Is A Vegan Diet The Best Option For Your Heart Health? Cardiologists Weigh In

The fact that heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. is, well, disheartening. But the good news is that it’s largely avoidable. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute estimates that as much as 80% of heart disease is preventable through diet and exercise — that’s huge.

If prioritizing heart health is one of your health goals, it’s natural to wonder how your diet can have an impact. According to a new Stanford Medicine study , following a vegan diet improves cardiovascular health more than an omnivorous diet, even if the omnivorous diet is a well-balanced one that consists of nutrient-rich foods.

If you’ve looked into eating for heart health even casually, this may come as a surprise. After all, the Mediterranean diet, which is omnivorous, is the way of eating that cardiologists most often recommend, and it’s been heralded as the healthiest diet by U.S. News for the seventh consecutive year.

Is eating a vegan diet better for heart health than the Mediterranean diet? Keep reading to find out what cardiologists believe and for their advice on how to choose between them.

How a vegan diet impacts heart health, according to the latest scientific data.

The Stanford Medicine study is the latest scientific study about diet and heart health that is making headlines. The study took into account 22 sets of identical twins. Each set of twins grew up in the same household and had similar lifestyles. Researchers conducted the experiment for eight weeks, tasking one twin from each set to follow a vegan diet while the other one followed an omnivorous diet that included chicken, eggs, dairy and other animal-sourced foods. Both diets were healthy and included lots of veggies, fruits, whole grains and legumes