Why Bill Clinton Went Vegan (VIDEO)

After years of struggling with heart disease, former President Bill Clinton has recently begun to follow an almost exclusively vegan diet.

People began buzzing about Clinton's mostly plant-based diet shortly after his daughter Chelsea's wedding in July last year. This week, after further revelations about his diet in an interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta -- he has only eaten one bite of meat, a piece of turkey during Thanksgiving, in the last year -- news outlets have been in overdrive about the benefits of veganism.

Veganism, a plant-based diet that cuts out all dairy products, meat and fish, was no more than a fringe trend a few years ago. However, as more and more people have begun to see its benefits and with an ever-increasing number of celebrities endorsing it, veganism is now being seen as a mainstream lifestyle choice that could drastically alter one's health.

Studies have shown that vegans maintain a healthy weight more easily than those on more traditional low-fat diets. Diabetics have better glucose control and lower cholesterol on a vegan diet.

There's reason to believe a plant-based diet can prevent serious diseases like cancer, obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Leading the research on the benefits of a plant-based diet is Dr. Dean Ornish, founder and president of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute, and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He also oversees The Huffington Post's Medical Advisory Board. Dr. Ornish met Clinton after his angioplasty last year and convinced him that radical lifestyle changes could profoundly alter the course of his health. "Moderate changes weren't enough for him to reverse or prevent heart disease," Dr. Ornish told ABC News. "In our studies we show that [a plant-based diet] could actually reverse the progression of heart disease. Within a month we found that the blood flow to your heart can improve."

Research has shown that despite an inheritance of genes with a predisposition to cardiovascular disease or cancer, lifestyle changes can alter the appearance of those genes.

A 2008 study found that such changes can increase telomerase, the enzyme that lengthens telomeres. Telomeres are the ends of our chromosomes that determine how long we live. In other words, following a vegan diet can actually alter our genes.

The former President's interest in a healthy lifestyle doesn't stop at his personal choices. The Clinton Foundation has teamed up with the American Heart Association to offer 12,000 schools better lunches and promote exercise.

Comments

[floridaviolinist]

11:26 PM on 09/18/2011

want a good healthcare plan?
go raw vegan. done. you'll live to be 150 years old, and perfect.

[megwolff]

08:44 AM on 09/01/2011

Riddhi,
I think this part is interesting and exciting, "A 2008 study found that such changes can increase telomerase, the enzyme that lengthens telomeres. Telomeres are the ends of our chromosomes that determine how long we live. In other words, following a vegan diet can actually alter our genes."

Having survived cancer-12 years longer than experts predicted- through a whole foods plant-based way of eating and lifestyle changes, it is great seeing this important and valuable information available to everyone.

Thanks for writing about this, Bill Clinton is a shining example!

[Chuck Bluestein]

12:51 PM on 08/29/2011

Americans are now trying to get more fiber in their diet since they know that Americans do not get enough fiber. Animal foods like meat, fish and dairy have no fiber at all. All plant foods that have not been processed have plenty of fiber.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine says "Dietary fiber intake provides many health benefits. However, average fiber intakes for US children and adults are less than half of the recommended levels. Individuals with high intakes of dietary fiber appear to be at significantly lower risk for developing coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and certain gastrointestinal diseases. Increasing fiber intake lowers blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels."

Some say that meat contains certain nutrients that we need, that we cannot get elsewhere. That is false. A vegetarian has recently become a supercentenarian (one who is 110 or older). There is a 113 year old vegetarian still alive also. http://bit.ly/LaPallo The longest living person is 115 years old. Humans have the ability to eat animals in case they are in a place with no or very little vegetation.

[NotEve]

03:40 PM on 08/26/2011

A balanced diet is what our bodies have evolved around, we are omnivores for a reason.

Any extreme forms of diet are unhealthy - whether its a meat based "atkins" diet or a vegan diet.

[crystalveg]

03:23 AM on 08/25/2011

For real !! God Bless President Clinton.

[mundakal]

09:08 PM on 08/24/2011

Beans, beans and more beans...AWG anyone! Gore advice your buddy about the carbon footprint he would be releasing ffrom beans alone.

[GMarez]

11:58 AM on 08/26/2011

You clearly do not know the impact that a meat-based diet has on the planet. It's a lot more than just flatulence.

[aerofanbig]

11:51 AM on 08/24/2011

Bill might have gone vegan, but I bet he still looks for an intern who likes a good sausage ;)

[haddonfineart]

03:16 AM on 08/24/2011

Yes President Clinton worries about his health but people do not know that when he was in

office he signed a bill # 95-45 Allowing the Government Free Rain to Dispose Of, and

Burn Any TOXIC or NUCLEAR WAIST as they see fit with NO RESTRICTIONS of Any Kind!

He is worried about his health but not you, your children or Grandchildren.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT ? ? ? CHECK IT OUT AND HAVE THE BILL REPEALED!

[Lori Aretz]

10:14 PM on 08/23/2011

Benjamin Franklin was a vegetarian, and he was smarter than you.

[GMarez]

11:59 AM on 08/26/2011

So was Einstein :)

[sacj80]

08:52 PM on 08/23/2011

Honestly I feel that all human's are animalistic. They will consumne what they want to eat. "UNFORTUNATELY" people do not realize we live in a society where everything is processed,preserved, and ingredient's such as Corn Syrup, Sodium, etc are really bad for the individual person. A person who specializes in diet's is a great escape but they really dont know one's behavior with food. The society as a whole really needs to be aware of what they really consumne in these day's. It's not like the 1800's where they mainly ate poultry, and pork n' beans.

[kyle76066]

05:47 PM on 08/23/2011

Lions and Tigers eat meat, Hippos and Elephants eat veggies. Who knew grass was so fattening? Of course, I've heard that 'Eskimo Sauerkraut' is ''what's" in the intestines of whatever they've just killed.

[GMarez]

12:00 PM on 08/26/2011

We don't get the expression "corn-fed" from nowhere!

[kyle76066]

05:11 PM on 08/26/2011

Yes, you are right!!

[Pope Rich]

01:28 PM on 08/23/2011

So it took former president Clinton to convince people of something we knew from the beginning of time?

[sabelmouse]

10:46 AM on 08/24/2011

what did they know from the beginning of time ?

[NotEve]

03:44 PM on 08/26/2011

"From the beginning of time" humans have evolved and existed as omnivores, incorporating meat into a balanced diet.

In fact, its widely hypothesized that without the efficient source of nutrition and energy that meat provides we never would've been able to develop and sustain these large brains of ours.

[yogini4]

02:46 AM on 08/23/2011

As a therapist, I have to wonder symbolically about the whole giving up meat thing. Sorry, just the way my Freudian mind thinks!

[HerrMonk]

04:09 PM on 08/23/2011

You're on to something.

[Lori Aretz]

10:10 PM on 08/23/2011

What do you mean?

[Tickyul Tickyul]

12:32 AM on 08/23/2011

Wow, he looks like the walking dead, that is not a healthy look.

[lotusgirl]

05:11 PM on 08/23/2011

I think he's just getting older. Most of the people I know who are vegan look pretty good for their age.

[Alvarask]

08:52 PM on 08/23/2011

Yes Bill has looked like death warmed up since he went vegan. But that's how most vegans look to me. They never seem to project a sense of robust good health, instead they seem frail, if they aren't chubby.

[Leviathan21]

09:50 PM on 08/22/2011

I am currently a vegetarian, and would LOVE to go vegan. But, I have found it too difficult every time I have tried. I end up filling up on junk food, like potato chips, which is probably worse for my health than if I weren't a vegan. 

I would love some tips from Vegans on how they manage to stay satisfied while still eating healthy.

[Alvarask]

03:51 AM on 08/23/2011

I did not see that in the article. Perhaps I missed it?

[Chockolate]

08:15 AM on 08/23/2011

Might I suggest the Italian recipe "aglio, olio, peperoncino". That translates to garlic, olive oil, and chili. You fry all these three up in proportions that wont overwhelm the others, and pour it over cooked pasta.

I'm giving you this recipe as an omnivore, ok? It fills you up, tastes great, and costs nothing.