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Eight weeks on a vegan diet lowered a key marker of heart inflammation by 32% in people with coronary artery disease, compared with the diet recommended by the American Heart Association, a new trial has found.
The EVADE CAD trial, led by Dr. Binita Shah at NYU School of Medicine, randomised 100 heart patients who were already on standard medication. Both groups were given groceries, tools to measure what they ate and dietary counseling. The marker measured was high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), which signals a higher risk of heart attacks and other problems. The trial is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Weight loss was similar in both groups, so the drop in inflammation wasn't simply down to losing weight. The authors conclude:
In patients with coronary artery disease on guideline-directed medical therapy, a vegan diet may be considered to lower high-sensitivity C-reactive protein as a risk marker of adverse outcomes.
The trial was not designed to measure heart attacks or deaths, so it shows a better risk marker rather than fewer events.
It adds to the Adventist study linking meat protein to a 61% higher risk of heart death, and the American College of Cardiology backing plant protein.
Calmer arteries, powered by plants!