What A Bariatric Surgeon Eats In A Day For Heart Health (Spoiler: There's Sourdough)

When bariatric surgeon Garth Davis, M.D., was just 35 years old, he had sky-high cholesterol, fatty liver, and was on the fast track to developing heart disease down the line. Fast-forward to today, and he's the healthiest he's ever been, with a calcium score of zero (aka, the test that measures calcium deposits in your heart, which correlates with a risk of heart problems). 

So, what changed? Well, according to Davis, switching up his diet was the key to getting his heart health back on track. "I started going plant-based, which was solely for health," he says on the mindbodygreen podcast.

Of course, there's no cure-all diet that's a universal gold standard. Eating plans are entirely personal and experiential, a sentiment with which Davis is fully on board. But when we pressed (had to!), he says this: "I think [the healthiest diet is] heavy in vegetables and fruits, and it's heavy in starches, too." 

Davis loves a hearty salad for his midday meal. "A lot of people go plant-based and they think, 'Oh my God, I'm going to eat nothing but salad,'" he notes. Not so. Davis' salad is full of healthy nutrients: He likes to throw in some legumes, nuts, and seeds to up the ante. 

Ready for this? In addition to snacking on nuts ("I do a handful of nuts every day," he notes), Davis loves a good sourdough loaf to munch on throughout the day. Not only is the bread fermented and full of fiber, but, Davis notes, it also has some plant-based protein1. A balanced midday snack, for sure. 

If you're looking for some more satisfying plant-based protein, Davis says to look no further than tofu. "I'm a huge fan of soy and tofu," Davis explains. "It's got a very complete amino acid profile."