Yes, it can.
Either a vegan (no animal products at all) or vegetarian (may include dairy) diet can reverse the damage caused by eating commercial animal foods. As a long-term lifestyle, either of these may be a problem for you; some people seem to need a little meat. If you are able to transition to a vegetarian diet, then heart disease should become a distant memory.
For someone with serious heart disease and cholesterol problems, a vegan diet could be considered as a short term "cure" lasting perhaps a year. Then the patient could decide how much animal-based food, if any, should be reintroduced.
If you must eat meat, do not eat ordinary commercial meats. They are not healthy. In some ways they are dangerous. Read Alicia Silverstones new book, The Kind Diet, for an overview of all the reasons why you don't want to eat meat. Then decide, if you really have to have meat in your diet, how can you get the right amount in the right quality for your health.
Aren't Vegetarian Meals Boring?
When meat and potatoes people imagine a vegetarian meal, I think they picture their own meal with the slab of meat removed. Actual vegetarian meals are just as diverse as other meals, often more so. Having been a vegetarian for 30 years, I'm continually amazed at how much variety my wife creates on the dinner table. With the exception of two dishes that we both like, she's hardly served the same meal twice since we were married.
What is the Optimum, Heart Healthy Diet?
Cardiologist Arthur Agatston, M.D., designed the South Beach Diet and it is certainly a good one for heart patients who have to have some meat. The Mediterranean Diet is another that should be considered; people on that diet are among the longest-lived humans on the planet. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is the worst possible diet for anyone--especially people with a heart or circulatory problem.
Whichever diet you choose make sure you get enough antioxidants and essential fatty acids.
Please note: The information here is not to be followed as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult with your physician or primary health practitioner for information regarding your own personal health and necessary treatments.
