Go vegan and cut deadly cholesterol, say scientists

Never mind expensive drugs or new-fangled margarines, scientists say they have devised a simple diet that dramatically reduces cholesterol without any need for medication

Never mind expensive drugs or new-fangled margarines, scientists say they have devised a simple diet that dramatically reduces cholesterol without any need for medication

Research by Canadian experts has shown a special vegetarian diet is as effective at reducing levels of the most damaging form of cholesterol as the new generation of expensive, fat-lowering drugs.

The researchers found the vegan diet cut low-density lipoprotein cholesterol - the type that clogs arteries - by almost 29 per cent, compared with the standard anti-cholesterol drug Lovastatin, that dropped levels by 30.9 per cent. Other attempts to find a fat-reducing diet achieved only modest cholesterol reductions of between 4 per cent and 13 per cent.

The Canadian nutritionists based their recipe for cardiac health on foods such as almonds, soya, high-fibre cereals such as oats and barley and fresh fruit and vegetables. Now people showing early warnings of heart disease can improve their health without medic-ation, the study's authors say.

Professor David Jenkins, who led the project at the University of Toronto, said patients were being put on cholesterol-reducing drugs too early. "This study shows people now have a dietary alternative to control cholesterol, at least initially," he said. "These foods have an almost identical effect on lowering cholesterol as the original cholesterol-lowering drugs."

The study said the vegan diet may work because humans are adapted by evolution to foods apes eat with high fibre and vegetable protein levels. Every year, 50,000 people in England and Wales die of cardiac disease linked to cholesterol.

A TYPICAL DAY'S MENU

BREAKFAST

* Hot oat bran cereal

soya drink

* Strawberries

* Oat bran bread with margarine and portion of double-fruit jam

SNACK

* Almonds

* Fresh fruit

LUNCH

* Spicy black bean soup

* Sandwich of soya slices, lettuce, tomato and cucumber

SNACK

* Soya drink

* Psyllium seeds

DINNER

* Tofu bake with aubergine, onions and sweet peppers

* Pearl barley and broccoli

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