For people who have already been diagnosed with heart disease, sticking to a plant-based, nutrient-
rich diet for a year can reduce LDL cholesterol levels by 37-40%,^101 which is comparable to the
reductions achieved by popular statin drugs.^102
While statins and a 90% Or More Plant-Based, Nutrient-Rich diet both may have similar LDL-
lowering effects, nutrient-rich eating does something that popping pills can't—reverse
atherosclerosis. Patients who made significant lifestyle changes—including a 10% fat vegetarian
diet, moderate aerobic exercise, stress management, quitting smoking and support groups—had
clearer arteries after one year. Patients who made fewer changes to their lifestyle actually had
narrower arteries than before they made the changes.
After five years, those patients who maintained these intensive lifestyle changes continued to
improve, while the rest of the patients continued to worsen, even though more than half of them
were prescribed lipid-lowering medications.^103
Even a small reduction in the amount of waxy plaque that is built up on the inside of the blood
vessels considerably reduces heart attacks and other cardiac events.^104 This may explain why
studies have shown that a plant-based diet reduces the risk of dying from a heart attack or
experiencing other cardiovascular events.
The buildup of plaque in arteries is a leading killer in America. And it is widely believed that there is
little to nothing that can be done to reduce the plaque once it is there.
(^101) Dunn-Emke S, Weidner G, Ornish D. Benefits of a Low-Fat Plant-Based Diet. Obesity Res. 2001;9:731.
Ornish D, Scherwitz LW, Billings JH, et al. Intensive Lifestyle Changes for Reversal of Coronary Heart Disease. J Am Med
Assoc. 1998;280(23):2001-2007.
(^102) Shepherd J, Cobbe SM, Ford I, et al. Prevention of coronary heart disease with pravastatin in men with
hypercholesterolemia. N Engl J Med. 1995;333:1301-1307.
(^103) Ornish D, Scherwitz LW, Billings JH, et al. Intensive Lifestyle Changes for Reversal of Coronary Heart Disease. J Am Med
Assoc. 1998;280(23):2001-2007.
(^104) Shepherd J, Cobbe SM, Ford I, et al. Prevention of coronary heart disease with pravastatin in men with
hypercholesterolemia. N Engl J Med. 1995;333:1301-1307.
Brown BG, Alberts JJ, Fisher LD, et al. Regression of coronary artery disease as a result of intensive lipid-lowering therapy
in men with high levels of apolipoprotein B. N Engl J Med. 1990;323:1289-1298.
Jukema JW, Bruschke AVG, Van Boven AJ, et al. Effects of lipid lowering by pravastatin on progression and regression of
coronary artery disease in symptomatic men with normal to moderately elevated serum cholesterol levels. Circulation.
1995;91:2528-2540.
Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study Group. Randomized trial of cholesterol lowering in 4444 patients with coronary
heart disease. Lancet. 1994;344:1383-1389.
Haskell WL, Alderman EL, Fair JM, et al. Effects of intensive multiple risk factor reduction on coronary atherosclerosis and
clinical cardiac events in men and women with coronary artery disease. Circulation. 1994;89:975-990.