Can you reverse plaque buildup in the arteries?

Atherosclerosis has long been considered to be a progressive, irreversible condition; once it starts, there is no way to reverse — or so we thought. Evidence from animal and human studies using drugs has made it clear that atherosclerosis can actually be reversed to some degree.^[1] There’s also some evidence from studies that image blood vessels have shown that atherosclerosis can be reversed by diet and lifestyle interventions to some extent as well, although the evidence is more confounded since most of the evidence looks at combined, complex lifestyle interventions.^[2] For example, a holistic lifestyle and plant-based diet intervention showed reversal of blocked arteries.^[3] Also, an olive oil-rich Mediterranean diet was able to reduce the thickness of artery plaque among people with coronary artery disease.^[4]

Weight loss is well-established to prevent atherosclerosis,^[5] but weight loss has lackluster effects on reversing established atherosclerosis in people with type 2 diabetes.^[6] Overall, it looks like adopting a healthy dietary pattern may either slow or possibly reverse the narrowing of arteries due to atherosclerosis, particularly in early stages of plaque formation^[7], and these effects are enhanced alongside lifestyle changes like exercising, stress management, and quitting smoking.