Photo: dbking / Flickr

Bill Clinton has ditched barbecues and burgers in favour of a diet consisting mostly of fruit, vegetables and beans in an attempt to heal his heart. At his daughter Chelsea’s wedding recently, he sang the praises of a book called The China Study, which claims a plant-based diet is the answer to heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity. With the support of Chelsea, Clinton is now following a near-vegan diet.

‘I live on beans’

‘I live on beans, legumes, vegetables, fruit. I drink a protein supplement every morning – no dairy, I drink almond milk mixed in with fruit and a protein powder so I get the protein for the day when I start the day up,’ Mr Clinton told a television interviewer.

Reversing heart disease

He is on this low-fat, plant-based diet, free of meat or dairy, because of claims that it will naturally reverse heart disease. T. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study, asserts that on the T. Colin Campbell Foundation website that ‘Even the most severe cases of heart disease can be halted and reversed with diet alone.’

What the experts say

Dr Dean Ornish, a professor of medicine at the University of California, has been giving Mr Clinton medical advice. Dr Ornish has long recommended a plant-based diet combined with yoga, meditation, exercise and stress management for preventing, and even reversing, heart disease. As reported in The Telegraph, Dr Ornish says: ‘Our studies show that simple changes in diet and lifestyle can have a powerful effect not only in preventing disease but can reverse even severe coronary disease.’

Lona Sandon, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, agrees that plant-based diets can provide health benefits. She cautions, though, that strict vegans are prone to nutritional deficiencies, especially when it comes to protein, calcium, vitamin D, zinc and iron. A vegan diet can be healthy in terms of fighting heart disease, she told the Dallas Morning News, ‘But it comes with its own pitfalls with vitamin and mineral deficiencies that people need to be careful about. You don’t have to go to extremes to have a healthy heart.’

If you’re considering switching to a vegan or vegetarian diet for the sake of your health, only do so under the guidance of a qualified dietician or nutritionist who will help you relearn your way around the kitchen.

Tags: Healthy diet, Heart disease