Heart Disease and CVDs, according to the World Health Organization, “Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally.” 17.9 million people, or 32% globally, died from CVDs in 2019. Most of these could have been “prevented by addressing behavioral and environmental risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and obesity, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol and air pollution.”
Here’s the compelling science-backed health data that I’ve found so far. Please let me know if I’ve made any mistakes so I can remove or correct the incorrect sections.
Heart Disease
All Heart Diseases
- Plant-Based Diet & Lifestyle [2014, Jul]
A Clinical Observational Study of: 198 subjects.- “Most of the volunteer patients with CVD responded to intensive counseling, and those who sustained plant-based nutrition for a mean of 3.7 years experienced a low rate of subsequent cardiac events. This dietary approach to treatment deserves a wider test to see if adherence can be sustained in broader populations. Plant-based nutrition has the potential for a large effect on the CVD epidemic.“
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25198208/
- “Most of the volunteer patients with CVD responded to intensive counseling, and those who sustained plant-based nutrition for a mean of 3.7 years experienced a low rate of subsequent cardiac events. This dietary approach to treatment deserves a wider test to see if adherence can be sustained in broader populations. Plant-based nutrition has the potential for a large effect on the CVD epidemic.“
CVD (Cardiovascular Disease)
- Plant-Based Diet with Cardiovascular Disease & Mortality [2021, Nov]
A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review of: prospect cohort studies involving 410,085 participants.- “These findings highlight the favorable role of healthful plant-based foods in reducing cardiovascular mortality and CVD.”
- “This study provides important evidence to suggest a possible protective role of plant-based dietary patterns against cardiovascular mortality and CVD among the general population. Importantly, not all plant foods are equally beneficial, but unhealthful refined carbohydrates, added sugars, and oils should be avoided. In future studies, it may be worth exploring the potential of healthful plant-based diets as secondary prevention among patients with preexisting CVD and the dose-response association between the level of plant food intake and cardiovascular benefits.”
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2021.756810/full
- Omnivores, Flexitarian & Vegans CVD Risk Factors [2024, Feb]
A Cross-sectional Study of: 94 participants.- “The flexitarian diet appears to confer cardiovascular benefits. While [vegans] had the most favorable results overall, this study supports that reducing meat and processed meat products intake, as in flexitarianism, may contribute to CVD risk factor advantages.”
https://bmcnutr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40795-024-00839-9
- “The flexitarian diet appears to confer cardiovascular benefits. While [vegans] had the most favorable results overall, this study supports that reducing meat and processed meat products intake, as in flexitarianism, may contribute to CVD risk factor advantages.”
- Vegetarian & Vegan Diets & Overall Health [2023, Feb]
A Peer Review Paper of: randomized control trials and cohort studies with over 230,000 human subjects.- “Overall, the current literature supports the claim that vegetarian or vegan diets lead to more favorable health outcomes when compared to a traditional diet. The aforementioned studies have demonstrated that eliminating meat and increasing consumption of plant-based foods may prove beneficial for overall health.”
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368565541_Plant_Based_Diet_and_Its_Effect_on_Cardiovascular_Disease
- “Overall, the current literature supports the claim that vegetarian or vegan diets lead to more favorable health outcomes when compared to a traditional diet. The aforementioned studies have demonstrated that eliminating meat and increasing consumption of plant-based foods may prove beneficial for overall health.”
Ischemic Heart Disease
- Vegetarian Diet & Lifestyle [2017, Nov]
A Meta-Analysis of: 86 cross-sectional and 10 cohort prospective studies of over 56,000 subjects.”- This comprehensive meta-analysis reports a significant protective effect of a vegetarian diet versus the incidence and/or mortality from ischemic heart disease (-25%) […]”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26853923/
- This comprehensive meta-analysis reports a significant protective effect of a vegetarian diet versus the incidence and/or mortality from ischemic heart disease (-25%) […]”