Reverse Your Heart Disease in Just Eight Weeks by Harnessing the Power of the Mediterranean Diet If you’re one of the 13 million Americans who have survived a heart attack or been diagnosed with heart disease, Dr. Janet Bond Brill offers a delicious and foolproof plan that can lower your risk of a second heart attack by up to 70 percent. Inspired by the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, the Prevent a Second Heart Attack Plan is based on satisfaction, rather than deprivation. Backed by cutting edge research, Dr. Brill explains: • Why the Mediterranean diet is the gold standard of heart-healthy eating • How “good carbs” such as oatmeal and popcorn lower bad cholesterol, prevent high blood pressure, and control your weight • The science behind eating fish for heart health • Why having a glass of red wine with dinner is great for your heart—and which wines are the best choices • The easiest, most delicious daily habit that will cut your heart attack risk Packed with every tool you need to eat your way to better heart health—including daily checklists, a complete two-week eating plan, and dozens of mouthwatering recipes to suit every meal, taste, and budget— Prevent a Second Heart Attack provides you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to live long and enjoy the good life, the heart healthy way. ...Brill's confidence in reversing heart 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. --Publisher's Weekly Janet Bond Brill was born and raised in New York City, the daughter of a prominent stage and screen actor and a psychoanalyst. Dr. Brill is a leading diet, nutrition and fitness author, educator and practitioner, and author of the book, Cholesterol Down: 10 Simple Steps to Lower Your Cholesterol In 4 Weeks Without Prescription Drugs. She is a registered dietitian, certified specialist in sports dietetics, certified personal trainer and certified wellness coach.She has been published in noted scientific journals including the International Journal of Sport Nutrition, the International Journal of Obesity and the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.  She also has published and been quoted in leading consumer publications including Shape, Prevention, and Men's Health.  She is a frequent guest nutrition expert on national television as well as a professional speaker. Currently, she maintains a private nutrition consulting practice and serves as Director of Nutrition for Fitness Together Franchise Corporation, the world's largest business of personal trainers. Dr. Brill wrote Nutrition Together, a healthy eating and weight loss program designed to help Fitness Together clients get desired results and achieve overall wellness goals. Dr. Brill lives an active lifestyle and practices what she preaches, having completed four marathons and countless road races, many for charitable causes. She has been a "semi-vegetarian" for over fifteen years (she eats fish), and supports the notion of following mainly a plant-based diet for good health and longevity. Dr. Brill enjoys spending her free time with her husband Sam, her three children, and her golden retriever, Simba. 1 Making the Transition from Sickness to Health The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices Make instruments to plague us. — King Lear , William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Why are so many people having heart attacks in the United States? What triggers the formation of that first "fatty streak"-the earliest visible hint that something is awry in the arteries-and the eventual onset of advanced heart disease (a.k.a. atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease), our nation's leading killer? We used to think that heart attacks were an inevitable consequence of aging. But in the last decades, research has revealed a surprising truth: Heart disease is a lifestyle-borne illness, and atherosclerosis (the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke, and the defining term for when fatty deposits build up inside the arterial walls) begins in childhood. A toxic mix of calorie overload, especially of processed foods high in damaging fats, sugars, and salt, coupled with inactivity instigates the long, slow process of arterial damage that results in a heart attack. In this chapter, you will discover how, when, and why your own coronary arteries began to clog up, thereby setting the stage for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. You will learn about how you can take control of your heart health the Prevent a Second Heart Attack way-a doable strategy allowing you to take action to switch your disease course and ultimately remain a "survivor" for many decades to come. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT It is well known that what you eat and your level of physical activity have a major impact on your health. A poor diet greatly increases your risk of developing any number of chronic health conditions and diseases, including hig