Slay the Giant

There are times when caring for a patient has a profound effect on the physician.  That happened to me nearly 15 years ago when I crossed paths with a young woman who presented with advanced coronary artery disease. The medical system had failed her: After all, her condition was largely preventable!!

Back then it occurred to me that we don’t equip people with the information they need to prevent heart disease in themselves.  Not just through drugs and procedures (in many ways those are too little too late), but through targeted lifestyle approaches that make a real difference.  The young woman didn’t know what she didn’t know and was blissfully unaware of her risk and risk factors – and ended up requiring bypass surgery.

Her experience is what inspired me to write “Slay the Giant: The Power of Prevention in Defeating Heart Disease.”  That was back in 2008, way before there was a Step One Foods.  The book went on to be published by the American College of Cardiology and served as the nidus for the formation of cardiosmart.org, the patient education initiative of the ACC.  I ended up as the founding Editor-in-Chief of that on-line effort.  The book and the website both took a lot of work to complete but I’m exceedingly proud of these enduring outputs. 

I decided to reprint Slay the Giant because the information in it is still spot-on despite the passage of time (in many ways, the only thing that’s changed (other than the number of wrinkles and the color of my hair) are heart disease statistics – they’ve just gotten worse!).  And because a demand still exists - with used copies fetching crazy prices on Amazon (!). So I'm happy to be able to offer the book again at a down-to-earth cost.

My goal and the mission of Step One Foods has always been to empower you become a more knowledgeable, active and successful participant in your own care. And to help you minimize your need for medications and procedures – not because they have no role, but because, when it comes to heart disease, these should be a complement to your own efforts, not a substitute for them.

I hope you find the information found in the book’s pages helpful and enlightening. 

Knowledge is power.