Dietary treatment for high blood cholesterol levels.

Statins are a type of drugs that are widely used to treat high blood cholesterol levels and reduce heart disease. A new study suggests that dietary changes can have a cholesterol-lowering effect that is similar to statins. David Jenkins and other researchers at the University of Toronto studied 34 men and women who had high blood lipid levels. The subjects were placed on three different diets. For one month, they were on a very low saturated fat diet. Another month, they were on the same diet, plus statin medication. For another month, they ate a vegan diet high in soy protein, almonds, and viscous fibers from oats, barley, psyllium, eggplant, and okra. The subjects had an average decrease in LDL (bad) cholesterol of 8.5 percent on the low saturated fat diet, 33 percent on the statin regimen, and 30 percent on the vegan diet. One-fourth of the participants had their lowest LDL-cholesterol levels while they were on the vegan diet. These results suggest that a number of cholesterol-lowering foods, in conjunction with a very low saturated fat vegan diet, can have a significant effect on blood lipid levels. Drug therapy is not without risk; perhaps more people should be advised of dietary changes that can lower blood lipid levels.

Jenkins DJA, Kendall CWC, Marchie A, et al. 2005. Direct comparison of a dietary portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods with a statin in hypercholesterolemic participants. Am J Clin Nutr 81: 380-87.