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If your cholesterol is on the high side, you may be able to help bring it down with a diet that includes nuts, whole soy foods and high fiber foods. The latter includes vegetables, and breads and cereals containing whole grains like oats and barley. A study published in the August 24/31 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that this "portfolio" diet yielded better cholesterol-lowering effects than the low fat diet that has been traditionally recommended to bring down high levels of LDL ("bad" cholesterol). Study participants on the portfolio diet lowered their LDL by more than 13 percent, compared to only a three percent reduction among participants who followed a low-fat diet. Essentially, on the "portfolio" diet, participants replaced sources of saturated fat such as red meat and dairy products with foods that provide healthy fats, namely nuts and soy products. The diet also calls for substituting plant sterol enriched margarine for butter.My take? I've long recommended including nuts and whole soy based protein (instead of animal protein) in your diet if you're trying to lower your cholesterol. I also think it's a good idea to reduce the amount of sugar and flour in your diet when you're trying to bring down your cholesterol. Recent evidence indicates that added sugar - in the form of table sugar (sucrose) or high-fructose corn syrup - is probably a greater contributor to heart disease than is saturated fat. I disagree with the inclusion of margarine in the "portfolio" diet and discourage its use in general because the highly processed fats it contains promote inflammation, cancer and damage to the immune system. The monounsaturated fat found in olive oil and nuts is the healthiest fat of all and the type I recommend that you rely on the most, whether or not you're trying to lower your cholesterol.
A small study published in the June 2011 issue of the Archives of Neurology suggests that a diet low in saturated fat that also emphasizes foods low on the glycemic index may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. The investigators compared the effects of a diet high in saturated fat and simple carbohydrates with those of a diet low in saturated fats and simple carbohydrates in 20 older adults who were healthy and 29 seniors who had specific memory problems considered precursors to Alzheimer's disease. After four weeks, they found in the healthy group that the diet high in saturated fat and simple carbs elevated substances measured in blood that indicate presymptomatic Alzheimer's, while the diet low in saturated fats decreased 