Diet Cuts Cholesterol as Well as Drug

[bvtaylor]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030722/hl_nm/health_cholesterol_dc_1

Researchers: Diet Cuts Cholesterol as Well as Drug

Tue Jul 22, 4:21 PM ET



CHICAGO (Reuters) - A strict vegetarian diet can reduce high cholesterol levels about as effectively as cholesterol fighting drugs called statins, Canadian researchers said on Tuesday.


The diet containing natural plant sterols found in plants, vegetables, fruits, almonds and vegetable oils, and viscous fibers found in oats, barley and psyllium, was credited with reducing "bad" cholesterol levels by 29 percent over four weeks in a group of 16 subjects.


Another group of study participants who took a daily dose of 20 milligrams of the drug lovastatin lowered their cholesterol levels by a comparable 31 percent over four weeks, and a third group on a low-fat diet cut their cholesterol by 8 percent.


The findings suggested that patients with high cholesterol try a dietary approach for six to 12 weeks before turning to cholesterol-lowering drugs, Dr. James Anderson, of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (news - web sites).


"Dietary management is an essential part of the treatment for lipid disorders, although adherence to strict and intensive dietary interventions requires motivation by patients, encouragement by physicians, and, perhaps, counseling by dietitians and nutrition experts," Anderson wrote.


High cholesterol is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and statins have been shown to reduce the risk of mortality from heart-related illnesses by up to one-third.


Study author David Jenkins wrote: "Using the experience gained, further development of this approach may provide a potentially valuable dietary option for cardiovascular disease risk reduction in primary prevention."

[bvtaylor]

I lowered my "bad" (LDL) cholesterol and raised my "good" (HDL) cholesterol on this diet. I am not alone. My mother and husband also did well with their lipid profiles.

Most importantly, our exceedingly high triglycerides went down without medication.

From what I've read the strongest markers for heart disease are having too low HDL , too high LDL (although an LDL that is too low can also cause problems), and high triglycerides (I edited myself here).

This diet uses a low-carbohydrate/quality carbohydrate approach and consumes a high amount of fat and protein, certainly including animal fats from meat, fish, as well as fats from nuts, vegetables (like avocados) dairy (eggs are encouraged).

For me, lowering the carbohydrates in my diet significantly improved my lipid profile and has made me feel much better.

In short, there are many roads to get the same results. You have to find the one that works for you (underscore - the one you can live with) and stick with it.

The good news is, maybe we don't need to be so dependent on drugs for our sense of well being.

Most people don't really know what the Atkins diet is about and judge it based on innuendo and hearsay. Which of course is very unscientific.

Without reading about the theories and practice directly from the source and the miles of studies that the Dr. has cited, I think it is awfully hard for someone who doesn't know the details to offer concrete criticism.

Perhaps not all of the studies Dr. Atkins has offers are ones that you find sound, but there are plenty of them that he cites that would certainly meet your scientific criteria.

At least read the complete theories, you may be surprised that the diet is much different than you think it is.

The controlled carbohydrate approach that Dr. Atkins has advocated has been around for more than 20 years and a lot of people have been helped by this program. It is not a fad, but perhaps more sensible than you realize. To be honest, Atkins for Life is about eating the most nutritionally dense foods available and encourages a healthy amount of carbohydrates, avoiding the ones that are refined (including sugar and white flour) and encouraging a variety of healthy veggies, grains, etc.

The Atkins weight-loss system works very well, even though initially there is water weight loss as with all diets, the fat weight loss is stable and is accompanied by a sense of increased energy and a desire to exercise.

Sometimes all it takes is 2 weeks of the Induction (very low carb) phase to make this change. Then dietary fat is reduced and carbs are increased until the critical amount of carbs is determined (and this is an individual thing). Fats and proteins balance themselves out naturally.

Certainly that probably also relates to calories, but the combination of fats to proteins to carbs is very individual. We all want a diet that makes us feel satisfied and not tired all the time, but without playing around with the different foods, we will never get there.

More interest has recently been taken in this nutritional approach and all the studies I have recently read about are quite promising, especially with regards to cardiovascular health indicators like cholesterol and triglycerides.

One of the assumptions that people make is that all of us have the same sort of metabolism. I believe that there are many different body types and activity levels in the human population, and each one has a customized nutritional need.

Just as water may boil at a lower temperature in an environment where there his higher pressure, the way that calories are burned off may make the difference between a successful dieter and one that gives up.

To lose weight successfully is more than eating a certain amount of calories. It is about balancing nutrition, it is about feeling good physically and psychologically, it is about knowing your weaknesses and strengths, it is about your energy level, and it is about exercise.

To discount any of these factors and only focus on a calorie count is a huge mistake and will lead to a failure of controlling obesity.

I also think that's precisely why there is so much discrimination against the obese by those who cannot fathom how anybody could gain an excessive amount of weight. Not everyone battles the bulge.

I understand obesity because I have battled it myself since I was a child. I'm not speaking about vague studies, I am speaking about myself (especially after 4 months and 30lbs down with a healthy blood pressure of 118 over 60, cholesterol at 105/45, and triglycerides at 48).

Not everyone with a 10% body fat ratio eats the same kinds of foods or exercises the same way.

[DebPenny]

It's interesting that they did not compare their diet to a low-carb diet. I think they would have found that it is also efficacious in the treatment of high cholesterol.

;-Deb