Eating a regular number of “micro-meals” throughout the day rather than one or two large meals can lead to dramatic improvements in cholesterol levels as well as aiding weight loss according to recent research.

One study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1992, involved surveying the eating habits of 2034 men and women from Rancho Bernardo, California. The participants were asked about the number of meals and/or snacks they normally ate per day. 9% of participants ate 1-2 meals per day, 72% ate 3 meals per day, and the remaining 19% ate 4 or more meals per day.

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At just a dollar a can, baked beans are a quick, inexpensive choice when you’re stuck for meal ideas, however there is also evidence that baked beans can lower cholesterol and reduce your overall risk of heart disease.

A study, published in 1990 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, involved the study of 24 men with an average age of 58 who all  suffered from high cholesterol levels. The men had their cholesterol levels and body weight measured at the beginning of the study and were then put on one of three diets for 21 days.

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Recent scientific evidence points to a significant reduction in the incidence of heart disease in those who consume large amounts of fish. In particular, it appears that it is the omega-3 fatty acids present in fish that are responsible for this reduction.

In countries such as Ireland and Japan, and Iceland, where per capita fish consumption is very high, deaths attributable to heart disease are relatively low compared to other developed countries such as the USA and United Kingdom.

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A combination of cholesterol lowering foods can achieve similar cholesterol lowering results to statins according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2005.

The research, conducted by Canadian scientists, involved the comparison of a diet rich in foods known to reduce cholesterol with a popular statin known as lovastatin.

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There are numerous lifestyle, dietary, and genetic factors believed to play a part in heart disease and it can be difficult to determine which of these factors are the most important ones. According to a report published in the journal Lancet in 2004, there are just nine risk factors that account for the overwhelming majority of heart attacks. The good news is that each of the risk factors identified is preventable.

The study, conducted by Canadian scientists, involved analyzing 262 previous studies on heart disease involving a combined 29,000 individuals from 52 countries. The researchers attempted to isolate the risk factors thought to have the greatest impact on an individuals probability of suffering a heart attack.

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Many people believe that diets high in fat will lead to a greater risk of heart disease in later life however this is not necessarily the case. Countries such as Spain, Greece, Italy, and France all have remarkably low rates of heart disease while consume a Mediterranean style diet that is relatively high in fat.

Recent scientific studies point instead to two specific types of fat, trans fats and saturated fats, which are thought to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

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Diets with a high glycemic load increase the risk of a myocardial infarction (heart attack) by as much as 98% according to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in June 2000.

The study, conducted by researchers from the Department of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, involved 75,521 women aged between 38 and 63 who were followed over a 10 year period. The researchers looked at the impact of glycemic load and carbohydrate intake on the risk of myocardial infarction.

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Cholesterol is a lipid that can be both manufactured by the body and ingested in food. Cholesterol plays an important role in the body however excessive cholesterol levels can lead to health problems later in life.

It should be noted that dietary cholesterol is not the same as cholesterol found in the blood (serum cholesterol) and that dietary cholesterol often has little impact on the levels of cholesterol in the blood compared to other factors such as saturated fat intake and exercise.

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