Diet Cuts Cholesterol as Well as Drugs

A strict vegetarian diet can reduce high cholesterol levels about as effectively as cholesterol fighting drugs called statins, Canadian researchers said on Tuesday.

The diet containing natural plant sterols found in plants, vegetables, fruits, almonds and vegetable oils, and viscous fibers found in oats, barley and psyllium, was credited with reducing "bad" cholesterol levels by 29 percent over four weeks in a group of 16 subjects.

Another group of study participants who took a daily dose of 20 milligrams of the drug lovastatin lowered their cholesterol levels by a comparable 31 percent over four weeks, and a third group on a low-fat diet cut their cholesterol by 8 percent.

The findings suggested that patients with high cholesterol try a dietary approach for six to 12 weeks before turning to cholesterol-lowering drugs, Dr. James Anderson, of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Dietary management is an essential part of the treatment for lipid disorders, although adherence to strict and intensive dietary interventions requires motivation by patients, encouragement by physicians, and, perhaps, counseling by dietitians and nutrition experts," Anderson wrote.

High cholesterol is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and statins have been shown to reduce the risk of mortality from heart-related illnesses by up to one-third.

Study author David Jenkins wrote: "Using the experience gained, further development of this approach may provide a potentially valuable dietary option for cardiovascular disease risk reduction in primary prevention."

Reference Source 89

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