After five weeks following a vegan diet, participants reduced their total cholesterol levels from an average of 163 to 141. This is the greatest diet-induced drop ever reported in premenopausal women.

Although high cholesterol and heart disease are still perceived as men's issues, coronary disease is now the number one cause of death among American women. In fact, women lag just six years behind men for risk of a heart attack (which increases greatly at menopause).

It is never too early to adopt a low-fat, high-fiber, vegan diet. Healthy eating habits foster lifelong protection from many chronic diseases.

Barnard ND, Scialli AR, Bertron P, Hurlock D, Edmonds K, Talev L. Effectiveness of a low-fat vegetarian diet in altering serum lipids in healthy premenopausal women. Am J Cardiol 2000. In press.