Lowering cholesteral via diet alone

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BETTER HEALTH WITHOUT A PILL!

A diet rich in fiber and vegetables lowered cholesterol just as much as

taking a statin drug, Canadian researchers reported last week.

of the University of Toronto and colleagues created what they

called a diet " portfolio " high in soy protein, almonds and cereal fiber as

well as plant sterols -- tree-based compounds used in margarines, salad

dressing and other products.

They tested the diet on 34 overweight men and women, comparing it with a

low-fat diet and with a normal diet plus lovastatin, a statin drug. All

volunteers followed each regimen for a month, with a break in between each

treatment cycle.

Writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the authors said the

low-fat diet lowered LDL, or " bad " cholesterol, by 8.5 percent. Statins

lowered LDL by 33 percent. The " portfolio " diet lowered it by about 30

percent. Growers and food makers helped fund the study.