"For patients with high levels of socalled bad cholesterol doctors routinely reach for two remedies cholesterollowering statin drugs and a diet that cuts out foods high in saturated fat such as ice cream red meat and butter. But new research has found that when it comes to lowering arteryclogging cholesterol what you eat may be more important than what you dont eat. Released online Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. the study found that incorporating several cholesterollowering foods  such as soy protein and nuts  into a diet can reduce bad cholesterol far more effectively than a diet low in saturated fat. In fact the authors assert levels of LDL the bad cholesterol can drop to half that seen by many patients who take statins sold under such names as Lipitor Crestor or Zocor. That could drive down a persons risk of fatal heart attack or stroke by  the authors suggested. But this doesnt mean that people on statins should go dump their drugs for tofu said Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Dr. Steve Nissen who was not involved in the study. Dietary changes do not have nearly the research track record that statins have racked up for heart attack prevention he said. Patients dont want to take the medications and Im afraid that if you tell them theres a diet that works just as well then theyll do that instead he said. Nearly  in  Americans has a high overall cholesterol level which makes a person nearly twice as likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke as someone whose total cholesterol falls into a healthy range. Lowdensity lipoprotein LDL cholesterol is one component of this overall number. Last year statin and other lipidregulating drugs were the nations most commonly prescribed medications with more than  million prescriptions dispensed according to the healthcare information firm IMS Health. The multicenter Canadian study tested a diet that contained a portfolio of cholesterolfighting foods such as soy protein nuts sticky fiber such as that found in oats and barley and plant sterols. Subjects were instructed to eat a handful of nuts such as almonds or walnuts every day and to substitute milk and meats with soy and tofu products as much as possible. One of the most potent cholesterolbusters in that mix plant sterols sometimes called stanols occurs in small amounts in many grains nuts vegetables legumes and fruits and also can be added to foods or taken as a dietary supplement. Plant sterols mimic LDL cholesterol particles in the gut preventing the absorption of those particles so that they pass through the body and are disposed of as waste. The  subjects in the study which was coordinated by a team based at St. Michaels Hospital Toronto all suffered high cholesterol levels and were considered at elevated risk of coronary heart disease. The subjects each followed one of three diets an intensive portfolio diet a routine portfolio diet or a highfiber lowsaturatedfat diet rich in produce and whole grains which is commonly recommended to those who have had had a heart attack or need to lower their cholesterol. Among the  subjects who completed the trial all three groups lost roughly an equal amount of weight  between about  pounds  ounces and  pounds  ounces  after six months. But those on one of the portfolio diets  intensive or routine  saw their LDL cholesterol levels decline between . and . after six months. Subjects on the lowsaturatedfat diet had on average a  reduction in their LDL cholesterol in the same period. Dr. Walter Willett a nutrition and health expert at Harvard Universitys School of Public Health who was not involved in the study said that the trial was nicely done and that it underscored the fact that just focusing on reducing saturated and total fat is not the most effective diet for reducing heart disease risk factors or heart disease itself.   The authors acknowledged that the components in the portfolio diet were wellknown for their cholesterolbusting properties. But their research is the first to test the relative effects of those dietary interventions in a realworld comparison and to gauge how readily people can understand and implement such a diet in everyday life. It was pretty easily done the scientists found. Subjects in the intensive group got as many as seven sessions of instruction and guidance while those in the routine group got one minute session plus a minute refresher  but both groups realized roughly equal benefits. The researchers also found that the greater a subjects adherence to the portfolio diet the more dramatic on average was the LDL cholesterol reduction. But Cleveland Clinics Nissen stressed that researchers did not directly measure rates of coronary heart disease  just LDL cholesterol  so the health effects of the portfolio diet are not yet clear."