Lower Cholesterol With Soy And Nuts

Eating more nuts and soy could help reduce your cholesterol, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association today. The duo are rich in plant sterols–a type of phytochemical found in plants–that’s known to block cholesterol absorption (just one of the reasons that so many doctors are pushing a vegan diet as the cure to Americans’ obesity and heart disease problems), but there’s more: Researchers are saying that nuts and soy seem to reduce cholesterol synthesis in the liver, too.

The study followed subjects with high cholesterol who were put on a diet high in fiber, soy and nuts, along with a set of control subjects who followed a more standard low-cholesterol. Those who consumed the high-soy and -nut diet experienced a 13.8% drop in LDL cholesterol over a six month period, as compared to a 3% drop in other subjects.

To David Jenkins, the lead author of the study, that’s good news: He says that while doctors currently send patients running to a pharmacy when they’re diagnosed with high cholesterol, patients might only need to make adjustments in their diets to see big changes. In the study’s conclusion, the authors note:

We believe this approach has clinical application. A meaningful 13 percent LDL-C reduction can be obtained after only 2 clinic visits of approximately 60-and 40-minute sessions [and] larger absolute reductions in LDL-C may be observed when the dietary portfolio is prescribed to patients with diets more reflective of the general population.

The patients who saw the most dramatic improvements were eating one handful of nuts, 2 servings of soy (like tofu or soymilk) and two servings of insoluble fiber (found in foods like oatmeal or supplements like psyllium husk).