A diet rich in cholesterol-lowering foods such as soy protein, nuts, and margarine appears to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)—the “bad” cholesterol—almost 14% compared with a diet low in saturated fat. The finding appears today in JAMA.

Researchers randomly assigned 351 volunteer participants with elevated cholesterol levels enrolled at 4 Canadian academic centers to receive dietary advice for consuming either a diet low in saturated fat or a diet rich in cholesterol-lowering foods. At 24 weeks, the LDL-C levels of those who were on a diet low in saturated fat decreased from an average of 167 mg/dL to 161 mg/dL, while the LDL-C levels of those consuming cholesterol-lowering foods dropped from an average of 171 mg/dL to 143 mg/dL.

Lead author David J. A. Jenkins, MD, PhD, DSc, St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, discusses his team’s findings:

“When you look at volunteer patients, you get people who are already devoted to wanting to achieve a healthy lifestyle, and so a 13% to 14% reduction in LDL-C is especially good. We would expect to see even better results in the average population.

“The diet is not that difficult to take. Basically, you have some meat-free days, consuming soy protein and maybe soy milk. These are changes that can significantly reduce LDL-C. The diet uses foods that can be found easily enough in the supermarket, and if industry sees this opportunity and seizes it, we should have even more products available.

“If we physicians asked our patients, ‘Would you like to make a few changes in your diet and do your heart a favor and possibly do it without drug?’ I think a lot of people would say, ‘I’d like to give it a bit of a try.’ On the other hand, there will be people who are devoted to the couch, the 6-pack, and chicken wings. They won’t want to try the diet; they will simply ask for the statin.

“This is a 3-year study, so these diet results are just the beginning. Next, we will use ultrasound to check the arteries to see if the diet has a positive effect.”

Source: Mike Mitka, Jama