Lower Cholesterol With Veg Diet

Although many Americans pop pills or avoid saturated fat in attempts to keep their cholesterol down, new research suggests that a vegetarian diet is a superior solution. Researchers at the University of Toronto created a vegetarian “portfolio diet” for subjects that included nuts, oats, barley, and vegetables. After six months, participants in the study saw a decrease of 13 percent in their LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, as opposed to a mere three percent decrease for those on a diet low in saturated fats. Dr. Jane Klauer, nutrition expert and author of How the Rich Get Thin, comments, “Convincing people to change dietary patterns is difficult, much less convincing them to become vegetarians… But as they are rewarded with looking and feeling more vital, they are motivated to persevere.”