What do we diligently avoid?

1. Animal Products: No Meat, No Fish, No Eggs, No Dairy — not a drop of milk, not a bite of meat, no fish, no eggs either.
2. Oils: No Oil — no olive oil, no canola oil, no soybean oil, no EVOO, no coconut oil … no oil at all! This guideline may surprise many but No Oil is a common guideline in Whole Food Plant-Based circles.
3. Dietary fats: Nuts, Seeds & Avocados are consumed in very small quantities. Dr Esselstyn recommends 10% total fats in our diet and zero nuts for heart disease patients (even though he considers them healthy; he recommends zero nuts because they are addictive and will make it hard for us to adhere to a low fat diet). He suggests that we can get derive EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids) from 1-2 tbsp ground flax and chia. Other nuts, seeds and avocados may be consumed but sparingly.
4. Misc: Minimal Salt, No Coffee (both of which damage the endothelium)

What do our food plates comprise of?

1. Whole Food Plant-Based: We eat whole grains & beans, fruits & vegetables — in their WHOLE form; we avoid ultra-processed foods. We also consume herbs & spices and misc foods like vinegar and mushrooms. Nuts, seeds and avocados are also consumed but mindfully — in very small quantities — so that our total food system is low fat. More details below.
2. Eat Whole Grains: see offset 9:53 of Jane & Ann's video. Lots of choices: quinoa, barley, wheatberries, rye, teff, amaranth, …
3. Lots of Oats: "Find a way to eat oats!" offset 4:47 of Jane & Ann's video. Oats are available in many forms in the market. In this video, Ann shortlists three of them as best: oat groats (great but tough to eat), steel cut oats (awesome) and old-fashioned oats / thick rolled oats. Quick cook oats and other forms of oats are discouraged. Oats Breakfast Recipes by Esselstyn Family
4. Starches, Veggies & Fruits: "Eat starches, non-starchy veggies and a max of 3 fruit servings. Starches are important for satiation so you do not get hungry. Being hungry is not sustainable. Starches are root veggies (potatoes, sweet potatoes), beans/peas/lentils, winter squash and 100% whole grains." (from this FaceBook Group). For more info, we may browse through What Are Tubers? Are They Healthy? and Calorie Density discussions.
5. Eat lots of Beans / Lentils (Pulses / Legumes) — see offset 8:22 of Jane & Ann's video. Hummus, including variants like black bean hummus and white bean hummus are mentioned. We may prepare soups! There are 20-bean soup mixes, for example! We can put beans in salad. Lentils are great too! Red lentils are very quick to cook. If buying canned beans, read list of ingredients; make sure they are without sugars and salts (Eden Organics is a good brand).
6. Isolated Soy Protein: Isolated soy protein is made from beans (soybeans) but it is not a whole food. "Avoid anything which contains isolated soy protein." (from this FaceBook Group). For more info, see Soy Burgers, Soy Chunks, Soy Protein Isolates
7. Leafy Greens: Dr Esselstyn is a huge fan of Leafy Greens. He recommends eating them 6 times a day if we have heart disease! But No Smoothies, No Juices! Dr Esselstyn recommends that we "chew" leafy greens in our mouth; if we make green smoothies and gulp them down, we don't allow the bacteria in our mouth to interact with the leafy greens.
8. Sugar & sugar substitutes: "Avoid all added sugars and sugar substitutes. Very small amounts of maple syrup can be used in recipes, as you will see in their cookbook." (from this FaceBook Group). "Minimize salt and sugar" — offset 10:36 of Jane & Ann's video. Sweeteners like brown sugar, dates, maple syrup — use sparingly. For more insights into sugars and sweeteners, see Sugars and Sweeteners.
9. Water: "Drink water!" — Offset 16:04 of Jane & Ann's video.

What else?

• NO Production: Dr Nathan Bryan: NO (Nitric Oxide) is a magic molecule that fortifies the endothelial layer in our arteries. Dr Esselstyn emphasizes foods that boost NO production in our bodies. But a variety of factors like mouthwashes, antacids and fluoridated water can hinder NO production. In his interviews, Dr Esselstyn admires the work of Dr Nathan Bryan who is the world expert on NO production in our body. I found it helpful to listen to Dr Nathan Bryan in this regard.
• 100% Commitment: Dr Esselstyn wants No Moderation! He reminds us that "Moderation Kills". He would like us to follow strict guidelines if we'd like to experience the kind of results he got in his heart disease studies summarized here: Can We Become Heart Disease Proof?
• More info: Dr Esselstyn FAQ is a great resource! Articles like this one (by Dr Subhas Ganguli, a gastroenterologist from Canada) or this one (by HappyHealthyLongLife) shed further light.

Jane Esselstyn's YouTube Channel is a valuable resource for recipes & cooking tips. The two videos below summarize Plant Perfect guidelines by Dr Esselstyn and Plant Strong guidelines by Rip Esselstyn (Dr Esselstyn's son) really well. What's the difference between the two? The quantity of nuts and seeds consumed daily. Explained in a section below.

The first 20 mins of the two videos are identical. The second video is actually a concatenation of 4 separate videos, the last of which focus on cooking tips & techniques. Highly recommended for anybody who wishes to follow Dr Esselstyn's food guidelines.

How to Eat Plant-Perfect: What to Eat, Where to Buy It, How to Cook It (2013) by Ann Esselstyn is a great writeup that complements these videos.

Breakfast: Oats Breakfast — More Breakfast Ideas

Entrees: Lunch & Dinner — Sandwiches — Soups — Salads — Desserts

Misc: Leafy Greens — Hummus — Chips & Salsa — Dressings & Sauces — Misc Recipes

"Plant Perfect" guidelines form the basis of The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook (288 pages, 2014), which complements Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease (320 pages, 2008) by Dr Caldwell Esselstyn.

"Plant Strong" guidelines were developed by Dr Esselstyn's son Rip Esselstyn who is a former triathlete and firefighter. These guidelines are for those who don't have heart disease and would like to prevent it. Outlined in Plant-Strong (304 pages, 2015) by Rip Esselstyn. The Plant-Strong guidelines were the basis of Engine 2 Diet developed by Rip Esselstyn; Whole Foods continues to endorse the Engine 2 Diet as its 'official diet'.

What's the difference between Plant Perfect and Plant Strong? "Nuts & avocados are included in the less stringent Engine 2 diet plan. That's it. Engine-2 was originally conceived by Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn's son, Rip Esselstyn for a younger population who didn't have heart disease—and wanted to avoid it." — How to Eat Plant Perfect (2013).

FaceBook Support Group: Dr. Esselstyn Preventing And Reversing Heart Disease- Recipes & Discussion is wonderful! They follow Dr Esselstyn's guidelines diligently. Their 'Annuncement' has a well worded succinct summary of Dr Esselstyn's guidelines. Please join this group. It's a great place to ask questions.

PBNSG: Plant-Based Nutrition Support Group has specialized groups: Check them out! Paul Chatlin, the founder of PBNSG, himself recovered from heart disease through adoption of Dr Esselstyn's strict Whole Food Plant-Based guidelines: Paul's personal story.

• Heart Disease Stats: A Leading Killer
• What Is Atherosclerosis?
• Heart Disease: Pills & Procedures
• Heart Disease: Prevention & Reversal with Whole Food Plant-Based Guidelines
• Heart Disease: Dr Esselstyn's Guidelines
• Heart Disease & Cholesterol
• Blood Flow
• Heart Disease: Misc Articles