I’m very excited to host Dr. Joel Kahn on my blog today. He’s a plant-based cardiologist whose personal mission is to prevent 1 million heart attacks over the next two years. Dr. Kahn is known as “America’s Holistic Heart Doc” and runs the Kahn Center for Cardiac Longevity Center in Bloomfield Township and Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. He graduated Summa cum Laude from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and has been practicing invasive, interventional and preventive cardiology in Detroit since 1990. He is a Clinical Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Wayne State University School of Medicine and Associate Professor of Medicine at Oakland University Beaumont School of Medicine.
In 2013, Dr. Kahn received a certification from the University of South Florida in Metabolic Cardiology, and became the first physician to complete the program in the world. The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine has also certified Dr. Kahn in Metabolic Cardiology. Reader’s Digest magazine selected Dr. Kahn for their Holistic Heart Doc column and their publishing arm published his book, The Whole Heart Solution, an Amazon #1 Top Selling book. His second book, Dead Execs Don’t Get Bonuses, was published in 2015 and is on the Bestseller List as well.
Dr. Kahn’s medical views are published by the Huffington Post and Mind Body Green and he is a frequent radio, TV and Podcast guest. Dr Kahn also appears regularly on Fox TV 2 in Detroit as a health commentator and a member of the Yahoo Health Advisory Board.
What inspired you to turn to plant-based nutrition both professionally and personally?
I adopted a vegetarian diet my first week in undergraduate studies, as everything but the salad bar looked inedible! A few years later I read A Diet for a New America by John Robbins and then the Lifestyle Heart Trial by Dr. Dean Ornish was published and I was convinced plant-based diets were the best choice for health, animals and the planet. The number of scientific studies has exploded supporting plant-based nutrition so there has been no looking back.
You call yourself an Interpreventional Cardiologist. What does that mean to you and how do you incorporate a plant-based lifestyle into your cardiology practice?
I am not the only cardiologist trained in both cath lab interventions like stents who also actively tries to reverse heart disease with plant-based nutrition, but there are not many. The word represents that I do not throw away necessary or effective components of traditional medicine, but I would always prefer stressing prevention and reversal of existing diseases.
Do you feel the health care community is starting to really embrace plant-based nutrition?
Unfortunately no. Or very slowly. We have the largest Plant-Based Nutrition Support Group in the USA in Detroit, but there are only a handful of health care providers that attend despite many invites and media attention. They simple are not open minded at this time. The hope will be that the next generation of healers training now will be open minded and embrace it.
When, if at all, do you feel that a tipping point will be reached and plant-based nutrition will become more mainstream and seem less ‘alternative’ in the health care community?
Medicare has voted yes by reimbursing for the Ornish Lifestyle Program since 2010, but broader reimbursement for the education of patients in nutrition in general and plant based nutrition specifically will move the field ahead. And when hospitals embrace it will leap forward.
What are some of the most common health pitfalls that you see among people who eat a plant-based diet?
The most common pitfalls include junk based diets with processed fake meats and cheese low in whole and fresh foods like an apple! Second would be to skip B12 and vitamin D which are necessary in most.
Tell us about GreenSpace Café, the new restaurant you opened in Ferndale, MI!
My son Daniel and I dreamed up gourmet plant-based meals with a full choice of spirits featuring organic and vegan selections and now we are there. The community is embracing the risk we took to build a gorgeous world class cafe that could be placed in NY or LA in a heartbeat and maybe one day we will be there. Come visit us.
You’ve also authored two books, the most recent is Dead Execs Don’t Get Bonuses: The Ultimate Guide to Survive Your Career with a Healthy Heart. What was your inspiration for the book?
I do not want people to have a heart attack or stroke unnecessarily despite the ability we have to detect heart disease early. People with even good access to medical care, like James Gandolfini from the Sopranos, simply aren’t aware of the best way to check your heart. The book was written to stop these deaths today. Buy it, read it, share it, live it.
What does the future hold for you?
More books, videos, lectures and a full commitment to teach disease prevention and reversal featuring diet as the core. I will slow down when hospitals across America are processed and red meat free zones just like they are now smoking free zones.
What are some of your favorite foods and meals that you enjoy on a regular basis?
I eat simply; oatmeal, chia pudding, and smoothies with ground flax in the AM. Salads on the run for lunch that I make; soups, chili and casseroles for dinner. I add green juices and plant-based powders to be sure I am getting 10+ servings of produce a day.
3 – 4 green onions, finely chopped, including tops
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 carrot, grated
1 – 2 cups finely shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup golden raisins or chopped dried apricots juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional if on a heart disease reversal diet)
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine couscous and boiling water. Stir to mix, then cover and let stand until all the water has been absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Add green onions, bell pepper, carrot, cabbage, parsley, and raisins or apricots.
In a small bowl, mix lemon juice, vinegar, oil, curry powder, and salt. Add to salad and toss to mix.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Notes
Per 1-cup serving: 194 calories: 2.1 g total fat: 0.3 g, saturated Fat: 0.3 g; 9.8% of total calories from fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 5.2 g protein, 40.2 g carbohydrate, 10 g sugar, 4.2 g fiber, 283 mg sodium, 33 mg calcium, 1.1 mg iron, 40.9 mg vitamin C, 1157 mcg beta-carotene, 0.7 mg vitamin E
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