High cholesterol is one of the major controllable risk factors for coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke. As your blood cholesterol rises, so does your risk of coronary heart disease. Here, I'm referring to LDL-cholesterol - often called "bad cholesterol," which is the stuff that clogs, hardens, and ultimately blocks your arteries.
People who follow a plant-based diet have significantly lower blood cholesterol than meat eaters, and vegans fare best of all. Study after study bears this out. See, for example, the long list of studies discussed here.
- The Oxford Vegetarian Study followed 6,000 vegetarians and 5,000 non-vegetarians over 16 years and published its findings in 1999: "Cross-sectional analyses of study data showed that vegans have lower total- and LDL-cholesterol concentrations than did meat eaters; vegetarians and fish eaters had intermediate and similar values.
- A study by researchers at The University of Toronto found that following a vegan or near-vegan diet "was as effective as medication at lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in people at risk for heart disease."
- A 2006 study of people with type-2 diabetes assigned participants to follow either a high-carb vegan diet or a "conventional diabetes diet" conforming to the 2003 American Diabetes Association (ADA) Guidelines. The study found that "those on the high-carb vegan diet had lower blood sugars (and so could reduce their meds more), lower LDL cholesterol, improved kidney function and over double the weight loss. There were also significantly greater reductions in BMI, waist circumference, and total cholesterol in the vegan group compared to the ADA group."
Cholesterol is found ONLY IN ANIMAL PRODUCTS. The medical center at the University of California at San Francisco posts useful information about cholesterol intake in the Patient Education portion of its website:
- Depending on whether you have risks for heart disease, you should consume only 200-300 mg. of cholesterol per day.
- An egg contains about 212 mg. of cholesterol. An ounce of cheese has 30 mg. A 3-1/2 ounce serving of beef, chicken or salmon (which, let's face it, is considerably smaller than the average American serving) has 89, 85 or 63 mg., respectively.
- Fruits, vegetables, legumes, tofu, margarine, and vegetable oil have NO CHOLESTEROL.
People whose diets are based around animals and animal products find it very easy to eat too much dietary cholesterol - even when they eschew common culprits such as cheeseburgers, KFC meals, pepperoni pizza, ice cream and huge portions for lean meats and "sensible" portions. The American Heart Association notes that: "Eating one egg for breakfast, drinking two cups of coffee with one tablespoon of half-and-half each, lunching on four ounces of lean turkey breast without skin and one tablespoon of mayonnaise, and having a 6-ounce serving of broiled, short loin porterhouse steak for dinner would account for about 510 mg of dietary cholesterol that day — nearly twice the recommended limit."
Many people who have switched from a meat-based diet to a plant-based diet have found that their cholesterol has dropped. Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser reported that he became a vegetarian to lower his cholesterol, and his cholesterol dropped 100 points. My boyfriend had a physical around the time we met, and his LDL-cholesterol level was "borderline high" (130); thereafter he started eating a lot less meat and a lot more vegan food, and his LDL level at his next checkup was 96 (within the 100-or-lower "optimal" range noted by doctors and the American Heart Association). Coincidence? I highly doubt it!
Not convinced yet to switch to a plant-based, vegan diet, or at least greatly reduce the amount of animals and animal products you eat? Don't worry - I have about a million more reasons, so stay tuned!
