The 'heart attack proof' diet? (CNN-Dr. Gupta)

(CNN) -- Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. didn't become a doctor to change the way America eats. He was a general surgeon.

But researching cancer, he stumbled on a fact that changed his career: Certain cultures around the world do not suffer from heart disease, the No. 1 killer in the Western world.

Follow his dietary prescription, the 77-year-old Esselstyn says, and you will be "heart attack proof" -- regardless of your family history.

"It's a foodborne illness, and we're never going to end the epidemic with stents, with bypasses, with the drugs, because none of it is treating causation of the illness," Esselstyn says.

The Esselstyn diet is tough for most Americans to swallow: no meat, no eggs, no dairy, no added oils.

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Esselstyn has written a book to spread the word, "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease -- The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure," and he has given talks around the world.

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