Pop,

You know that we all love you. We want you to live a happy, healthy, and long life. You aren't doing your job. You are making it harder on your family. Too many times we are scared and frantic in regard to your health. Whether it is racing you to the hospital or trying to get you to go to the hospital it is not fair on us or yourself. You are better than this. You shouldn't be in the hospital this frequently unless you want to buy an apartment there. So, after reading your blood work today, I am going to help you. I am going to be hard on you. You will suffer for the first few weeks of this new diet and lifestyle. But, if I promised to prolong your life, is that something you are worth buying into. Often times, I feel like you hear people tell you things, but you don't really listen. These words are coming from the guy who weighed 220 pounds. The guy who drank soda every day, ate fast food frequently, and never exercised. If I can do it, you can too. But you have to be committed. You have to give an effort. No excuses. If you veer off the program this time, I won't be back. I won't offer advice to you anymore. I won't tell you not to eat the ice cream or the bread from Satellite, etc. You are in charge of yourself. Start acting like it.

Of course, I will be there for you if your health takes a turn for the worst. If you need to go to the hospital, I will drive you. If you are in the hospital, I will come visit. I never told you this but when you had your second heart attack, I prayed until 3 in the morning. Not only for you, but for myself and others. Unfortunately, you had your first heart attack at 40 years old. Perhaps their is a genetic component. But, when you told me to volunteer for the ambulance company, I never expected to see you there too. That is because I saw you just the other night at 4 in the morning. It was an alarm that came over as "respiratory distress." Someone having trouble breathing. When we arrived on scene, the 70 year-old man was in cardiac arrest. No pulse. No hope. CPR was in progress. Everyone was doing everything they possibly could to save this man's life. But that was you on the stretcher Pop. I saw Mom crying as we carted you out the door. Mom stopped to ask the paramedic, "In your opinion, will he make it?" And, the paramedic, gave the classic, "I am not sure, we are doing everything we possibly can ma'am. I know you aren't 70 years old. I know you aren't going into cardiac arrest anytime soon. But, that could be your future if you don't take this disease with the seriousness it deserves. I cannot imagine what I would feel like if that 70 year old guy was you. I cannot even imagine.

So, I will lay out a plan for you Pop. It is not hard. You can eat a lot of tasty, and healthy foods. You don't have to even exercise. That is right. I don't care if you don't walk another day in your life. It is 99% about what you are putting into your body. After you're first heart attack, if we are being honest, you didn't really change much. But I will cut you a break. It wasn't your fault. You have been misinformed, brainwashed, and manipulated by some of these doctors. It isn't their fault either. They are doing their jobs. But it is up to me and you to make decisions for ourselves. Here are the steps you need to take. I will help you along the way. This is the way I eat and do things so it shouldn't be a problem. But, like I said, if you veer off into McDonald's or ice cream land again, I won't come back to save you.

Ok, let's get started.

• 1. NO MORE Wheat, SUGAR, or Bread

I don't care if it is a grape, an apple, a piece of whole wheat toast, or Mom's "healthy organic spinach pasta." You are not to eat anything with sugar. No wheat of any kind. No bread, no pasta, no ice cream, no soda/juice, no deli rolls, no satellite dinner rolls. Did you know your blood sugar in the hospital was 104 mg/dl. The range is between 74 and 106. There is no way your blood sugar should be that elevated. I don't care if it wasn't a fasting blood glucose test. It is unacceptable. Care about Pop for once.

• 2. EAT MORE "Healthy Fats"

That is right. Fat is not the enemy. However, you have to be wise with what fats you eat. I want you to start eating a lot of avocados. They are one of the healthiest fats. I don't care if you don't like them. You will eat at least once a day. Blend it up and shove it down your throat if you have to, I don't care. You will also cook with olive oil. No coconut oil, sunflower oil, hydrogenated oils, etc. Olive oil is one of the healthiest oils to have. Like avocados, if you have to drink a tablespoon a day of it, do it. I have organic, extra-virgin olive oil for you. By eating avocados and olive oil, along with severely limiting my carbohydrates, I have increased my HDL (the good cholesterol) from 38 to 56. Dr. Minnadeo told me that my HDL was mostly genetic and that I wouldn't be able to raise it very much. Well, I did. And, I am better off because of it. The HDL should be between 40 and 60. You want it towards the higher end. Your HDL was 39. Again, UNACCEPTABLE. Especially given your history of heart disease and such. A piece of mozzarella cheese here and there is ok, but not in excess.

• 3. EAT MORE NUTS

You will eat more nuts. I prefer walnuts. However, your bag of nuts that you get from Costco are fine. Several studies show the benefits of eating a handful of nuts a day. In fact, people who eat a handful of nuts live an average of five years longer than those who don't. However, once again, don't eat too many. A HANDFUL A DAY. I capitalized that because I see you sometimes with three bags of the Costco nuts. One bag a day. That is it.

• 4. Fix Your Cholesterol

Like I have said for months now, cholesterol is not the problem here. At least, not the biggest of your worries. Your LDL (bad cholesterol) is 39. Do you know how low that is? Mine is 61 and that is very low. You're nurse at Brookhaven even considered talking to your doctor to take you off your cholesterol lowering medicine, right? Smart girl. Sometimes the people with less qualifications know more than the guy with the white coat. If Charlie reads this, he may throw a fit. Keep this one between me and you. In fact, several studies have shown that people with the lowest cholesterol don't live as long. They have higher rates of dementia, Alzheimer's, depression, etc. So, stop worrying about cholesterol. The only two numbers I want you to worry about on your lipid panel are your HDL and Triglyceride values. An article published in the Journal of American Medicine in 2013 showed that people who have low HDl and high triglycerides are 16 times more likely to have a heart attack compared to those with just elevated LDL (bad cholesterol). You remember when I told you that have the people who come into the hospitals with a heart attack have normal cholesterol. Yeah, that is because the medical world is obsessed with one number only: the LDL (bad cholesterol). Ideally, you want your HDL to triglyceride ratio to be less than 3. By that I mean, if you divide your HDL by your triglycerides, it should be as close to 1 or below one as possible. Definitely less than 3. Your ratio right now is 1.79. No that is not bad. However, it should be lower. Mine is 0.56. That's right, less than 1. My HDL is 56 and my triglyceride value is 25. Your HDL is 39 and your triglyceride value is 70. Follow my diet and you will see the same results. Or don't and keep suffering from health issues.

• 5. Advanced Testing

It amazes me that you haven't gotten the advanced tests yet. Yeah you went to the city and got the MRI machine test, blah blah blah. Let's stop treating the disease and how about we work on preventing the disease from progressing and perhaps reversing it. Next time you see a physician, you will order the following tests:

NMR Lipid Profile (Size, shape, and number of cholesterol particles in your blood) MORE PARTICLES IN BLOOD, ESPECIALLY SMALL AND DENSE = MORE RISK

HS-CRP (inflammation in your body) MORE INFLMMATION = MORE RISK

Glucose and Insulin (Insulin resistance is a major risk factor for Heart Disease). START TREATING YOURSELF AS IF YOU HAVE DIABETES. NO WHEAT, SUGAR, ETC.

Serum Ferritin (Iron content of your blood. More iron in blood = more risk of heart disease.) P.S. donating blood (like you used to do a lot) REDUCES IRON CONCENTRAION IN BLOOD.

LIPOPROTEIN A (GENETIC RISK FACTOR)

HOMOCYSTEINE

• 6. Anti-Inflammatories

The sugar and bread and ice cream all cause inflammation in your body. And like I said before, inflammation is a major risk factor for heart disease. On my blood work my inflammation is 0.3 out of 10. To prevent heart disease experts, recommend that you stay below 1. How do I do it, I drink 3 cups of green tea every day. I stay away from bread and sugar. I eat a high fat, low carbohydrate diet. I even have lots of protein such as chicken and meats, etc.

• 7.Eat More Fish

Omega – 3 is very good for your heart. Where do you find it? Salmon, tuna, walnuts. You should be eating fish at least twice a week.

Pop, like I said in the beginning of this document, we all care about you and want to see you live a long, wonderful life. But it is time to give a damn about yourself. This isn't an onslaught on Pop. This is a letter of hope and inspiration to Pop. Change your life. Heal your body. This diet plan will help you lose so much weight. Your HDL and Triglycerides will improve greatly. Your blood sugar will drop astronomically. You will stop the damage to your body. You will prevent the progression of your disease. You may even possible begin to reverse it. I know Pop. Pop doesn't want to be in the hospital. Ten years from now Pop doesn't want his chest cracked open for bypass surgery. But Matt doesn't want to hold Pop's hand. Matt doesn't want to say the same things over and over again. Matt doesn't want Pop to listen to Charlie. Charlie knows a lot, but I know more. I have read four books on this topic. I have watched hours of YouTube videos. I have looked through hundreds of research articles on this subject. Charlie may be a doctor in a few years. He may have more medical knowledge than me thus far. But, not on this topic. Like I said before, sometimes the best information is from those who aren't wearing the white coats. Those who aren't prescribing medications for a living. Those who aren't making millions. In fact, I may even recommend that you stop taking your cholesterol lowering medicine. If you follow this diet and in three months you get blood work and it all looks good, as I expect, and guarantee to you that it will, I may suggest coming off that medicine. Why? Several studies in noteworthy journals have shown the side-effects of cholesterol lowering medicines. Cancer, Alzheimer's, dementia, etc. Do you really want to be taking those pills for the rest of your life? Stop the nonsense.

I know you don't want to take my supplements, that is fine. But, let me ask you, what has following the doctor's medicines got you? Another heart attack? Sure, they have saved your life and you should be grateful every single day of your life that you survived two heart attacks. But your luck may run out one day. One day when we aren't there for you. Make these changes to prolong your life Pop. Take the vitamin k2 MK-7 like I told you. It takes the calcium from the arteries and puts it back into the bones. Stop eating so much bread and sugar. Stop indulging yourself with ice cream, snickers bars, and other sugary-filled candy. People with arteries filled with calcium who have taken that vitamin supplement (K2 MK-7) for a prolonged time have went back to the testing facility. And, when they got their cat scan, no calcium was found. Take this supplement, along with following what I have outlined above, and live a life without health issues and hospitals. Give a damn about yourself. Stop torturing yourself. And, when you get your numbers where they need to be, you can have a piece of bread or a small container of ice cream. Everything in moderation.

Follow me. I guarantee you a better health. If I didn't think I was right, I wouldn't have spent the last hour, four pages later, telling you all of this good advice. Let me know tonight what you want to do. I will guide you Pop. The decision is yours. Let God guide you. Make sure you choose wisely.