Word: lovastatin
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...fiber and rich in foods known to lower cholesterol--such as soy, oats and almonds--reduced their cholesterol levels by 29%. That was almost as big as the 31% drop for subjects in a group that was given a simple low-fat vegetarian diet along with the drug lovastatin...
...effectively as medication. Writing in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers at the University of Toronto describe an experiment that compared three different regimens: a vegetarian diet low in saturated fats; the same diet supplemented with a statin drug (in this case, lovastatin); and a fiber-rich vegetarian diet consisting of foods chosen for their known cholesterol-lowering effects (such as oats, barley, soy protein and almonds) as well as a type of margarine enriched with plant sterols (cholesterol-lowering compounds found naturally in leafy green vegetables and vegetable oils...
...results? The low-fat diet reduced LDL cholesterol levels 8%. The same diet with lovastatin reduced cholesterol 31%. The fiber-and sterol-rich diet reduced cholesterol levels 29%--almost the same amount. The magnitude of the reduction is what is so encouraging, says lead author Dr. David Jenkins. "These are food components that research over 25 years has established as having cholesterol-lowering properties," he explains. "What we didn't know, but have now shown, is that their effect is actually additive...
...levels by as much as 30 points. A fix that quick comes at a price, however, as Baycol users learned this fall. The popular statin was pulled off the market after health officials discovered that a disturbing number of users were suffering from muscle disorders. Other statins, including atorvastatin, lovastatin and pravastatin, remain safe, according...
Meanwhile, the dietary-supplement industry got into the act after it discovered that Chinese red yeast fermented on rice contains small amounts of the same active ingredient found in lovastatin (Mevacor). The FDA tried to ban the supplement's sale in the U.S., but the action has become the subject of a lengthy court process. The controversy hasn't stopped Merck, which manufactures Mevacor and Zocor, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, which produces Pravachol, from arguing that they should be allowed to sell their pharmaceutical-grade products at similarly low doses to the general public...