I am 29, male, vegetarian, work out 2x/week, and no other health conditions. So when my annual blood work returned 138 LDL, I went into high alert.
Now at 104 LDL in 60 days, happy to say that I am now living proof that a diet of 40g of fiber and less than 10g saturated fat is your best bet for effective cholesterol decline.
It took a deep dive of what I was eating to figure how what the imbalance was, but I eventually whittled it down to two things: Butter and Protein Bars
I'd much rather bake than buy casual snacks. Cookies, cakes, biscuits, cornbread, brownies - I would make these exclusively with butter. But I figured this was casual enough, a weekend thing mostly.
Protein bars. We're commonly worried about carbs, protein, and taste when it comes to these, but not the 4g of Sat Fat in each bar. I'd eat these between meals, to supplant some meals in a pinch, or when I was traveling.
With the below, I could easily meet or exceed 40g fiber/day:
- Removed: Butter -> Replaced with Olive oil or Avocado oil. No plant butters either (usually have palm oil).
- Removed: Protein bars
- Nuts -> Cashews and Almonds. Replaced the protein bars
- Whole Wheat bread -> I ate sourdough for a couple weeks before giving that up for Whole Wheat bread, usually seeded.
- Whole Grain or Protein Pasta -> Barilla Protein Pasta has 3g soluble fiber per serving!
- Beans -> Cheat code. One can has ~20g of fiber. Pair with 3 slices of whole wheat bread smeared with evoo. At least 30g of fiber in one meal. I worked my way up to doing this daily.
- Broccoli -> Especially those steamed bags, I'd eat the entire bag. 12g of fiber, about 5/6 g would be soluble
- Sweet potatoes -> Daily "dessert". Each one has about 4g of fiber, about 2g would be soluble. I'd have two. Really good with brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, a bit of soy milk, couple drops of vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Tip: Bake in batches, then refrigerate. The fiber content increases further with resistant starch.
- Psyllium Husk -> Took this daily in Month 2. From a teaspoon to as much as a tablespoon per day.
- Oatmeal -> Sporadic to occasional. 1 cup cooked (= to 1/2 cup dry).
Supplements (unclear effects):
- Berberine -> 250mg up to 500mg for several years. Can't really say it helped, maybe works better for glucose/a1c
- Polydextrose -> Soluble fiber, said to benefit gut bacteria by helping it produce Short Chain Fatty Acids. I'd put up to a tablespoon in my tea before the initial blood work, and my protein powder had some already. Can't say it helped LDL, but it *may* have helped me reach a high fiber diet without constipation, gas, bloating, diarrhea, etc. (Assuming it indeed functions as a fiber)
Before:
After:
Last thing, find recipes that excite you and put them in your rotation. Good food makes 40g much less daunting. Favorite recipe: https://pinchofyum.com/red-curry-lentils . I replace Brown Lentils with Red Lentils as they break apart more easily, which better imbues its flavor into the curry.