Bake in a 400-degree oven for about an hour. Skip fried versions of either, because frying almost always adds saturated fat (and, when such dishes are commercially prepared, may add unhealthy trans fats). Both are among the more potent cholesterol-lowering vegetables. So if you add them, you'll need to subtract other items to avoid weight gain, which also raises blood cholesterol. ![]() Just remember that both nuts and margarine are high in calories. Participants ate about two ounces daily, or roughly two handfuls. "Any that are low in saturated fat would be just fine," Lichtenstein notes. Additional options fortified with plant stanols or sterols include some brands of orange juice and chocolate.īranch out with different nuts, too. Other healthy spreads, including Benecol and Smart Balance, also are proven to help cut cholesterol - if they are eaten daily. But there's no need to stick with these foods, which were used because of the study's sponsorship. Nuts and healthy margarine proved easiest to add.About 79 percent of participants ate almonds while two-thirds used Take Control spread.Here's how you can apply some of the lessons from the study: What the latest findings suggest, he notes, is that for some people, "diet can match that doubling of statins." And for others, altering their diets may mean a reduction in dose, "or help them avoid adding a second cholesterol-lowering drug." "There's no question that you can have very good results with diet," notes Robert Eckel, president of the American Heart Association (AHA) and a faculty member at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. Nearly a third of participants who stuck closest to the plan's goals lowered their LDL levels by 20 percent or more, an improvement that rivals use of low-dose statins. LDL is directly linked to heart disease risk. The study found a direct link between how closely participants followed the portfolio plan and how much their blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) improved. Those who continued to eat these foods were urged to limit them to three or fewer meals a week. They were also advised to skip or limit fat-free and low-fat dairy products and were encouraged to forgo eggs as well as poultry, fish and lean meat. Participants were instructed to eat a mostly vegetarian diet rich in soy foods, almonds, fruit, vegetables, whole grains and beans, as well as some healthy oils and margarine made with plant sterols (substances proven to lower cholesterol). So can the Portfolio approach help even people who don't strictly follow this eating plan? To find out, Jenkins and his colleagues at the University of Toronto enrolled 66 adults with elevated blood cholesterol in a one-year study of the diet. That's why the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute also recommend cutting saturated fat, trans fatty acids and cholesterol while boosting fiber as well as using drugs to help control cholesterol. But there's a diminishing return: doubling the lowest dose only reduces cholesterol by about an additional 6 percent. When a low dose of statins isn't enough, doctors prescribe more. Without the drugs, cholesterol levels usually rise again to unhealthy levels. ![]() Research suggests that about 25 percent of users stop taking their medicine within the first year of treatment because of complications. That's important because millions of people take these prescription drugs long-term to control their blood cholesterol levels. In carefully controlled scientific settings, however, the Portfolio plan's cholesterol-lowering benefits rivaled those of statin drugs. "It's a real challenge for people to stay on this kind of diet," notes Alice Lichtenstein, professor of nutrition at Tufts University and chair of the American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee. Strictly followed, it's a near-vegan regimen, meaning no meat, eggs, poultry, fish or dairy. Funding for research came from the Canadian government Unilever, the maker of Take Control, a margarine-like spread that helps to lower blood cholesterol Loblaw, Canada's largest food distributor and the Almond Board of California.īut the Portfolio approach won't be for everyone. The concept was developed by David Jenkins, professor of nutrition and metabolism at the University of Toronto and a strong proponent of using food to help reduce blood cholesterol, high levels of which increase the risk of heart disease. ![]() The goal of the eating plan's creators was simple: to see if a "portfolio" of foods, each with some minor cholesterol-lowering benefits, can have a larger effect when eaten together as part of a regular diet.
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