Health & Healing

Innumerable studies have shown that a dietary approach centering plant-based foods can effectively reduce the risk of chronic diseases and even reverse their progression.

There are 2 primary prerequisites for a healthy diet:

The diet must be nutritionally adequate, providing the necessary amounts of macronutrients and micronutrients humans require to survive and thrive.
The diet must minimize the risk of chronic disease induced by our leading killers, such as heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

It's here that plant-based diets shine! Whole food plant-based diets concentrate the dietary components that have been shown to be most effective in preventing disease - Fiber, Phytochemicals, Plant Enzymes, Antioxidants, Plant Sterols and Stanols, and Prebiotics (gut food) - and cap the most harmful disease promoters from entering our systems.

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

“There are two kinds of cardiologists: vegans, and those who haven’t read the data.”

- Dr. Kim Williams, Fellow and former President of the American College of Cardiology

Atherosclerosis occurse when plaque builds up in the arteries. Plaque buildup begins in childhood and gets worse with age. According to the National Heart, Long, and Blood Institute, about half of Americans ages 45-84 have atherosclerosis and don't know it.

Heart Disease is the leading cause of death not only in the United States, but worldwide. It's also the #1 cause of death among heart surgeons. According to the CDC 2023 report, one person in the United States dies every 33 seconds from heart disease.

As cholesterol and fat form plaque in the artery walls over time, it becomes harder for oxygen-rich blood to reach the tissues of our vital organs, resulting in heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Due to lower saturated fat and cholesterol levels, and more optimal plant sterol and fiber content, plant-based diets lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. In fact, its high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory content make a plant-based diet the only diet that has been proved to reverse heart disease (2018 study).

Visit The Physician's Committee for more.

"As soon as patients stop eating artery-clogging diets, their bodies start dissolving some of the plaque away, opening up arteries without drugs, without surgery. Their bodies wanted to heal all along but were just never given the chance."

Recommended Reading: Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, by C.B. Esselstyn Jr. , MD & How Not to Die, by Michael Greger, MD.

TYPE 2 DIABETES

Jane Esselstyn illustrates how a Plant-Based Diet treats Type 2 Diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes is a state of excess fat in the liver spilling into the pancreas. When this happens, the fat interferes with insulin signaling, causing our muscles to become less responsive to insulin, a phenomenon known as insulin resistance. The sugar thus remains in the blood and builds up to dangerous levels, which in turn causes our bodies to produce even more insulin to force it into our muscles. It's a vicious cycle: obesity leading to insulin resistance, leading to higher insulin production, on and on.

To prevent and reverse Type 2 diabetes, one needs to clear off the fatty buildup on muscle cells and allow insulin to drop off the glucose.

For More:

Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes, by Neal D. Barnard, MD.

Mastering Diabetes, by Cyrus Khambatta and Robby Barara

CANCER

Plant foods deliver a package of bioactive compounds that target most, if not all, of the hallmarks of cancer. Plants such as berries, greens, sweet potatoes, and broccoli, are chemo-preventive agents and target each of the ten compounds of cancer.

The more naturally colorful a diet is, the more cancer-fighting compounds it has in it. The pigments that give fruits and vegetables their bright colors - like beta-carotene in sweet potatoes or lycopene in tomatoes - help fight cancer.

Fiber helps remove excess hormones that could lead to breast and prostate cancer. Fiber also quickly removes waste from the digestive system, helping to prevent colorectal cancer. Fiber cannot be digested; it draws water into the digestive track and moves food through the intestines, helping to eliminate carcinogens as waste. It is only found in plants.

The phytoestrogens found in soy can help reduce breast cancer risk by having an anti-estrogenic effect. There are many findings showing that women consuming the most soy have the lowest breast cancer risk. It also treats menopausal hot-flash symptoms. Read more here.

HYPERTENSION (HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE)

Nearly 50% of adults in the U.S. are affected by high blood pressure. High Blood Pressure is the number one risk factor for death and disability in the world. A plant-based diet has proved beneficial for the prevention and treatment of hypertension. Avoiding meat, dairy products, and added fats reduces the blood's vicsocity (thickness), making it easier to pump and bringing down blood pressure. Meanwhile, plant foods are rich in potassium, which lowers blood pressure, and are low in fat, sodium, and free of choelsterol.

When we stop eating artery-clogging diets, bodies heal themselves. Meat, cheese, and eggs are packed with cholesterol and fat which leads to plaque buildup in arteries VS. plants that have no dietary cholesterol, little saturated fat, abundant fiber, and anti-inflammatory and protective polyphenols.

Higher intake of berries slows rates of cognitive decline. (National Library of Medicine).

BRAIN HEALTH

Alzheimer's disease affects 10% of individuals 65 and older.

Saturated fat and cholesterol lead to inflammation and plaque build up in the brain, which heavily compromises brain cell function. When the protein structures that transport nutrients within our brain cells become abnormal and collapse, the cells have trouble communicating with each other and can no longer store or process information. This also occurs through a build up of beta-amyloid, which a healthy brain would eliminate to avoid plaque formation.

Consumption of plants rich in phytochemicals can influence neuro-inflammation and mediate the activation of signaling pathways leading to expression of cytoprotective and restorative proteins.

Oxidative and chronic, low-grade inflammation are major risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease. Anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory foods may help.

AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE

According to the National Institute of Health, between 15 and 23 million people in the U.S. suffer from autoimmune diseases including, Type 1 Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Celiac Disease, and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

How a Plant-Based Diet Prevents and Treats Autoimmune Disease:

Eliminates the Biggest Offenders

High-fat foods and the consumption of processed foods abrogate the human epithelial barrier function, increasing intestinal permeability through the leaky tight junction. This makes the passage of toxins, food antigens, and bacteria which may carry immunogenic antigens more likely.

A Whole Food Plant-Based diet removes foods with the potential to cause symptoms, including processed foods, refined sugar, dairy products, artificial sweeteners, and most vegetable oils.

Lowers Inflammation

A Whole Food Plant-Based diet is associated with lower levels of inflammatory markers, and antioxidants found in the phytonutrients of plant foods combat inflammation.

Heals the Gut

Whole plant foods promote gut health by diversifying the microbiome and increasing the production of metabolites that strengthen and tighten the gut lining, prevening contents from entering the bloodstream.

*Dietary Fiber (found only in plants) improves gut bacteria composition and increases bacterial diversity in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients, thus reducing their inflammation and joint pain.

Supports Immune System

These plant foods contain specific nutrients and antioxidants to modulate and support a healthy immune system. Between leafy greens, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, and onions... bell peppers, papayas, and brightly-colored vegetables, an immune system is healthy and boosted.

WEIGHT LOSS & MANAGEMENT

Population studies indicate that vegans have the lowest BMIs and rates of obesity while meat eaters have the highest BMIs and rates of obesity.

Average BMI:

Non-Vegetarians: 28.8
Vegetarians: 26
Vegans: 23.5

Switching to a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet promotes weight loss by:

Incorporating greater amounts of fruits and vegetables in the diet while reducing fat intake.
Including a higher fiber intake: high fiber contributes to greater satiety and lower energy density. Fiber also works to reduce dietary fat absorption, improving insulin control. The abundnance of viscous fiber in whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables that make up a plant-based diet contribute to weight loss results.
Getting plenty of anti-inflammatory foods, which reduce inflammation and relieve insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction.

GUT HEALTH & THE MICROBIOME

There are over ONE HUNDRED TRILLION microorganisms living our gut, and every 20 minutes, a new generation is born. In one day, there are 50 new generations of microbes fermenting resistant starch, producing anti-inflammatory short-chain fatty acids, and strengthening the intestinal barrier function.

Keeping a healthy gut is the foundation for total health. The gut produces over 30 neurotransmitters. In fact, 90% of seratonin, the happiness hormone, is produced in the gut. When we consume a diet heavy in meat, dairy, or oil, the kind of bacteria our microbiome uses to break down these foods does not make anti-inflammatory short-chain fatty acids that promote good health and well-being. Instead, the unhealthy microbes cause you to crave more meat, dairy, and oil. However, when we feed our microbiome with healthy gut food, it strengthens and stabilizes our whole beings.