I've been packing an oatmeal breakfast to work for years but when I read Janet Brill's Cholesterol Down, I knew I had to pump up my oatmeal to fit in all the "ingredients" she recommends to lower cholesterol without statins.
Brill is a dietician with a Ph.D. who bases most of her cholesterol-lowering recommendations on research studies, similar to the Portfolio Diet, which found about a 30% reduction in total cholesterol in patients who strictly followed a diet that included soluble fiber (oats, barley, apples), plant sterols/stanols, almonds, soy, and psyllium (Metamucil). This compares favorably to the reductions found with cholesterol-lowering medications.
Brill's patients, including herself, have made significant reductions in their own cholesterol levels while on this diet. And patients with very high cholesterol levels were able to lower their cholesterol medication when following Brill's plan.
Her plan includes:
Twice a day:
1 gram of phytosterols or phytostanols
10 grams of soy protein
3 grams of psyllium in am & pm
Once a day:
Oatmeal with oat bran
2 TBS Flax seed
1/2 C beans
handful of almonds (1-1 1/2 oz.)
1 apple
The Healthy Librarian's Cranberry/Almond Oatmeal
1/3 cup whole grain (non-instant) oatmeal
1 TBS. dried cranberries
1 TBS. sliced almonds
2 TBS. Flaxseed meal
1 cup unsweetened Silk soymilk
2 TBS. unsweetened soy protein powder
1 TBS. oat bran
sweetener of your choice, if you like.
Mix the dry ingredients very well in a very large bowl (to prevent microwave spillovers). Add the milk, mix & microwave at 2- 2 1/2 minutes with a 1000 watt microwave. I have an old 600 watt, & that takes longer.
Healthy Librarian's Banana/Almond Oatmeal
1/2 sliced banana
1/3 cup whole grain (non-instant) oatmeal
1 TBS. almond butter
2 TBS. Flaxseed meal
1 cup unsweetened Silk soymilk
2 TBS. unsweetened soy protein powder
1 TBS. oat bran
sweetener of your choice, if you like.
Mix the dry ingredients very well in a very large bowl (to prevent microwave spillovers). Add the milk, mix & microwave at 2- 2 1/2 minutes with a 1000 watt microwave. I have an old 600 watt, & that takes longer.
Add 1 glass of Minute Maid Heart Wise Orange Juice (with 1 gm of plant sterols) mixed with 1 tsp of unsweetened psyillium, like Konsyl Easy Mix and you have a delicious breakfast with 6 of Brill's cholesterol-lowering foods.
This complete breakfast is about 500 calories; less than 3% sat. fat; from 12-16 grams of fiber; 0 grams of cholesterol; and within the recommended healthy diet percentages for fat, carbs & proteins.
In case you think this breakfast is too caloric, check out my next post on the benefits of eating your greatest proportion of calories at breakfast.
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