I recently read an article by Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, who is a practicing cardiologist and the creator of Step One Foods. She trained at Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, and other fine medical institutions in the world.
Her opinion is that many doctors routinely prescribe a pill to treat high cholesterol and high blood pressure, without addressing why the patient is experiencing this problem in the first place. Dr. Klodas, trying to find a better and healthier solution for treatment, founded a company that formulates foods to help lower cholesterol, backed by pharmaceutical- level science.
In other words, with all the foods in a grocery store, none have been subjected to scientific scrutiny. Yet many claim they may help lower cholesterol. An example is that a cereal may make this claim, but the sugar content is equal to 3 cookies.
The American Heart Association’s latest cholesterol guideline is 120 pages long with only one paragraph devoted to diet. Its main focus is who to put on which drug and at what dose. Two decades ago, the National Institute of Health’s cholesterol guidelines mandated that changing a person’s diet should be tried for three months as the first step before prescribing drugs When Dr. Klodas approached big food companies and investors with her ideas, she was told that ingredients such as real almonds, walnuts, pecans, oat bran, and blueberries were too expensive and suggested artificial sweeteners and flavorings as the “status quo” additives.
In her ‘blind’ test study, changing diets resulted in a 20% to 30% cholesterol reduction. This data was submitted to AHA and is due to be published in the future.
Not everyone’s cholesterol will respond equally to a diet change. Some people should be on statins even if their cholesterol is perfect.
We are NOT suggesting a person should stop taking their medications. This information is simply “Food for Thought”. Nor are we advocating Dr. Klodas’ opinions.