As the works of Joel Furhman, M.D. and Dean Ornish, M.D. indicate, prostate cancer, migraines, autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, arthritis, asthma, can also be added to the list of diseases which cause discomfort and pain to hundreds of millions of people that can be controlled, reversed or cured by embracing a balanced plant-based diet eschewing animal products. Even morning sickness and pre-eclampsia during pregnancy (link down to pregnancy section) can be avoided with an appropriately-planned vegan diet while providing Mum with the nutrients she needs to give birth to a healthy child.

Furthermore, the American Dietetics Association and the Dietitians of Canada (link here to our page on vegan nutrition), after reviewing over 200 medical and scientific studies, has concluded that vegan diets are nutritionally sound and appropriate for all stages of the human life-cycle, from gestation through pregnancy, infancy, childhood, adulthood to old age.

Presented below are some of the research on the effectiveness of plant-based diets to cure cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

There have been many individual research studies which have linked cancer to the consumption of meat and dairy products, as well numerous studies finding the antioxidants and phytochemicals in fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts and seeds assist in protecting against, reversing and curing cancer.

The China Study/T. Colin Campbell, PhD.
One of the most interesting of studies is the China Study, which took advantage of the fact that in China, there were very isolated communities where food was locally grown, and where clear distinctions existed in the rates of cancer and other diseases. Because of this isolation, the researchers, led by Professor T. Colin Campbell of the Syracuse University in New York, USA, were able to correlate food choices with diseases and make many discoveries. One of these was a correlation between high cholesterol levels and increased cancer rates, and they concluded “So it’s not unreasonable to assume that the optimum percentage of animal-based products is zero, at least for anyone with a predisposition for a degenerative disease.

Dr. Neil Bernard, M.D.
A number of hypotheses have been advanced to explain the connection between meat consumption and cancer risk. First, meat is devoid of fiber and other nutrients that have a protective effect. Meat also contains animal protein, saturated fat, and, in some cases, carcinogenic compounds such as heterocyclic amines (HCA) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) formed during the processing or cooking of meat. HCAs, formed as meat is cooked at high temperatures, and PAHs, formed during the burning of organic substances, are believed to increase cancer risk. In addition, the high fat content of meat and other animal products increases hormone production, thus increasing the risk of hormone-related cancers such as breast and prostate cancer.

Dean Ornish, M.D.
Clinical researcher at University of California, San Francisco in the US introduced his low-fat, low sodium, plant-based diet to a group of men who had been diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer, but whom, for various reasons, had chosen not to engage in surgery or other allopathic treatment. In addition to a low-fat, sodium-reduced diet, people were also asked to participate in exercise and other stress reduction programs. Ninety-three people enrolled in the program, and managed to demonstrate that regular exercise, meditation and a plant-based diet are successful in reversing prostate cancer.

University of California, San Diego US-based researchers at the University of California – San Diego led by Dr. Ajit Varki, M.D. have found evidence that consumption of meat and milk products increase the risk of cancerous tumors. The scientists found that when meat is consumed, the body develops antibodies, an immune system response which can lead to chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation, in turn, has been shown to stimulate cancer.

US National Cancer Institute
US National Cancer Institute researchers evaluated data from nearly 500,000 people beginning in 1995, none of whom had a history of cancer. During the follow up, it was found that those in the top fifth of consumption of red meat were more likely to have developed colorectal, liver, lung and esophageal cancer, and those in the top fifth in terms of consumption of processed meat were at greater risk of developing colorectal and lung cancer.

University of Leeds
Research at the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom, found that women consuming one serving of red meat per day have a 56% greater chance of developing breast cancer than those who consume no meat. They also found that women consuming processed meats, such as bacon, sausages, ham or pies, have a 64% higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who eat no processed meats.

American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund
The American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund recently published a new comprehensive report on diet, physical activity, and cancer. The report was written by an international panel of researchers who reviewed more than 7,000 large-scale studies, and it included 10 new lifestyle and diet recommendations for cancer prevention. The report found that even small amounts of alcohol and red and processed meats can significantly increase cancer risk, and that no amount of processed meats is completely safe. Every 1.7 ounces of processed meat consumed a day increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 21%. The report also found that excess body fat increases the risk of cancer of the colon, kidney, pancreas, esophagus, and uterus, as well as postmenopausal breast cancer.

There are numerous doctors whose studies and long term results show how powerful a plant-based diet is in successfully reversing, controlling and curing cardiovascular disease less expensively than surgery and drugs. The research and dietary plans of Dr. Dean Ornish of University of California, San Francisco in the USA, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, USA, and Dr. Joel Fuhrman of New Jersey USA all have successful plant-based programs that work more effectively than surgery or drugs for curing cardiovascular disease.

Caldwell Esselstyn, M.D.
After a career of surgery, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn wanted to help prevent the surgeries he was doing. He went to a cardiologist where he worked at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, USA who referred him to a group of patients with a history of cardiovascular disease, 17 of whom stuck with the program over a 20-year longitudinal study. Most of the patients had taken part in aggressive medical treatment, including bypasses and angioplasties, and most had been told they had less than a year to live. For the first five years, they followed a vegetarian diet with a small amount of cholesterol lowering medicine. After that, they all went vegan, although with small amounts of cholesterol lowering medication. To date, over 20 years later, none of the 17 people have experienced any kind of cardiovascular event again and they all remain symptom free.

For more information, click here to watch a video where Dr. Esselstyn talks about his program.

Dean Ornish, M.D. For 30 years, clinical researcher Dean Ornish, M.D. at University of California-, San Francisco, USA (a university with a prestigious hospital and medical university) has demonstrated that by consuming a low fat, low sodium vegetarian/predominantly plant-based diet including lifestyle changes such as meditation and yoga is more effective than expensive surgery or drugs in controlling cardiovascular disease. In 1990, he published the results of a one year study in which 28 people with a history of cardiovascular disease engaged in a low-fat vegetarian diet, stopped smoking, engaged in stress management training, and did moderate exercise, while a 20 person control group followed their regular medical advice. The experimental group on the plant-based diet improved in many ways, including a reversal in their coronary atherosclerosis, while the atherosclerosis for the control group worsened. His plan is documented in the book “Dr. Dean Ornish’s plan for Reversing Heart Disease.”

In the United States, there are at least three doctors who have developed three different plant-based approaches suiting different needs and dietary preferences. In the case of one of these doctors, a few type 1 diabetics have even become completely cured of diabetes, although at this point in time, the medical reason for this is not understood.

Neal Barnard, M.D.
At George Washington University in Washington, D.C., USA oversaw a study financed by the US National Health Institute which monitored two groups of patients -- one following the recommended diet of the American Diabetes Association and the other following a low fat, low sugar, vegan diet. With respect to sugar, he recommended people avoid foods such as white bread and items made from white flour which convert into sugar in the blood stream. It was a very simple diet to follow, you just eat whatever you want and as much as you want as long as it is vegan, low fat and low sugar.

Although the recommended diet of the American Diabetes Association slows down the progress of diabetes, Dr. Barnard’s diet became the first scientifically proven diet to actually reverse diabetes. People following his program were very successful in controlling and reversing their diabetes, lowering their medications for both diabetes and related issues like cardiovascular disease, and in many cases the patients were able to completely get off of their medications and even become medically cured of type 2 diabetes in about 26 weeks. His program is described in his book Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes.

Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
In New Jersey, USA there is another highly successful program which cures diabetes in about three months. It is called the “nutritarian” program – emphasizing that you want to focus on eating the most nutrient dense foods. In his program, the foods with the highest degree of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals) are leafy green vegetables, followed by green vegetables. Other nutrient dense foods, starting with the highest, are non-starchy vegetables, followed by fruits, legumes and nuts. He believes the most important thing to do is to focus on incorporating about 1 kilogram per day of vegetables, with half of those being raw, and half cooked, while making sure you include plenty of the most nutrient dense vegetables each day. For diabetics, he recommends focusing on green vegetables and beans, which regulate blood sugar.

The biggest difference between his diet and Dr. Barnard’s is his emphasis on vegetables as being the foundation for the diet, and a preference for beans rather than grains. Beans are very good for balancing blood sugar. His program is described in his books Eat to Live and Eat for Health and Disease-Proof Your Child. He states that people following his program tend to get over diabetes very easily within about 3 months.

Gabriel Cousens, M.D.’s
The live food raw program cures over 90 percent of the people following it of type 2 diabetes in about 21 days, and has even had success in completely curing a few people of type 1 diabetes, although he states it is not yet medically understood how the program is curing type 1 diabetes.

Dr. Cousens’ raw food diet program is 100% raw for the initial period, and 80% raw after the first few months. He also recommends including cooked beans as part of the non-raw portion of the diet, because they help to balance blood sugar. He also focuses on the importance of removing toxins from the body, stopping smoking, eliminating wheat (including bread and all products made from white and whole wheat flour) and caffeine, all of which are also insulin inhibitors and bad for diabetics.

Dr. Cousens’ experience is that people following his program are medically cured of diabetes within 21 days, although they need to stay on the diet longer to heal the organs and assure the diabetes does not come back. He made a documentary film about inviting six diabetics who had been consuming the standard American diet to his Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center called “Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days,” a trailer of which can be found on YouTube. Since making the documentary, he has improved the efficiency of the program from 30 days to 21 days. His program is detailed in There is a Cure for Diabetes: The Tree of Life 21 Day + Program.

See also Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days (YouTube Trailer)

Lower Or No Morning Aickness
Many vegan women have reported little to no morning sickness. Studies of morning sickness have found that meat is a trigger for greater morning sickness and that the more legumes a mother ate, the less she experienced morning sickness. Vegetables viewed to be strong tasting, like kale or broccoli, have been correlated with morning sickness.

A show on how a vegan diet can reduce morning sickness can be viewed here: "How a Vegan Diet Can reduce morning sickness.”