Diet as good as drug for lowering cholesterol

[Guest guest]

This report was published by the University of Toronto - proving yet

again how important diet is!

 

Laura x

 

Diet as good as drug for lowering cholesterol, says study

 

Easy to prepare and eat foods combine nuts, soy proteins, high-fibre

foods and special margarine

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by Lanna Crucefix

 

July 22, 2003 -- Researchers at the University of Toronto and St.

Michael's Hospital have shown that a vegetarian diet composed of

specific plant foods can lower cholesterol as effectively as a drug

treatment.

 

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The study, published in the July 23 issue of the Journal of the

American Medical Association, compared a diet of known cholesterol-

lowering, vegetarian foods to a standard cholesterol-reducing drug

called lovastatin. The special diet lowered levels of LDL

cholesterol - the " bad " cholesterol known to cause clogging in

coronary arteries - in subjects by almost 29 per cent, compared to a

30.9 per cent decrease in the lovastatin subjects. The special diet

combined nuts (almonds), soy proteins, viscous fibre (high-fibre)

foods such as oats and barley and a special margarine with plant

sterols (found in leafy green vegetables and vegetable oils).

 

Read the JAMA article HERE.

Lead author David Jenkins, a professor in U of T's Department of

Nutritional Sciences and director of the Clinical Nutrition and Risk

Factor Modification Centre at St. Michael's Hospital, believes the

reason these foods work so well to reduce cholesterol is that humans

may be evolutionarily adapted to what has been called the " ape diet, "

a diet very high in fibre, nuts, vegetable proteins and plant sterols.

 

He adds the study could have far-reaching implications for public

health. " As we age, we tend to get raised cholesterol, which in turn

increases our risk of heart disease. This study shows that people now

have a dietary alternative to drugs to control their cholesterol, at

least initially. " Jenkins notes the diet can also be used to maintain

normal cholesterol levels.

 

In this month-long study, a follow-up to one released December 2002,

46 men and women with raised cholesterol were randomly assigned to

one of three vegetarian diet groups. The control group ate meals low

in saturated fats (such as those found in animal products like beef

and butter). The second group had the same low fat diet, plus a daily

20 mg treatment of lovastatin. The last group had a diet high in four

foods known to have cholesterol-lowering properties. This special

diet, designed to be easy to prepare and eat, included foods such as

oat bran bread and cereal, soy drinks, fruit and soy deli slices. A

typical dinner for people on the special diet was tofu bake with

eggplant, onions and sweet peppers, pearled barley and vegetables.

 

" The Food and Drug Administration has approved these cholesterol-

lowering foods as having legitimate health claims for heart disease

risk reduction, " says Jenkins, who also holds the Canada Research

Chair in Vascular and Metabolic Biology. " They're also being

recommended by the American Heart Association and the National

Cholesterol Education Program as foods that should be incorporated

into the diet. And we have now proven that these foods have an almost

identical effect on lowering cholesterol as the original cholesterol-

reducing drugs. " Jenkins points out that large numbers of people with

high cholesterol are being put on medication before they are able to

give diet an adequate trial. He adds that while many people may still

require drugs to lower their cholesterol, his team has demonstrated

an effective alternative for those who are prepared to control their

food choices.

 

The study received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering

Research Council of Canada, the Canada Research Chair program, the

Almond Board of California, Loblaws Brands Ltd., Yves Fine Foods (now

Hain-Celestial Group) and Unilever Canada. Other Department of

Nutritional Sciences researchers participating in the study included

research associate Cyril Kendall, graduate students Augustine Marchie

and Azadeh Emam, technician George Koumbridis, and research

dieticians (also of St. Michael's Hospital) Russell de Souza, Julia

Wong, Dorothea Faulkner and Tina Parker. The research team also

included Professors Robert Josse, Lawrence Leiter and Philip Connelly

of the Faculty of Medicine and St. Michael's Hospital; statistical

consultant Edward Vidgen; Elke Trautwein of Unilever R & D,

Vlaardingen, The Netherlands; and Karen Lapsley of the Almond Board

of California.

 

 

Lanna Crucefix is an assistant news services officer with the

department of public affairs.