Book Nook: Joyful, Delicious, Vegan - Life Without Heart Disease

Joyful, Delicious, Vegan: Life Without Heart Disease will empower readers with the simplest, most effective way to prevent or even reverse the nation’s number one killer, heart disease, despite family history. Enjoying good health naturally at any age starts in the kitchen by changing what and how we eat. Although this book is important for anyone who wants to enjoy a healthy, disease-free life, it targets women, especially African American women.  Women typically have the greatest influence over what goes on our tables, and the healthcare choices of those close to us, which puts them on the front lines of the fight against heart disease and other diet-related illnesses. By nurturing our bodies with delicious whole foods and mindful health practices, we set in motion a chain of positive events – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual – that are healing and transformational. 

Joyful, Delicious, Vegan is packed with nutritional medicine, research and personal stories which demonstrate the effectiveness of a plant-based diet in restoring health. Readers will be guided through simple steps to increase vitality and reduce dependence on medications by learning to prepare and enjoy flavorful plant-strong, anti-inflammatory foods, based on the recommendations of two world-renowned cardiologists, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and Dr. Dean Ornish, who have demonstrated positive patient results for many years. Sherra shares her personal story of reversing her own hypertension and heart disease with tips and over 25 delicious recipes to ensure no one has to choose between great food and great health. 

Learn more in the author's own words:

We can all learn how to enjoy good health naturally at any age, and it starts in our kitchens by changing what and how we eat. With a delicious plant-based diet we feed our health and not disease. This is the most effective way to prevent or reverse heart disease, the leading cause of death in the US.  Heart disease especially impacts African American women, who are on the front line of the fight against this killer and other chronic diet related illnesses.

In Joyful, Delicious Vegan: Life Without Heart Disease I share my own story of reversing hypertension, based on current nutritional knowledge, and despite my family history. I was guided by the recommendations of two world-renowned cardiologists, who have demonstrated results with patients for many years. I show readers how to build a simple food plan around their particular needs with delicious anti-inflammatory foods, and how to develop the habit of mindful eating. There are powerful tips for success, encouragement, and staying power. 

Despite the growing body of nutritional research, the mainstream medical community has been slow to integrate this knowledge in patient treatment and education. Only recently has it been introduced into modern medical training, leaving many doctors and health care providers in the dark about its effectiveness – while only offering patients costly maintenance drugs and surgical procedures, none of which offer a cure. 

I want to get this message in the hands of as many people who can benefit from it as possible. I particularly want to empower those underserved by our healthcare system with the knowledge along with simple, affordable ways to prevent it, reverse it, and practice good self-care for themselves and their families. I also want to share the sheer joy of eating great healthy food, simple to make at home, that you love, and that loves you back! Whole plant-based eating is an adventure with endless possibilities to enjoy your favorite tastes and textures in healthier versions, and easily adapts to so many cultural food traditions. 

This change in diet is the most powerful thing we can do as individuals to save our environment by reducing methane pollution from factory animal farming, while promoting compassion for animals. I can’t imagine a more powerful opportunity to make one change that contributes to our own health, the health of animals and of Earth itself.

About the Author:

SHERRA AGUIRRE is an articulate health enthusiast, environmentalist and food security activist. She founded and led a successful business for three decades, winning national awards for entrepreneurship, innovation, and service excellence. She sold the company in 2016 to focus on sharing her passion for healthy diet and lifestyle.  

Aguirre describes herself as high energy, in better overall health, and in many ways more fit than in her thirties or forties. She has practiced meditation and yoga daily for more than twenty-five years, and for many years has researched and read extensively about diet and lifestyle as the most important factors for achieving and maintaining good health. By adopting a whole plant-based diet, she improved her overall heart health and eliminated symptoms of hypertension despite a significant family history of heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure. She is passionate about empowering others to maintain vibrancy and good health throughout their lifetimes.  

One of Aguirre’s main goals with her new book is to make the change to a healthier diet and lifestyle more accessible, particularly to African Americans and other communities who are at high risk for diabetes and heart disease. 

Aguirre writes about the healing qualities of compassion, simplicity, and gratitude, and the ripple effect vegan eating can have on individuals, families, and communities. She is married with two daughters—Tembi Locke-- actor, speaker, screenwriter, and New New York Times best-selling author; and Attica Locke-- multiple award-winning novelist, New York Times best-selling author and screen writer/producer.