Prevent a Second Heart Attack

January 3, 2011
In Cholesterol Down, nutrition and fitness expert Brill simplified lowering blood cholesterol levels to four weeks and 10 steps. Here, she reduces confusing dietary guidelines typically given to post–heart attack patients to a two-month regime aiming to minimize risk factors ("good" and "bad" cholesterol ratios; blood pressure levels; inflammation; weight; etc.). Brill's focus is dual: preventing a second heart attack and creating a lifestyle that works in tandem with prescribed medications. Contending that low-fat diets and most supplements are ineffective and programs touted in bestsellers and the media (Pritikin, Ornish) prove too restrictive for many patients, Brill offers a Mediterranean-style diet incorporating liberal daily servings of eight "superfood" groups: healthy fats, vegetables, fruit, legumes, seafood, walnuts and flaxseeds, whole grains, and moderate amounts of red wine. Brill's primer on plaque, which she states can begin to build up before birth, is alarming, but her confidence in reversing cardiovascular disease will encourage readers to make significant lifestyle changes. To ensure they do so, Brill throws in a bonus superfood: dark chocolate, a treat, she advises, to be consumed daily.