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Despite the well-documented
benefits of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, a new study from
Finland shows that diet can still make a difference in patients taking
these drugs when it comes to keeping cholesterol under control.
In a study of men with high
cholesterol, a combination of a Mediterranean-style diet and the drug
Zocor was more effective at lowering cholesterol than either approach
alone. The diet also counteracted some of the detrimental effects of the
drug.
Based on the findings, the
study's authors say that the importance of a healthy diet needs to be
emphasized to patients taking statins.
A Mediterranean-style diet
is rich in fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts. It includes few saturated
fats, but plenty of healthier fatty acids like the ones found in olive
oil. This diet has also been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Both approaches lowered total
cholesterol and LDL, with simvastatin lowering levels about three times
as much.
But the cholesterol-lowering
drug reduced levels of three important antioxidants -- vitamin E, beta-carotene
and coenzyme Q10 -- by 16% to 22%. The health consequences of the decline
in these antioxidants is not known and needs to be evaluated in long-term
studies.
In contrast to statin therapy,
the Mediterranean diet only caused a slight decrease in vitamin E levels.
Another benefit of a Mediterranean
diet, according to Jula, is that it may counteract statins' potentially
harmful effects on the sugar-regulating hormone insulin. Unlike Zocor,
which boosted levels of insulin in the blood, the healthier diet lowered
insulin levels.
JAMA February 6, 2002;287:598-605
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