Health Buzz: Plant-based Foods That Cut Cholesterol

A Plant-based Diet to Cut Bad Cholesterol

Going green could help bring down the amount of LDL cholesterol in your blood, the bad kind that can lead to heart attack and stroke. While it's always been smart to ditch the butter and forget the fatty meats, new research suggests opting for plant-based foods is an effective way to lower the level of LDL cholesterol.

Canadian researchers recruited people with very high LDL and put them on a diet that included plant-based sterols supplied by a special margarine, soy protein from tofu, soy milk, and soy-based meat substitutes, viscous fiber from oats, barley, and psyllium, and nuts. After six months, the LDL level of the study participants dropped by an average of 13 percent, reducing their risk of heart attack and stroke over the next 10 years by about 11 percent on average. The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Each one of these ingredients will help you, but when they all work together, you'll get the strongest results," says study author Peter Jones, Canada's research chair in functional foods and nutrition. "Plant-based sterols alone can lower your cholesterol by 5 percent. When you add in fiber and nuts and soy, the story just keeps getting better." To read more, click here.

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