Keep Cholesterol in Check

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The problem with arterial plaques is that they impede blood flow. They also can break free and sometimes lodge in fatally inconvenient places, such as the arteries that would otherwise deliver blood to your brain or heart. That can result in a stroke or heart attack.

A Heart-healthy Lifestyle

Research shows that lowering blood cholesterol reduces the risk of heart attack. The solution lies in cleaning up our more slothful, Homer Simpson-type habits. Research by Dr.ean Ornish, author of the book Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease, demonstrates that comprehensive lifestyle changes can prevent heart disease and actually reverse atherosclerosis. Such changes include good eating habits, exercise and stress reduction.

Eat more plant foods. “In parts of the world where people eat diets based on starches, vegetables and fruits, atherosclerosis is extremely rare,” says Dr. John McDougall, author of the book The McDougall Program for a Healthy Heart. “In the United States, where we eat too few of these plant foods, heart attacks are our number-one killer.”

According to studies published in the Archives of Internal Medicine and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who eat a diet of fruits, vegetables, beans, fish, poultry and whole grains have a significantly lower risk of having a heart attack compared to those who eat a typical Western diet rich in sweets, fried foods, high-fat dairy products, refined grains, and red and processed meats. If you lower your consumption of animal products, you’ll automatically reduce your intake of cholesterol, saturated fats and methionine — an amino acid the body converts to homocysteine, which raises the risk of heart disease.

By putting fruits, vegetables and whole grains at the base of your food pyramid, you’ll also take in antioxidants, which prevent LDL cholesterol from oxidizing, and fiber, which binds to cholesterol through digestion. Water-soluble fiber (such as that found in oats, apples, beans and psyllium seeds) is best at lowering cholesterol.

A 2003 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that a diet high in plant sterols, soy protein and almonds lowers cholesterol as much as lovastatin (Mevacor), a prescription drug for lowering cholesterol. The study participants also included eggplant, okra, barley and psyllium seeds in their diets.

Get the good fats. It’s important to understand which fats are bad for your arteries. The general rule is that “bad” fats are solid at room temperature. Saturated fat, trans fats and dietary cholesterol raise blood cholesterol. Saturated fats and dietary cholesterol come from animal products. Trans fats are created when liquid vegetable oils are solidified in a process called hydrogenation and when polyunsaturated fats (vegetable oils) are exposed to high heat (when cooking french fries, for example). Trans fats are commonly found in margarine, crackers and processed snack foods.

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