All Videos for Cardiovascular Disease

Breast Cancer and Alcohol: How Much Is Safe?

Nearly 5,000 breast cancer deaths a year may be attributable to just light drinking (up to one drink a day).



Does a Drink of Water Make Children Smarter?

Most children don’t drink water from when they wake up to when they go off to school. Interventional trials show this mild state of dehydration may negatively affect scholastic performance.



Carnitine, Choline, Cancer, & Cholesterol: The TMAO Connection

Expanding on the subject of my upcoming appearance on The Dr. Oz Show, a landmark new article in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that choline in eggs, poultry, dairy, and fish produces the same toxic TMAO as carnitine in red meat—which may help explain plant-based protection from heart disease and prostate cancer.



The McGovern Report

The story behind the first U.S. dietary recommendations report explains why, to this day, the decades of science supporting a more plant-based diet have yet to fully translate into public policy.



Dried Apples, Dates, Figs, or Prunes for Cholesterol?

A comparison of the cholesterol-lowering potential of four dried fruits—apples, dates, figs, and plums.



Eggs vs. Cigarettes in Atherosclerosis

A similar exponential increase in carotid artery plaque buildup was found for smokers and egg eaters.



Protein, Puberty, and Pollutants

The early onset of puberty in girls associated with animal protein consumption may be due to endocrine-disrupting chemical pollutants in the meat supply.



Are Cats or Dogs More Protective for Children’s Health?

Sharing one’s home with a cat or dog may decrease the risk of infectious diseases in children—including ear infections, respiratory illnesses, and gastroenteritis.



Does Coconut Oil Clog Arteries?

Sellers of coconut oil use a beef industry tactic to downplay the risks associated with the saturated fat in their products.



Plant-Based Diets: Oral Health

Plant-based diets may help protect against oral cancer and periodontal (gum) disease, a leading cause of tooth loss.



Flesh and Fructose

Meat and sugar increase uric acid levels, which are associated with increased risk of gout, hypertension (high blood pressure), obesity, prediabetes, diabetes, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease.



Miocene Meteorites and Uric Acid

Human beings lost the ability to detoxify uric acid millions of years ago. What implications does this have for our health today?



Whole Grains May Work as Well as Drugs

The consumption of three portions of whole grains a day appears as powerful as high blood pressure medications in alleviating hypertension.



Metabolic Syndrome and Plant-Based Diets

Plant-based diets appear to protect against metabolic syndrome, also known as syndrome X, which is characterized by the so-called “deadly quartet”—abdominal obesity, high fasting sugars, high triglycerides, and high blood pressure.



Preventing Strokes with Diet

Increasing the intake of potassium-rich foods is associated with a significantly lower stroke risk.



Nonhuman Molecules Lining our Arteries

The foreign meat molecule Neu5Gc builds up in human tumors and atherosclerotic plaques, and may play an inflammatory role in the progression of both diseases.



The Inflammatory Meat Molecule Neu5Gc

Plant-based diets may help rheumatoid arthritis by decreasing exposure to an inflammatory compound found in animal products.



Ractopamine in Pork

BREAKING NEWS video: An analysis of yesterday’s Consumer Reports finding that 1 in 5 samples of retail pork tested positive for the growth-promoting drug ractopamine. Tomorrow, I’ll cover their findings on Yersinia contamination.



Standing Up for Your Health

Prolonged daily sitting is associated with a shorter lifespan, even in those who exercise regularly. Standing and treadmill desks are two potential solutions for office workers.



Plant-Based Bioidentical Hormones

Do compounded bioidentical hormones for menopause carry the same risks as conventional hormone replacement drugs, such as Premarin?



Protein and Heart Disease

Why is the intake of animal protein associated with heart disease—even independent of saturated fat—and the intake of plant protein protective?



The Best Baby Formula

Exclusive breastfeeding for a full six months may, ironically, improve our children’s taste for vegetables—whereas children fed formula grow up with increased rates of inflammatory diseases such as asthma, cancer, and diabetes.



BPA Plastic and Male Sexual Dysfunction

Canned foods and sliced turkey were found to be contaminated with the plastics chemical BPA, which has been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and erectile dysfunction.



Cancer-Proofing Mutation

Congenital IGF-1 deficiency can lead to Laron Syndrome (a type of dwarfism); but with such low growth hormone levels, those with the condition have dramatically lower cancer rates. This raises the question of whether one can achieve the best of both worlds—by ensuring adequate IGF-1 levels during childhood, while then suppressing excess growth promotion in adulthood.



Prostate vs. Plants

All men should consider eating a prostate-healthy diet, which includes legumes (beans, peas, lentils, soy); certain vegetables (like garlic and onions); certain seeds (flax seeds); and the avoidance of refined grains, eggs, and poultry.



Some Prostates Are Larger Than Others

Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH—an enlarged prostate gland—affects 80% of older men, but like many other Western chronic diseases, it appears to be a consequence of our diet.



Engineering a Cure

Lifestyle medicine pioneer Nathan Pritikin, who reversed his own heart disease through diet and went on to help millions of others, wasn’t a doctor or dietician, but an engineer.



Slimming the Gecko

A workplace dietary intervention study at GEICO corporate headquarters demonstrates the power of plant-based eating.



Extra Virgin Olive Oil vs. Nuts

The short-term effect of replacing refined olive oil with extra virgin olive oil, walnuts, or almonds on cardiovascular risk factors.



Biblical Daniel Fast Put to the Test

Within a matter of weeks, participants placed on the vegan diet outlined by the prophet Daniel experienced improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin levels, insulin resistance, and C-reactive protein levels, a marker of inflammation within the body.



Waist Circumference Less than Half Your Height

Waist-to-height ratio may be a better predictor of disease than body mass index.



Optimal Phytosterol Source

Whole food sources of phytosterols, such as seeds and nuts, are likely superior to supplements, or phytosterol-fortified spreads and beverages.



Optimal Phytosterol Dose

Those eating plant-based diets get the most phytosterols, but there’s still room for improvement to maximize cholesterol reduction.



How Fiber Lowers Cholesterol

Fiber bulks, speeds, and dilutes the intestinal waste stream to facilitate the removal of excess cholesterol from the body.



Nuts and Bolts of Cholesterol Lowering

A pooled analysis of studies on nut consumption, cholesterol levels, and risk of death from heart disease show extraordinary benefits, suggesting we should eat nuts every day.



Diet Versus Drugs for High Cholesterol

Though official recommendations are to first treat high cholesterol with dietary change, many physicians jump right to cholesterol-lowering medications, such as statins, that can have an array of adverse side effects.



Black vs. English Walnuts

A dramatic difference exists between the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of black walnuts versus English walnuts.



Mineral of the Year—Magnesium

Despite promising autopsy and population data suggesting that inadequate magnesium intake is a risk factor for sudden cardiac death, it wasn’t until recently that this was demonstrated in prospective studies.



How Do Nuts Prevent Sudden Cardiac Death?

Most men and women who die of heart disease, our #1 killer, die suddenly without any known history of heart problems. Nut consumption, however, has been associated specifically with decreased risk of sudden cardiac death, which may be due to magnesium, a mineral found predominantly in whole grains, greens, beans, nuts, and seeds.



Risk Associated with Iron Supplements

Iron is a double-edged sword. If we don’t absorb enough, we risk anemia; but if absorb too much, we may increase our risk of cancer, heart disease, and a number of inflammatory conditions. Because the human body has no mechanism to rid itself of excess iron, one should choose plant-based (non-heme) sources, over which our body has some control.