Since undergoing two heart procedures, including quadruple by-pass surgery in 2004, the former US president Bill Clinton decided it was time for a change.
The ex-president, once notorious for his love of the doughnut and hamburger, told CNN that he went vegan and now leaves meat, eggs and dairy products out of his diet in order to live a healthier lifestyle.
He did however concede that he lapsed a little and had some turkey at Thanksgiving.
Speaking to CNN’s medical correspondent, Dr Sanjay Gupta, Mr Clinton said “I essentially concluded that I had played Russian roulette, because even though I had changed my diet some and cut down on the caloric total of my ingestion and cut back on much of the cholesterol in the food I was eating, I still — without any scientific basis to support what I did — was taking in a lot of extra cholesterol without knowing if my body would produce enough of the enzyme to support it, and clearly it didn’t or I wouldn’t have had that blockage. So that’s when I made a decision to really change.”
Since then he has reportedly lost 24 lbs in weight as well as significantly lowering his cholesterol level.
But before you rush off to emulate him, bear in mind that a vegan diet is not for everyone.
LiveScience points out that, as vegans do not eat animal based products, they risk not taking in the correct amount of nutrients unless they are very careful with their diet. There is also more than one form of ‘Veganism’. So do your research before plunging headlong into this significant lifestyle change.
Just because it’s good enough for a former President of the USA doesn’t make it right for you.
Picture: Wiki Commons by Bearas
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Tags: bill clinton, diet, lifestyle, News, Veganism
Give me a bacon sarnie anyday!