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Heart Disease

Preventing & healing heart disease with food

Cardiovascular disease (cardio = heart, vascular = arteries) is one of the most widespread chronic health concerns in the developed world — and our top killer.

Thankfully, whole food, plant-based nutrition is a proven and powerful tool to keep our hearts pumping strong and blood flowing smoothly throughout the body.

Our food choices play an outsized role in determining our risk for heart disease. Pioneering studies like the Ornish Lifestyle Heart Trial in the ’90s (and many that followed) have shown that a low-fat, plant-based diet can prevent and even reverse heart disease and the life-threatening events it brings on: heart attacks and strokes.

Whole plant foods benefit heart health because they contain no dietary cholesterol, are very low in saturated fat, and provide a steady flow of fiber.

A plant-based diet helps to reduce these risk factors for heart disease:

  • Inflammation: Unprocessed plant foods (especially fruits and vegetables) are naturally anti-inflammatory, whereas animal-based and processed foods increase inflammation not only in the cardiovascular system, but throughout the body. 
  • Hypertension (high blood pressure): A plant-based diet rich in green leafy vegetables and key minerals, and low in added oils and salt, can help lower blood pressure rapidly.
  • High cholesterol: Our livers make all the cholesterol we need, so eating animal and processed foods high in saturated fat and dietary cholesterol increases total and LDL cholesterol. But, among other things, fiber from plants flushes cholesterol out in bowel movements.

What can I do to prevent heart disease?

  • Center your diet on whole plant foods.
  • Eat at least 40 grams of fiber each day from whole-food sources (not supplements).
  • Minimize or eliminate high-fat foods like added oils and coconut products (which have the highest amounts of saturated fat of all plant foods), and be mindful of the amount of nuts and avocados you eat.
  • With fewer calorie-dense foods in your diet, reduce weight or maintain a healthy weight: every 2.2 pounds of weight loss can reduce blood pressure by 1 point.
  • Minimize or eliminate alcohol consumption and marijuana use.
  • Exercise regularly if cleared by your physician.
Photo of fresh, chopped vegetables including peppers, broccoli, and cucumber

Facts & figures about heart disease:

  • Plant-based diets can cut the risk of heart disease by 40%. (Source)
  • Men are two thirds more likely than women to have heart disease, and nearly a quarter of people ages 75+ are affected. (Source)
  • Eating protein primarily from plants reduces the risk of cardiovascular mortality. (Source)
  • Eating a plant-centered diet in young adulthood can lower the risk in middle age for heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and other cardiovascular conditions. (Source)
  • Eating plant-based foods that lower cholesterol levels can reduce the risk of heart disease in postmenopausal women. (Source)
  • Cardiovascular disease is increasing globally and continues to be the leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for roughly one in four deaths in the U.S. alone. (Source)

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Variety of heart-healthy foods, including healthy fats like walnuts and avocado, and fruits and vegetables

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