According to recent reports from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) more than 100 million people in the U.S. live with some type of chronic illness (like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancers, or other conditions) and seven of the top ten causes of death relate to chronic disease.

Those numbers may sound staggering, but some of the top health centers in the world are making strides in recognizing the importance of plant based diets to prevent, manage, and sometimes reverse chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes.  Numerous studies  demonstrate that plant based eating promotes heart health and can help prevent and manage diabetes and other diseases.

• Harvard studies in men and women show that regular meat consumption increases colon cancer risk by roughly 300 percent
• Eating any red meat was found to increase the chances of dying from heart disease by 16% and eating processed meat increased the mortality rate to 20%
• The results of The China Study indicate that plant based eating notably reduces risks for chronic diseases
• Since these illnesses can be expensive to manage and treat and relatively inexpensive to prevent with a vegetarian/ vegan choices, at least one insurer has expressly stated that “a vegetarian diet can save you money especially when it comes to health insurance.“

Even for people unmoved by the ethical arguments against eating animals, it’s noteworthy that lifestyle changes toward vegetarian/vegan eating are being more widely studied and recognized for preventive health benefits. The life you save could be your own.

This cat does not provide medical advice.