Schools named after Albert Einstein clearly have high hopes for their students' potential. So, for Einstein's birthday on March 14, PETA is urging some of his namesake schools to serve only vegetarian food, funded by PETA, in the school's cafeteria. Eating vegetarian is just as smart as devising the theory of relativity, which is probably why great minds such as Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Pythagoras, and Gandhi refused to eat animals.

In a colorful, kid-friendly leaflet that PETA would give to students, Einstein is quoted as saying, "So I am living without fats, without meat, without fish, but am feeling quite well this way. It almost seems to me that man was not born to be a carnivore."

And he was right—the saturated fats and cholesterol in meat contribute to heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease. Mercury in fish can also cause learning problems and memory loss. But plant-based foods such as blueberries, avocados, whole grains, and nuts contain powerful nutrients to help students' growing minds reach their full potential.

We don't have to be able to come up with E=mc² in order to look like geniuses. We just have to raid the produce aisle.

Following a government-appointed panel's recommendation that kids as young as 9 should start being tested for high cholesterol, some doctors are raising objections and expressing concerns that members of the panel may have been swayed by their ties to drug companies.

The good news is that kids—and grown-ups—don't need to take expensive and potentially dangerous drugs to lower their cholesterol. A University of Toronto study showed that people who ate a vegetarian diet high in cholesterol-lowering foods, such as tofu, oats, barley, peas, beans, eggplant, flaxseeds, okra, and almonds, were able to reduce their "bad" cholesterol levels by up to 35 percent.

Each additional 100 milligrams of cholesterol that you consume by eating meat, eggs, or dairy products—the only dietary sources of cholesterol—add roughly five points to your cholesterol level, which increases your risk of a heart attack. By contrast, every time you reduce your cholesterol level by 1 percent, you reduce your risk of a heart attack by 2 percent.

© iStockphoto.com/Pavel Sazonov

What You Can Do

If you want to lower your cholesterol without scary side effects, try switching to healthy and humane vegan meals. Find out how easy it is by ordering your free vegetarian/vegan starter kit today.

In the wake of New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg's anti-obesity proposal to ban the sale of large sugary drinks in the Big Apple, hip-hop mogul, philanthropist, and New Yorker Russell Simmons has written to the city's health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley, on PETA's behalf, asking that the ban be extended to include fattening—and cholesterol-laden—cow's milk.

adria.richards|cc by 2.0

Dump Dairy for Life

As a vegan, Russell knows about the health benefits of plant-centered nutrition. He explained to Dr. Farley how kids who drink large amounts of milk are more likely to become overweight. Plus, unlike soda, punch, or lemonade, dairy products are loaded with dangerous artery-clogging cholesterol, raising the health risks even higher.

Be your own health commissioner—for your waistline and your heart, ban dairy products in favor of delicious milk, cheese, and ice cream made from soy, almonds, rice, coconuts, and other healthy and humane plant sources. PETA's Vegan Shopping Guide can help you get started!

Kai Hendry/CC by 2.0

If you had the same reaction that I did (i.e., violent retching) when you heard about KFC's hideously unhealthy Double Down (you know, the sandwich that replaced bread with fried chicken and forced you to think about all those globules of deadly gunk gumming up people's blood vessels), get this: A single egg yolk contains vastly more cholesterol than an entire Double Down. As Dave Barry says, I am not making this up.

With heart disease being the number one killer of Americans, the cholesterol-bomb egg industry has resorted to ever-more-desperate "move along, nothing to see here" tactics to try to pass the blame, but a new report in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology calls them out on their bull … uh, chicken poop. The take-away? Eating just one whole egg per day can double your risk of coronary disease.

Looking to break the egg habit? It's as easy as (eggless custard) pie—check out these tips and recipes!

Written by Jeff Mackey

Unless you're insane, you know that the typical fast-food meal—cheeseburger, fries, and a milkshake—is bad for you. Not only does eating fatty meat and dairy products widen our waistlines, it also narrows our arteries. Now, one British researcher has come up with the brilliant (sarcasm alert) suggestion that fast-food joints should offset the effect of all this junk food on our cardiovascular health by serving each meal with a side order of cholesterol-lowering drugs—as in, "Do you want side effects with that?"

Of course, since 50 percent of the world's antibiotics end up inside animals raised for their flesh, Big Pharma would probably be happy if you ordered the meat and meds. But if you find yourself at the drive-through, just say, "I'll have the veggie burger—hold the Lipitor!"

Written by Jeff Mackey

dietsinreview / CC

Seriously, all the cool kids are going vegetarian these days—and with great results. Just as our friend Mike White did, trainer Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser went vegetarian for his health—and his cholesterol count dropped 100 points.

You heard that right: 100 points!

Over at Ecorazzi, they're sayin' Bob went vegetarian after reading Skinny Bitch. I really should start lending my copy to more people.

Written by Amanda Schinke