Diet Lowers Cholesterol as Well as Drug
(Washington, Reuters Health, 2/7/05)

David Jenkins of St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto, and team, created a diet "portfolio" based on foods that are high in plant proteins, cereal fiber and plant sterols (tree-based compounds that are cholesterol-lowering). The scientists assigned this regimen to 34 overweight adults, comparing it with a low-fat diet and with a standard diet plus the statin drug, lovastatin. The subjects followed each of the three diets for a month, with breaks in between. The investigators report that LDL (“bad” cholesterol) fell by 8.5% on the low-fat diet, by 33% on the statin regimen and by nearly 30% on the "portfolio" diet and that a quarter of the participants got their lowest LDL readings while on the portfolio diet. These findings suggest that the portfolio regimen may be especially useful for patients who cannot tolerate, or wish to avoid, statin drugs.

(American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)