Nutrition Counseling Reduces Risk Factors for Heart Disease

Nutrition counseling by a physician improves heart health, according to a study published in Advances in Nutrition. A routine cardiology visit that included some discussion about adopting a vegan diet resulted in patients lowering their total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels, independent of statin use. After an average of 48 days, total cholesterol dropped from 209.2 mg/dl to 167.8 mg/dl, and LDL fell from 126.1 mg/dl to 89.4 mg/dl. The authors recommend physicians incorporate lifestyle interventions into their clinical practice or refer such service out to other health care professionals.