Mediterranean and Portfolio diets
If you need to lower your cholesterol and want to try changing your diet first, your best bets are a Mediterranean-type diet or the so-called portfolio diet. In a head-to-head trial, a standard low-fat diet had little effect on cholesterol.
Mediterranean-type diets
Portfolio diet
What University of Toronto researchers call a "dietary portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods" includes a variety of foods known to lower cholesterol. These include margarine enriched with plant sterols; oats, barley, psyllium, okra, and eggplant, all rich in soluble fiber; soy protein; and whole almonds. They were added to a diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables; whole grains instead of highly refined ones; and protein mostly from plants. This nearly vegetarian diet added up to 48% of daily calories from carbohydrates, 21% from protein, and 31% from fats.
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