Looking at Dr. Uerem, somehow you can't say that he is over a hundred years old.
Elswore Warem, a retired heart surgeon, lives in Loma Linda, California. This is one of five so-called "blue zones" - places where people live on average longer than the rest of humanity. There are a lot of vegetarians here, and Dr. Warem himself attributes his amazing longevity and health primarily to diet. He is vegan and has not eaten any animal products for over 50 years.
How did he become vegan?
“You can say that I was naturally inclined to a vegetarian diet. My parents were farmers, and we had no shortage of meat, I just never liked animal food. When I gave it up completely, at first I was worried if I was getting enough nutrients, but then I discovered that I could just take vitamin B12.”
Dr. Warem is a heart surgeon and has seen many hearts in his lifetime. He says that about 50 years ago, together with a group of surgeons, he traveled to Asian countries to perform open heart surgeries and found that they were sick there in a completely different way.
“We operated mainly on patients with congenital heart defects. We almost never met any cases of ischemic disease. It is a disease of developed countries."
Needless to say, the locals ate mostly plant foods.
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Ellsworth Wareham says that high cholesterol is the scourge of rich countries, and if people heeded his advice and gave up meat, coronary heart disease would disappear altogether.
“If your cholesterol level is below 140, then you are practically insured from heart troubles. And the main factor that raises cholesterol is saturated fat, which is almost all animal fats. Some scientists have found that animal protein also affects cholesterol levels, so even if you drink skim milk, that doesn't make it healthy. Sugar also raises cholesterol."
Warem acknowledges that exercise is good for lowering cholesterol levels, but if you eat a lot of fatty animal foods, no amount of exercise will help you.
Did he manage to persuade his patients to refuse animal products?
“When I was a medical practitioner, I tried to tell patients that animal food was not good for them. But a person must be ready to meet halfway in this matter. It is very difficult to tell a person who is used to eating meat that you are going to deprive him of his usual dishes. Food is an extremely sensitive topic. You can talk to people about anything - about the benefits of sports, relaxation, correct psychological attitudes, and they agree with you. But talk about what they eat and you will find that people are very sensitive about this matter. If the patient is willing to listen to me, I explain why plant foods are scientifically healthier.”
Dr. Warem says that any human eating habits are acquired, except for the taste for breast milk. This means that if the parents feed the baby correctly from the beginning, he will love healthy food.
“But even older people like me can change their taste. For example, some people eat too much salt. Without salt, food seems bland to them. But if you gradually reduce the amount of salt in your food every day, a person will eventually not notice the difference. Eating habits can be changed in about three months if you want to."
Dr. Wareham confirms the correctness of his approach in his own life (although he complains that some family members do not want to follow his advice). He retired at 95, although colleagues urged him to stay.
“I could work now. I can do everything that I have done before - my hands do not tremble, my joints do not hurt, I do not lose my balance, - he says. "I just decided it was time to spend more time with my family."
Dr. Warem leads an active life - he drives a car, takes care of the garden, he mows bushes and lawns. His own heart, as well as his entire body, is in perfect order