Lifestyle measures: Dietary fiber
Experts recommend that adults consume at least 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber each day. Fiber is an indigestible component of many foods, primarily grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. Fiber comes in two forms: soluble, the type in oatmeal that gets sticky when wet, and insoluble, the spongelike version in bran and in fruit and vegetable skins that absorbs water and helps to prevent constipation. Both types of fiber are important, but soluble fiber is especially effective in lowering blood cholesterol levels.
Food containing soluble fiber--such as oats, oat bran, barley, legumes, dried plums (prunes), apples, carrots, and grapefruits--should be included in the diet each day.
Just how soluble fiber reduces cholesterol levels is unclear. Researchers theorize that it works in much the same way as a class of lipid-lowering drugs called bile acid sequestrants. Normally, bile acids are reabsorbed from the intestine and returned to the liver for reprocessing. Bile acid sequestrants bind bile acids in the intestine and remove them in the stool. As a result, the liver converts more cholesterol to bile acids and removes more LDL from the blood by developing more LDL receptors on its surface.
Just how soluble fiber reduces cholesterol levels is unclear. Researchers theorize that it works in much the same way as a class of lipid-lowering drugs called bile acid sequestrants. Normally, bile acids are reabsorbed from the intestine and returned to the liver for reprocessing. Bile acid sequestrants bind bile acids in the intestine and remove them in the stool. As a result, the liver converts more cholesterol to bile acids and removes more LDL from the blood by developing more LDL receptors on its surface.
