President-elect of American College of Cardiologists is vegan

The US medical establishment tends to be quite conservative so the news that Dr. Kim A. Williams, the president elect of the American College of Cardiologists is vegan is significant and an indicator that that body is now in acceptance of the heart health benefits of a vegan diet.

Dr. Kim A. Williams, the president-elect of the American College of Cardiology, often sees patients who are overweight and struggling with hypertension, Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol. One of the things he advises them to do is to change their diets. Specifically, he tells them to go vegan. Dr. Williams became a vegan in 2003 because he was concerned that his LDL cholesterol — the kind associated with an increased risk of heart disease — was too high. Dr. Williams wrote about his reasons for going vegan and his belief in the cardiovascular benefits of a plant-based diet in a recent essay at MedPage Today.

You'll recognize the 'Most Famous Vegan' in the headline photo. I wrote about how former president Bill Clinton has become vegan and reversed his heart disease. The former president consulted with Caldwell Esselstyn M.D. a renowned heart surgeon who has done extensive research on the link between diet and heart disease. Dr. Esselstyn believes that heart disease, the greatest cause of death in our society, is a disease that can be completely eradicated by diet.

A vegan/vegetarian diet not only holds the key to eradicating one of our greatest public health crisis but it also can be a key mitigating factor in the climate change crisis. A win-win on many levels