Cholesterol-lowering food tops low-fat

TORONTO, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- People counseled to eat cholesterol-lowering food such as soy and nuts had lower cholesterol than those on a low-fat diet, researchers in Canada say.

Dr. David J.A. Jenkins of St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto compared the two diets for a six-month period. The control diet emphasized high fiber and whole grains but lacked components of the cholesterol-lowering portfolio diet, which emphasized dietary incorporation of plant sterols, soy protein, viscous fibers and nuts.

The study involved 351 participants with hyperlipidemia from four participating academic centers in Canada -- Quebec City, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver -- randomized from June 2007 and February 2009.

Participants received dietary advice for six months on either the low-saturated fat diet or the cholesterol-lowering portfolio diet.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, says those who ate the cholesterol-lowering diet had a 13 percent drop in their LDL, "bad," cholesterol levels, while those who ate a diet low in saturated fats experienced a 3 percent decrease in LDL.