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2007-08-04

Oats lower bad cholesterol

I believe most of you have heard that eating oats can help reduce cholesterol in your blood. I have been doing that and so far, tests have shown that my blood cholesterol level is good. Actually, my sisters have high cholesterol and they told me it runs in the family. So I am not sure if I am just fortunate or it has something to do with me regularly eating oats. Not many people like them and I have problems persuading my children (except one) to take them regularly.

I prefer less processed food, and always try to bug rolled oats rather than the quick cooking oats or instant oats. I really don't know how they process them, and what had been taken out by the processing. It is getting difficult to by rolled oats because you find more quick cooking oats and instant oats on the hypermarket shelves. However, my daughter told me that her colleague takes quick cooking oats and her cholesterol level is good. You may say it is just Web anecdotal and not real proof that oats does lower blood cholesterol. But for me, that is enough encouragement to continue my regular intake or rolled oats.

If you want something more substantial, Michael C. Davidson, M.D., assistant professor of cardiology at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center reported that a study showed that it take just 2 ounces of oat bran a day or twice that amount of oatmeal, to lower cholesterol by 10%. Dr Sarah Kelly of the University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, UK did some analyisis and published online April 18, 2007 in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews that there is some evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCT) that whole-grain oats can lower LDL- and total-cholesterol levels in those with preexisting risk factors for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). They reported that the effect effect can even be seen at just four weeks for total cholesterol to be lowered, so taking whole-grain oats may be effective even with short interventions. researchers found oatmeal foods did produce an overall cholesterol-lowering effect. Other researchers have also found that people who take a diet rich in oatmeal and whole-grain oat products get a decrease in both total cholesterol and unhealthy low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels.

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