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Because statins have proven so effective in lowering elevated cholesterol levels, low-fat diets generally are considered to be adjunctive, rather than definitive, treatments for all but the mildest elevations. New dietary recommendations, however, include many food choices that can substantially lower cholesterol levels -- beyond the 4%-13% reductions achieved with most conventional heart-healthy diets.
In this partially industry-funded study, 25 men and 21 women with elevated cholesterol levels were randomized to 1 of 3 interventions:
a low-fat diet (<7% energy from saturated fat and <200 mg/day dietary cholesterol),
the same low-fat diet plus lovastatin (20 mg/day), or
a dietary portfolio that emphasized the addition of plant sterols (enric…