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Originally Posted by Adam Sargant  It's not *yet* a route I want to go down, but will consider... my current understanding from my familial pattern is that the levels of choldesterol are not dietary in origin but a consequence of hereditary biology. But the doctor's have been known to be wrong ;-) |
Hi Adam,
Current speculation is that cholesterol is more related to the amount of saturated fat eaten rather than a function of cholesterol eaten.
See the
AHA's website. Although, meat does contain saturated fat.
Some plants do too.
Anyhow, as far as diet goes, processed "junk" foods are probably more to blame than meat itself for causing hypercholesterolemia.
Know Your Fats, from the AHA.
Eating LOTS of soluble fiber, especially beta glucan, has been proven to reduce total cholesterol. Oatmeal is an excellent source. Barley, too, but it's not as easy to get and prep.
25mg of soy protein everyday has also been proven to reduce cholesterol.
Garlic extract is suspected of helping prevent HA in people with high LDL. (Koscielny J, Klussendorf D, Latza R, et al. The antiatherosclerotic effect of Allium sativum. Atherosclerosis. 1999;144:237–249.)
Omega 3 fatty acids (as in oily fish), may help, as per Hu's Harvard study of public health "Nurses' Health Study.
(Sorry, no links... I'm copying out of my path. book [2004] here.)
Familial hypercholesterolemia is actually a pretty rare disorder. While I last learned that "genetic" high cholesterol accounted for less than 5% of all cases of hypercholesterolemia (in pathology), wikipedia is citing a
much lower number. I can try to hit Medline for you, but it may be a few days before I can get to it.
Although... I must admit, after going vegan, my total cholesterol dropped from 150-something to 126 mg/dl. (70-some hdl, 50-some ldl split; hdl is "good" cholesterol). My triglycerides also came back "low," compared to average US number, but I can't remember what is was exactly; it was under 100 mg/dl. Technically, I've developed hyphcholesterolemia since going vegan. (Which, incidentally, is linked to depression, wtf?)