy it on the basis of this referral, I will receive a commission for referring you - but only if you buy it. There is no cost for simply looking at his site. Best wishes to each of you on this Fourth of July weekend. May you experience fullness of happiness, joy, and health. Be Well, Ed Dodge, MD |