Cookie Recipe for Lower Cholesterol

Dr. Kathleen Scala, AP DOM

It's confirmed! Eating cookies can lower your cholesterol, if you are eating the cookies created for a research study recently published in the Journal of Nutrition. These "special" cookies contained 7.68 g of psyllium, a soluble fiber, and 2.6 g of plant sterols; two ingredients known to lower cholesterol levels.

Cookie Study

A total of 33 volunteers ate either the treatment cookie or placebo cookie for four weeks, and then switched and ate the opposite for another four weeks. It was determined that the treatment cookies significantly lowered total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol in the four-week period.When the groups switched, the placebo cookies had no effect on cholesterol levels.

Psyllium and Plant Sterol

It is believed that the psyllium and plant sterols had a synergistic effect. Collectively, they lowered cholesterol levels by 10% in this study, whereas individually, it would be expected that they lower it no more than 7%. Knowing that high LDL levels are associated with poor cardiovascular health, the researchers concluded "that resulted in a ." The average Western diet contains only 200 mg of plant sterols per day, and, at the moment, it may be impossible to find "plant sterol cookies" at the grocery store. What is easy to find is a great encapsulated product. Pure Encapsulation's CholestePure contains 500 mg of high-quality plant sterols per vegetarian capsule. And since plant sterols naturally contain beta-sitosterol, shown to help promote healthy prostate function, CholestePure also contains 230 mg of beta-sitosterol per capsule.Unlike cholesterol-lowering drugs, CoQ10 levels are not affected and there are no side effects from taking plant sterols. Reference: Shrestha S. "A Combination Therapy Including Psyllium and Plant Sterols Lowers LDL Cholesterol by Modifying Lipoprotein Metabolism in Hypercholesterolemic Individuals." J. Nutr. 2006;136 2492-2497
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About the Author

Dr. Kathleen Scala, AP DOM

Dr. Kathleen Scala, AP DOM, is an NCCAOM FL Board Certified Acupuncture Physician and Doctor of Oriental Medicine. She graduated with honors from East West College of Natural Medicine in Sarasota, FL and received NCCAOM diplomas for both acupuncture and Chinese Herbology. Through her acupuncture and herbal training she also became skilled in nutrition and homeopathy. While a medical student Kathleen managed the herbal clinic at East West College. She brings extensive supplement knowledge from over twenty-four years in the natural health and wellness industry.

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