NOW IT'S OFFICIAL: PLANTS WIN

A new Stanford University School of Medicine study has shown that it's not just the low-fat nature of a vegetarian diet that makes it healthier than standard meat-based diets - it's that eating plants is healthier in and of itself.

Participants who followed a vegetarian diet full of whole grains and nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables reduced their total and low-density lipoprotein (known as LDL, or "bad") cholesterol by more than twice as much as those who followed a more conventional low-fat diet that simply avoided saturated fat and cholesterol-rich foods. Previous research has demonstrated that diets high in grains, fruits and vegetables help reduce cholesterol, but it was generally assumed that this was because these diets naturally contain less saturated fat and cholesterol than diets with more meat. In this study, all participants ingested the same amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol, no matter which diet they followed.

"This study confirms the 'power of plant chemicals,'" says Jo Ann Hattner, a nutrition consultant who teaches at Stanford. It "demonstrated that plant-based foods do have the power to lower LDLs." For one month, participants could eat and drink only specially prepared meals, snacks and beverages. Both diets met the American Heart Association's dietary guidelines.

Although the plant-based diet in the study was meatless, the longtime vegetarian who set it up diplomatically points out that the AHA includes non-vegetarian options in their "heart-healthy" definition. That's fine for now, but let's put 'em up against these "power plants" and see if those guidelines could use some simplifying.