If you had asked your doctor about the health benefits of following a vegan meal plan forty years ago, he would have called it bunk. Total baloney! Even today, many doctors aren’t hip to what eliminating animal products from your diet can really do for your health. This seems off, right? Shouldn’t your doctor be the one person who does know about the health benefits of a plant-based diet? Not exactly.

You see, medical students don’t get much nutrition education. In fact, only 30 percent of medical schools require students to take a nutrition course at all. Knowing this, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that a plant-based diet hasn’t come up during your annual exam. Your doctor is only prescribing what she is certain will be effective. Historically, this has been medication. However, healthcare providers are slowly but surely coming around when it comes to recommending their patients to a registered dietitian instead of scribbling away on a prescription pad.

In Well Vegan: A Starter Guide, we take a look at a few of the main health benefits associated with following a vegan meal plan.

Weight Loss

Studies have shown that folks who eat a vegan diet have a lower body mass index (BMI) than omnivores and vegetarians who eat eggs and dairy products.

Heart Disease

Making changes to your lifestyle (implementing a regular exercise routine and carefully planning your vegan diet) can reduce your risk for heart disease by as much as 80%.

Cholesterol

Vegan diets are consistently demonstrated to lower “bad cholesterol” (LDL cholesterol) by as much as 25%. Adding extra fiber to your diet improves LDL levels by up to 35%.

Diabetes

Research has found that a plant-based diet boosts blood sugar control considerably. This only means good things for the 115 million Americans with diabetes or pre-diabetes.

High Blood Pressure

A study published in the January 2012 issue of Public Health Nutrition showed that vegans had a 60% lower risk for hypertension compared to omnivores.

We know you’re going to be excited about what you read in Well Vegan: A Starter Guide, but please, please talk to your doctor before changing your diet and/or flushing your meds down the toilet. With that disclaimer out of the way, download Well Vegan: A Starter Guide today to read about the full health benefits of a vegan diet.