Reducing Your ‘Bad’ Cholesterol by Dieting

Some foods have been recognized by the FDA as being ‘heart-healthy’ for their ability to lower serum cholesterol levels.  These include soy proteins, oats, barley, psyllium, vegetables, viscous fibers, nuts, and plant sterols.  Canadian researchers have studied the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering effect of a diet containing such foods compared with that produced by a low saturated-fat diet. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

    

A total of 351 participants with an average LDL-C level of 171 mg/dL were randomly allocated to one of 3 treatment groups for a 6-month period.  The first group consumed a low saturated-fat diet and received dietary advice for 6 months, including two counseling sessions. The second group ate a so-called ‘portfolio diet’, and received the same dietary advice.  The third group ate the portfolio diet and received dietary advice, but had 7 counseling sessions during the 6 months instead of two.  (The reason for different intensities of dietary counseling was to see if multiple office visits were required to achieve adequate results with a portfolio diet.)  The main outcome measure was change in the serum LDL-C levels.

 

Intensive therapy with the portfolio diet (i.e. including 7 counseling sessions) resulted in an average reduction of LDL-C levels of 26 mg/dL from baseline.  Those taking the portfolio diet with just two counseling sessions had a 24 mg/dL reduction in their LDL-C levels.  The difference between these two results was not significant. The controls (low saturated-fat dieters) had LDL-C levels reduced, on average, 8 mg/dL – a non-significant change from baseline.

The magnitude of change achieved by the two portfolio-diet groups was similar to that obtained in earlier statin trials.  The best results were achieved in subjects who followed a more plant-based diet within the portfolio groups.  Clearly, adherence to a portfolio diet could be a valid alternative to statin therapy, at least in the first instance in mild hypercholesterolemia. The use of such a diet together with statin therapy will be studied by the Canadian researchers.  But you don’t have to wait for the results – both forms of treatment are fairly harmless, and are highly likely to be beneficial.