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.

544 videos

All Videos for Plant-Based Diets

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.

Plates with meals including plant-based patties

Are Beyond Meat Plant-Based Meat Alternatives Healthy?

The SWAP-MEAT study puts Beyond Meat products to the test.

Person in a white shirt holding their stomach

Fecal Transplants for Aging and Weight Loss

Does poop from centenarians have anti-aging properties?

Plant-Based Diet for Minimal Change Disease of the Kidney

What are the three reasons plant protein is preferable to animal protein for kidney protection?

Dietary Cholesterol and Inflammation from Abdominal Obesity

The optimal intake of dietary cholesterol may be zero.

Person perspiring through button down shirt

How to Treat Body Odor with Diet

Deodorize from the inside out with food.

Improving VO2 Max: A Look at Vegetarian and Vegan Athletes

Plant-based diets improve the performance of athletes and nonathletes alike.

A clipboard, pen, and graphs with stethoscope

The Negative Effects and Benefits of Plant-Based Diets

What are the pros and cons of plant-based eating?

Pregnant person holding a white bowl of whole food

Plant-Based Pregnancy Outcomes and Breast Milk

The composition of breast milk is compared between vegetarian and nonvegetarian women.

Two people out to eat with a server at the table

Strategies to Eat Less Meat

What is the most effective way to help people reduce their meat consumption?

Digital illustration of inner workings of abdomen

Fecal Transplants for Ulcerative Colitis, MS, Depression, Bipolar, and Alcoholism

I go over randomized, controlled trials and case reports of stool transplants for various clinical conditions.

Plant-Based Diet for Treating and Reversing Stage 3 Kidney Disease

I share a touching story of the power of plant-based eating for chronic kidney failure.

Person with a head wrap staring off into a beautiful distance

Spontaneous Regression of Cancer with Fasting

How can we naturally increase the activity of our cancer-fighting natural killer cells?

A Case of Stage 3 Cancer Reversal with Fasting

I go over a case report of water-only fasting, followed by a whole food, plant-based diet for follicular lymphoma.

Soul Food That’s Good for the Soul

The best of soul food’s origins are tied to the plant-centric West African diet.

Round bowl of beans, greens, and other whole foods on a white surface

The Impacts of Plant-Based Diets on Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer

Why do people who eat more plants get less breast and prostate cancer?

Comparing Vegetarian and Vegan Athletic Performance, Endurance, and Strength

Long-term plant-based eating may improve exercise capacity and endurance.

Woman holding upper shoulder as if in pain

The Best Diet for Fibromyalgia and Other Chronic Pain Relief

Anti-inflammatory diets can be effective in alleviating chronic pain syndromes.

How Tongue Scraping Can Affect Heart Health

Tongue scraping can boost the ability of the good bacteria in our mouth to take advantage of the nitrates in greens to improve our cardiovascular health.

Assorted bowls with beans, tomato, and kiwi

The Best Diet for Cancer Patients

What diet should oncologists recommend?

The Harms Associated with Eating More Southern-Style Food

Diet appears to mediate the majority of the racial health gap.

Potential Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency Risks on a Vegan Diet

What is the best way to get the nutrients of concern on a plant-based diet?

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Are Supplements and Vitamins B12 and D Really Necessary on a Plant-Based Diet?

I answer common questions about supplements, vitamin B12, and vitamin D. Do we need them?

Popular Videos for Plant-Based Diets