 Image by Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton via Flickr |
Can heart disease be cured by a vegetarian diet? Bill Clinton decided to switch to a vegan diet in order to stay healthy and to reverse his heart disease and he has gone public with his lifestyle choice in an effort to alert the public to the fact that heart
attacks are completely preventable through a plant-based diet. There is
substantial evidence to indicate that heart disease is not a fate of bad genes
or age, but is largely the result of unhealthy food choices. In particular, a sustained consumption of
animal protein over many years is probably the main culprit that triggers
plaque in the arteries, the precursor to heart attacks and strokes. Even thin, active people who do not smoke are
not immune from heart disease if they include animal protein in their diets.
It is a
common misconception that one’s blood cholesterol numbers are predictive of
future heart problems. In reality, that
number is useless because that number does not tell you whether cholesterol is
building up in the form of plaque on the arteries. Much more important is the
amount and type of LDL, a component of cholesterol, that is circulating through
the blood. Large particles of LDL are
not particularly dangerous; however, small particles of LDL can catch and build
up on the lining of the arteries, and eventually occlude the blood flow to the
heart. Result: heart attack.
Diets high
in animal fat, such as red meat, eggs and dairy are known to increase the ratio
of the bad cholesterol (LDL) to good cholesterol (HDL). Switching to a plant-based diet, such as the
Ornish diet, has proven to actually reverse plaque build-up. This is a feat that statin drugs have never
been proven to accomplish.
According to
the American Heart Association, in the US alone, over 50 billion dollars a year
are spent on heart bypass procedures annually, and a heart attack occurs ever
30 seconds. All this in spite of the fact that heart disease is completely preventable
through a plant-based diet.
Related articles
No comments:
Post a Comment