Beans Great for Reducing LDL Cholesterol

A new meta-analysis finds individuals consuming a serving a day of dietary “pulses” such as beans, chick peas, lentils and peas greatly reduce their low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

A team led by University of Toronto researchers analyzed 26 randomized controlled trials, each lasting at least 3 weeks and comparing a diet that emphasized pulse intake with an isocaloric diet that did not include pulses. The studies included healthy individuals as well as those with hyperlipidemia. The majority of patients were middle-aged. Dietary pulse intake was not the sole intervention in some of the trials, according to the authors, who note that weight loss was the goal of some of the trials.
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The study authors studied a variety of pulses, with beans being the most common form. In some cases, pulses were administered as whole foods, while other studies depended on flour made from pulses or a mix of whole foods and pulse flours. The researchers found that participants whose diets included a median pulse intake of 130 g/d had lower LDL cholesterol levels than those on a control diet. The results were “equivalent to a reduction of about 5 percent from baseline,” according to the authors, who found no effect on apolipoprotein B and non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol.

The findings are important for patients with hypercholesterolemia who prefer dietary approaches to managing cholesterol levels, or for those who cannot tolerate statin therapies, the authors note.

The finding that beans helps lower cholesterol are also “very supportive of current Canadian Cardiovascular Society guidelines encouraging the use of the Mediterranean, Portfolio and DASH dietary guidelines promoting more plant food-rich diets and increased legume consumption,” adds David Jenkins, MD, PhD, a professor in the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, and a co-author of the study.

“It’s worth noting,” continues Jenkins, “that the same team that linked pulses with cholesterol reduction also demonstrated their advantage in reducing BP. They are therefore cardioprotective foods, and can be used as protein sources to replace meats, especially when combined with whole grains.”

—Mark McGraw

Reference

Ha V, Sievenpiper J, et al. Effect of dietary pulse intake on established therapeutic lipid targets for cardiovascular risk reduction: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. CMAJ. 2014.