Plant-Based Diets

Researchers have shown that a more plant-based diet may help prevent, treat, or reverse some of our leading causes of death, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Interventional studies of plant-based diets have shown, for example, 90 percent reductions in angina attacks within just a few weeks. Plant-based diet intervention groups have reported greater diet satisfaction than control groups, as well as improved digestion, increased energy, and better sleep, and significant improvement in their physical functioning, general health, vitality, and mental health. Studies have shown plant-based eating can improve not only body weight, blood sugar levels, and ability to control cholesterol, but also emotional states, including depression, anxiety, fatigue, sense of well-being, and daily functioning.

Only one way of eating has ever been proven to reverse heart disease in the majority of patients: a diet centered around whole plant foods. If that’s all a whole-food, plant-based diet could do—reverse our number-one killer—shouldn’t that be the default diet until proven otherwise? The fact it may also be effective in preventing, treating, and arresting other leading killers seems to make the case for plant-based eating simply overwhelming.

For substantiation of any statements of fact from the peer-reviewed medical literature, please see the associated videos below.

546 videos

All Videos for Plant-Based Diets

Reversible Causes of Prematurely Graying Hair

Vitamin B12 deficiency is one of the rare, reversible causes of hair graying through some unknown mechanism.

Person holding their hair apart at their scalp

Why Does Hair Turn Gray?

As with vitiligo in the skin, buildup of hydrogen peroxide kills the pigment cells in hair follicles.

Assortment of plant based foods from above in bowls

The Best Dietary Detox

By eating at a lower rung on the food chain, those choosing plant-based diets suffer less exposure to the industrial pollutants that bioaccumulate up the ladder.

How to Prevent Wrinkles with Diet

The evidence supports the recommendation to follow a whole food, plant-based diet for healthier looking skin.

Close up view of someone playing bagpipes in a calm outdoor environment

A Testimonial from Dr. Ornish’s Alzheimer’s Progression Reversal Study

What does improving the cognition and function of Alzheimer’s patients with lifestyle medicine actually translate to in terms of human impact?

An assortment of colorful fruits, vegetables, and legumes on a flat surface

Can Alzheimer’s Disease Be Reversed with a Plant-Based Diet?

Dr. Dean Ornish publishes the first randomized controlled trial investigating whether a plant-based diet and lifestyle program may reverse the course of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

a green juice surrounded by green fruits and veggies

How to Boost Collagen Synthesis with Diet

Which foods can increase collagen deposition and prevent wrinkles?

Why Is There Fluoride in Water? Is It Effective?

Based on nearly 100 randomized controlled trials, fluoride toothpaste reduces dental cavity rates, but what about just adding fluoride to the water supply?

Woman experiencing hot flash on a bench outside

How to Delay the Age of Menopause with Diet and Lifestyle Factors

Approximately half of the variability of age of menopause among women is explained by genetics. What behaviors or circumstances can help explain the rest?

How to Boost Your Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPCs) for Heart Health

How can we improve the capacity of our blood vessels to repair themselves?

DHEA supplements in a bowl on brown surface

DHEA: What Is It and What Are Its Benefits?

DHEA levels naturally decline with age. Does replenishing youthful levels have restorative effects?

$Scientific illustration of x ray with red highlight over fracture$

Acid Reflux Medicine May Cause Osteoporosis

Stomach acid–blocking proton pump inhibitor drugs—PPIs with brand names like Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium, Protonix, and AcipHex—appear to significantly increase the risk of bone fractures.

Dr. Greger and the presentation title on a blue background

How Not To Age – Live Presentation

In this live lecture, Dr. Greger offers a sneak peek into his latest book, How Not to Age, a New York Times Best Seller.

Soy Foods for Menopause Hot Flash Symptoms

Soy can be considered a first-line treatment for menopausal hot flash and night sweat symptoms.

The Supplement Shown to Slow Age-Related Hearing Loss

Some studies found that higher levels of folate in the blood seem to correlate with better hearing, so researchers decided to put it to the test.

Young man with hearing problems, hearing loss or hard of hearing

Age-Related Hearing Loss Is Preventable, So What Causes It?

Why do some populations retain their hearing into old age?

Man touching face while suffering a stroke

Update on Vegetarian Stroke Risk

Those eating more plant-based diets have lower risk of having a stroke, including both bleeding and clotting strokes.

loose muscle on an arm of a senior elderly woman

What Is Creatine? Can It Treat Sarcopenia (Muscle Loss with Age)?

When accompanied by a progressive strength-training regimen, 3 grams of creatine a day may improve muscle performance in older adults.

Close up of person’s hands preparing meal with fresh veggies

The Best Diet for COVID and Long-COVID

Healthy plant-based diets appear to help reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 and getting infected in the first place, even independent of comorbidities.

Photo of Dr. Greger against blue background with words “New Book How Not to Age”

Book Trailer for How Not to Age

Learn about my newest book, How Not to Age, a New York Times Best Seller.

Rolling up a yoga mat in a classroom setting

How to Prove Whether Yoga Has Special Health Benefits

Yoga practitioners are healthier, but does practicing yoga lead to good health, or does good health lead to practicing yoga?

Why Vegans Should Eat More Plant-Based

One cannot assume that simply avoiding animal foods will necessarily produce a healthy diet.

Arrangement of vegetables and fruits in a sunny environment

Which Foods Are the Most Anti-Angiogenic?

For cancer prevention, researchers suggest “constant consumption” of anti-angiogenic foods.

Targeting Angiogenesis to Lose Weight

Expanding body fat releases blood supply-generating factors that may end up hooking up tumors, too.

Greens, Green Tea, and Nuts Put to the Test for Telomeres

Not all plant foods are linked to less cellular aging based on telomere attrition, and not all animal foods are linked to more.

Nuts, berries, grain, vegetables, and fruits spread out

What to Eat to Prevent Telomere Shortening

The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of plant-based diets may explain why they can effectively reverse cellular aging by elongating telomeres.