'Ape diet' lowers bad cholesterol levels

[Guest guest]

OK ... here's something for NT'ers to 'chew' on... a few words caught my

attention - vegetarian... enriched margarines...tofu bake... AND food

manufacturers... when will they learn.. shrug..

Dedy

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'Ape diet' lowers bad cholesterol levels

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993966

A vegetarian " ape-diet " , based on the foods our simian cousins eat, is as

effective in lowering cholesterol as an established cholesterol-lowering drug,

reveals a new study. High cholesterol levels increase the risk of cardiovascular

disease.

The key components of the ape diet are plant sterols, found in plant oils and

enriched margarines, viscous fibre, found in oats, barley and aubergine, and soy

protein and nuts.

People with raised cholesterol following this primitive diet had their levels of

bad cholesterol slashed by about a third - the same reduction provided by the

statin drug, lovastatin.

Study leader , a vascular biologist at the University of Toronto,

says these foods are accepted to have cholesterol-lowering properties. " The

thing we did was to put them all together and see that they didn't cancel out

but actually added up, " he told New Scientist.

He believes that humans may be evolutionarily adapted to the diet, which is

similar to that eaten by gorillas and orangutans.

Tofu bake -- and colleagues assigned 46 patients to either the special

ape diet, a standard cholesterol-lowering diet or the standard diet plus

lovastatin.

A typical dinner from the ape menu would be tofu bake with ratatouille of

aubergine, onions and sweet peppers, with pearled barley and vegetable side

dishes, says the team.

After four-weeks, levels of the harmful LDL-cholesterol plummeted by 29 per cent

on the ape diet, and 31 per cent for those on lovastatin. Bad cholesterol fell

by only 8 per cent for those on the standard low-fat diet.

points out many people with raised cholesterol are being put on

medication before they give diet a chance. " Although many drugs are extremely

safe, there's always a slight chance of risk of the drug and drug interactions, "

he says.

Lovastatin has an " excellent " safety profile, but the drug can cause liver or

muscle enzyme problems in a small minority of people.

Filet mignon -- The drug is reasonably cheap now it has come off patent, says

. But the cost of the ape-diet will depend on people's individual tastes.

It might seem dear to those who like fast food. " But if you like filet mignon

and West Coast salmon then this is not going to be more expensive - it's going

to be cheaper, " he says.

The patients generally found the ape diet acceptable, with the main complaint

being the large quantity of food that had to be eaten in order not to lose

weight.

However, the British Heart Foundation says: " There is a wealth of evidence to

suggest that statins are superior to diet in lowering cholesterol levels. " The

BHF also points out " this is a small short-term study supported by numerous food

manufacturers, which may have influenced the findings " .

Nonetheless, the BHF acknowledges that diet is important: " Statins should always

complement a healthy balanced diet, rather than replace it. "

Journal reference: Journal of the American Medical Association: (vol 290, p 502)