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Lifestyle changes are advocated for cardiovascular risk reduction but are usually considered inferior to drugs. To compare the cholesterol-lowering benefits of each, these researchers randomized 74 patients at risk for cardiovascular disease according to Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines to intensive lifestyle modification or statin treatment for a 12-week period. Baseline LDL cholesterol concentrations ranged between 130 mg/dL (3.4 mmol/L) and 210 mg/dL (5.2 mmol/L).
The conventional-treatment group received 40 mg of simvastatin, to be taken at night, and also lifestyle brochures. The alternative-treatment group received education from cardiologists, dietitians, exercise physiologists, and alternative practitioners. They were instructed …