Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease with a Vegetarian Diet
by Tandis Bishop

February is American Heart Month, so it is fitting that we take a moment to consider the impact of Heart disease on society and our personal health.

According to the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, “…the cost of cardiovascular diseases and stroke in the United States in 2008 is estimated to be $475.3 billion!”1 This staggering annual cost is more than half of the cost of the one-time economic stimulus plan approved by Congress this past weekend. It’s almost unbelievable, but it’s true.

This figure includes both direct and indirect costs of physicians and other professionals, hospital and nursing home services, the cost of medications, home health care and other medical durables. Indirect costs include lost productivity that results from illness and premature death. This is only the economic cost. The true cost in human terms of suffering and lost lives is incalculable. The truly sad part about all this is that it is not necessary.

When it comes to heart disease, virtually all the major scientific and medical institutions in the world agree that consuming a meat-based diet (consisting of highly processed foods laden with fats and artificial ingredients) puts a person at greater risk. These institutions further agree that the risk is greatly reduced by adopting a healthy low-fat, high-fiber diet. At Down to Earth, we believe this result is best achieved by adopting a healthy vegetarian diet consisting of organic produce and natural foods. In fact, vegetarians have been shown to have a 24% lower risk of dying of heart disease than non-vegetarians.2

This should not come as a big surprise because vegetarian diets are naturally lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, and higher in plant nutrients and fiber than most meat-based diets.

So why eat meat? Aside from tradition or taste, the main reason people eat meat is because they think it is necessary for them to get enough protein. Not only is this a myth, but plant-based proteins are actually a healthier choice because they:

1. Have zero cholesterol
   High cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for developing heart disease. Meat is high in LDL (bad cholesterol) and the more LDL you have in your bloodstream, the more likely plaque (atherosclerosis) will form in your arteries.
   
   
2. Tend to be low in fat
   Flesh foods are high in saturated fat which is the biggest contributor to blood clotting, which can result in heart disease and stroke. Whole plant foods, which are generally low in fat, including saturated fat, can help reduce blood cholesterol levels and the risk for heart disease.
   
   
3. Are accompanied by fiber
   Fiber not only promotes health, it has been shown to help lower LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol), therefore reducing the risk of heart disease.3

In addition to fiber, plant-proteins are accompanied with healthy phytonutrients (plant nutrients), vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and enzymes. What’s even more impressive is not only can a vegetarian diet reduce your risk for heart disease, but world-renowned physician Dr. Dean Ornish found that patients on a low-fat vegetarian diet actually reversed coronary heart disease.4 So if you haven’t already done so, consider doing your heart some good this month, and begin the switch to a healthy vegetarian diet.

1 American Heart Association, Cardiovascular Disease Cost: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4475
2 Key TJ, Fraser GE, Thorogood M, Appleby PN, Beral V, Reeves G, Burr ML, Chang-Claude J, Frentzel-Beyme R, Kuzma JW, Mann J, McPherson K (1998). "Mortality in vegetarians and non-vegetarians: a collaborative analysis of 8300 deaths among 76,000 men and women in five prospective studies.". Public Health Nutr 1 (1): 33-41. PMID 10555529. 
3 Pereira MA, et al. Dietary fiber and risk of coronary heart disease: a pooled analysis of cohort studies. Arch Intern Med. 2004; 164:370–6.
4 Ornish D, et. al. Intensive lifestyle changes for reversal of coronary heart disease. JAMA 1998; 280(23): 2001-2007. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/280/23/2001

Top of page