Healthy Ways

A Diet Rich in Plant-Based Foods Can Drastically Cut Risk of Heart Disease Death & Lower Cholesterol, Science Says

Several newly published studies have shown that reducing the amount of meat in a person’s diet is hugely beneficial to one’s overall heart health.

According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, a plant-based diet is linked to a 32 percent decrease in the risk of dying from cardiovascular-related illnesses like heart attacks and strokes. The study also found that research participants (10,000 middle-aged Americans studied from 1987–2016) whose diets were proportionally highest in plant-based foods rather than animal-based foods had a 16 percent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Additionally, those who consumed the smallest amount of animal-based foods had a 25 percent lower risk of dying from any health-related cause when compared to those who ate the largest amount of animal products, such as meat, eggs, and dairy products.

Lead researcher Casey M. Rebholz, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, says, “There might be some variability in terms of individual foods, but to reduce cardiovascular disease risk people should eat more vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fruits, legumes, and fewer animal-based foods.”

Another study by researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto found that soy protein reduced LDL cholesterol by three to four percent in adults. In a release published by the hospital, Dr. David Jenkins said, “When one adds the displacement of high saturated fat and cholesterol-rich meats to a diet that includes soy, the reduction of cholesterol could be greater. The existing data and our analysis of it suggest soy protein contributes to heart health.”

And yet another new study presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual conference reveals that opting for nuts as your snack of choice at least twice a week is linked to a 17 percent lower risk of dying from a heart attack, stroke, and other heart disease-related conditions. In a statement, Dr. Noushin Mohammadifard of Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Institute in Iran says that, “Nuts are a good source of unsaturated fat and contain little saturated fat. They also have protein, minerals, vitamins, fiber, phytosterols, and polyphenols which benefit heart health,” adding that, “Raw, fresh nuts are the healthiest. Nuts should be fresh because unsaturated fats can become oxidized in stale nuts, making them harmful.”