Sasha Sloan went vegan for the animals—but stayed vegan for her heart.
Heart disease ran deep in her family. Her father had bypass surgery at 58, and her older sister was already on medication. So when Sasha turned 30 and saw her blood pressure creeping up, she decided to take a closer look at her plate.
“I realized I was technically vegan,” she says, “but not necessarily healthy.”
Frozen meals, sugar-laden snacks, and plant-based junk food had quietly taken over. So she shifted focus—from simply avoiding animal products to embracing whole foods that nourished her cardiovascular system.
She started with her morning oats—adding ground flaxseed, fresh berries, and a spoonful of chia. At lunch, it was hearty quinoa salad with beans and leafy greens. Dinners became colorful stir-fries with garlic, broccoli, and olive oil.
But more than the food, Sasha paid attention to consistency. “One good meal doesn’t fix anything,” she says. “It’s the little, daily changes that make a difference.”
After six months, her blood pressure normalized. Her cholesterol dropped. She felt lighter—not just physically, but emotionally too.
“I still love animals,” she says, smiling. “But now I eat this way for me, too.”
