If you’ve been diagnosed with high cholesterol or have a family history of heart disease, new research suggests you can control your cholesterol with your diet. Here are the cholesterol-lowering foods experts are recommending you put on your plate.
If you’ve been diagnosed with high cholesterol or have a family history of heart disease, new research suggests you can control your cholesterol with your diet. Here are the cholesterol-lowering foods experts are recommending you put on your plate.
Research shows diet can lower LDL cholesterol
According to a study in the August 24/31 issue of JAMA, participants who followed a diet that combines cholesterol-lowering foods such as soy protein, nuts, and plant sterols experienced a greater reduction in their LDL (bad) cholesterol as compared to a low-saturated fat diet. Participants in the study received dietary advice for six months on either the low-saturated fat therapeutic diet (control), which emphasized high fiber and whole grains, or a routine or intensive dietary portfolio, which included a combination of soy protein, nuts, and plant sterols.
Researchers found that LDL cholesterol levels in the control diet dropped 3% and in the two portfolio diets, LDL cholesterol dropped around 13%.
A combination of foods and dietary advice
The participants in the two portfolio diets also received dietary counseling, which when partnered with a combination of cholesterol-lowering foods proved beneficial.
“In conclusion, this study indicated the potential value of using recognized cholesterol-lowering foods in combination. We believe this approach has clinical application. A meaningful 13 percent LDL-C reduction can be obtained after only 2 clinic visits of approximately 60-and 40-minute sessions. The limited 3 percent LDL-C reduction observed in the conventional diet is likely to reflect the adequacy of the baseline diet and therefore suggests that larger absolute reductions in LDL-C may be observed when the dietary portfolio is prescribed to patients with diets more reflective of the general population,” the authors write.
Good news for vegans
Since the vegan diet is based on plant-based foods, such as soy and nuts, vegans are on the right track when it comes to heart health.
More vegan news you can use!
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