Some low-fat diets benefit more than others

03/05/05 A low-fat diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans has twice the cholesterol-lowering power of a conventional low-fat diet, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

In other words, a meal of spinach salad, egg and oatmeal-carrot cookies is healthier for your heart than stir-fried lean beef and asparagus and low-fat chocolate chip cookies -- even when both meals contain the same amount of saturated fat and cholesterol.

The finding, published in the May 3 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, comes from a meticulous comparison of two low-fat diets. One, the conventional diet, focused solely on avoiding harmful saturated fat and cholesterol. Diners ate such foods as frozen waffles and turkey bologna sandwiches. The second diet included the same proportions of fat and cholesterol, plus lots of plant-based foods in accordance with American Heart Association guidelines. Those diners ate such foods as hot grain cereals and vegetable soups.

Both diets lowered total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol over the course of the four-week study. The conventional diet produced, on average, a 4.6 percent LDL decrease. But the plant-based diet beat that hands-down: It achieved, on average, a 9.4 percent decrease in LDL. Researchers found no significant differences in changes in triglycerides or high-density lipoprotein ("good") cholesterol.

Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education and patient care at its three institutions -- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.