Eating the right foods can do a number on bad cholesterol

This article ran in most newspapers yesterday. Thought I would post it in case you missed it.


Nutrition experts have known for years that some foods, such as oatmeal, nuts and soy products, lower cholesterol.

Now, a new study shows that a diet with several of these foods can decrease LDL (bad) cholesterol significantly.

David Jenkins of St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto and colleagues recruited 345 Canadian men and women with high cholesterol. Their LDL (bad) cholesterol was an average of about 170 mg/dL at the beginning of the study.

All participants in the study were following heart-healthy diets low in saturated fat (butter, beef fat) and rich in fruits and vegetables, beans and whole grains, Jenkins says. Those in the control group stuck with their healthy diets.

Others in the intervention group were taught how to incorporate four cholesterol-lowering types of foods into their eating plan, including nuts; soy products; foods rich in viscous fiber (a type of soluble fiber); and plant-sterol-enriched margarine.

Example of those on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet:

•An average of a handful of nuts a day.

•A couple of teaspoons of sterol-enriched margarine such as Take Control.

•Two servings a day of soy-protein products, such as a glass of soy milk and a soy burger.

•Two servings a day of viscous-fiber-rich foods such as oatmeal, psyllium-enriched cereals, barley and vegetables such as okra and eggplant.

The findings, after 24 weeks, are reported in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association:

•LDL cholesterol in the control group: Dropped by an average of about 3% or about 8 mg/dL.

•LDL cholesterol in the participants eating cholesterol-lowering foods: Decreased by about 13% to 14% or about 26 mg/dL.