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DIET AS EFFECTIVE AS DRUGS
A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that a combination of cholesterol-lowering foods is as effective as statin drugs in lowering blood cholesterol and C-reactive protein.
C-reactive protein (CRP) level is a more significant predictor of a heart attack than blood cholesterol. Those who were fed a vegetarian diet loaded with plant sterol margarine, soybeans, almonds, psyllium fiber, barley, oats, eggplant, and okra had the bad LDL cholesterol levels drop by 29 percent compared to 31 percent in the statin drug group. The diet appears to be completely safe, while statin drugs can cause muscle pain. Competitive athletes and regular vigorous exercisers should train by taking a hard workout that makes their sore on the next day, take easy workouts until their muscles feel fresh again and then take a hard workout again. Statin drugs can make it hard to maintain a program of vigorous exercise because they can delay recovery.
The Journal of the American Medical Association, July 23, 2003
Checked 8/31/05