Word: ldl
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...better for you than hard margarine. That appears to be the conclusion of the latest study centered on the great margarine-vs.-butter controversy. Research published in Thursday?s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine indicate that the softer the margarine spread, the lower amount of LDL, or so-called "bad" cholesterol. On the other hand, the production process that results in harder margarines, called hydrogenation, introduces more trans fatty acids, which scientists believe results in a signficant reduction in HDL, so-called "good" cholesterol...
Here's what the researchers found: Both bad (LDL) and good (HDL) cholesterol levels are lowered by margarine. But softer spreads most reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and least reduce good cholesterol; conversely, stick margarine least reduces bad cholesterol and most reduces good cholesterol. Butter ends up somewhere in the middle. If the results sound confusing, it's because they are. "Margarine apparently has some benefits," says TIME senior science writer Jeffrey Kluger, "but not as much as we once believed...
...scientists were trying to determine if drinking a soy-protein milk shake every day could lower cholesterol levels, she volunteered to take part in the experiment. To Pilcher's delight, the total amount of cholesterol in her blood fell from 245 mg/dl to 205 mg/dl and the level of LDL, or "bad cholesterol," fell from 170 mg/dl to 130 mg/dl. Now that the study is over, she still sprinkles soy powder on her cereal every morning, with the same salutary results...
...best evidence to date has to do with soy's ability to lower cholesterol. Over the past 25 years, some three dozen studies have shown that eating as little as 47 g, or about 1.5 oz., of soy foods can lower total cholesterol levels an average of 9% and LDL 13%. (Just in case you're keeping score, that's about the same cholesterol-lowering effect as that promised by Benecol, the new high-priced margarine approved by the FDA two weeks ago.) But every little bit counts, since each 1% drop in total cholesterol translates into a 2% drop...
...pine trees. Take Control, which got the green light in April, uses an extract made from soybean oil. Randomized, controlled trials show that folks with mildly elevated cholesterol levels (between 200 mg/dl and 240 mg/dl) who ate roughly two tablespoons of Benecol a day decreased their level of LDL, the "bad cholesterol," about 14%. The manufacturers of Take Control, on the other hand, designed their product so that it would lower LDL levels 10%. Neither spread affects the level of HDL, or "good cholesterol." Which product would work better for you, if it works at all, depends...