Celebrate American Heart Month with Heart-Healthy Veggie Foods

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s only fitting that February is dedicated as “American Heart Month.”

According to the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention at the CDC, one in every three deaths in the U.S. is due to heart-related illnesses. That’s more than 2,200 fatalities per day, making cardiovascular disease the country’s leading cause of death. Moreover, hospitalizations due to these ailments cost upwards of $440 billion in health care expenses and lost productivity—which has a significant impact in a down economy.

Fortunately, we can change this. A growing number of researchers and medical experts have reached an inspiring conclusion: By simply avoiding meat, eggs, and dairy, we can greatly reduce the amount of saturated fat and all the cholesterol that contribute to heart disease. What’s more is that a meat-, egg-, and dairy-free diet not only helps prevent heart disease — it can also reverse it. Just ask Bill Clinton who changed his diet to protect his health and was featured in a one-hour CNN special last fall, “The Last Heart Attack.”

In fact, Dr. Dean Ornish of the University of California at San Francisco, one of the top ranking medical schools worldwide, has found that a low-fat, high-fiber, near-vegan diet combined with stress reduction techniques, smoking cessation, and exercise actually reversed atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries.

And there’s more good news about the benefits of choosing a diet rich in plant-based foods: higher levels of fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices, as well as lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, prostate and colon cancer, and death from ischemic heart disease.

Take charge of your health by ordering a free Vegetarian Starter Kit today, and share it with loved ones. Because the best way to protect one’s heart is through the stomach!

Be sure to also check out this incredibly informative and entertaining series of DVDs by Dr. Michael Greger: The Latest in Clinical Nutrition (Volumes 5, 6, and 7). Find out which berries are the best for you. What beverages are the healthiest. And so much more…