Tms. Wolever et al., PSYLLIUM REDUCES BLOOD-LIPIDS IN MEN AND WOMEN WITH HYPERLIPIDEMIA, The American journal of the medical sciences, 307(4), 1994, pp. 269-273
To see if a modest amount of soluble fiber reduced blood lipids in sub
jects with hyperlipidemia who were on a low-fat diet, 42 subjects (21
men, 21 women) consuming an American Heart Association step 2 diet too
k two servings of breakfast cereal daily for two a-week periods in a r
andomized crossover trial. There were two types of test cereals, each
providing 6.7 g psyllium fiber daily, and two types of wheat bran cont
rol cereals, matched for available carbohydrate and total fiber. Half
the subjects tested each type of cereal, and the results were pooled b
ecause the psyllium cereals had similar effects on serum cholesterol l
evels. Comparing values at the end of 2 weeks, psyllium reduced serum
total (6.33 +/- 0.12 mmol/L versus 6.76 +/- 0.12 mmol/L, p < 0.001), l
ow-density lipoprotein (LDL; 4.36 +/- 0.11 mmol/L versus 4.73 +/- 0.12
mmol/L, p < 0.001) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (H
DL; 1.10 +/- 0.05 mmol/L versus 1.14 +/- 0.05 mmol/L, p < 0.05) and th
e LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio (4.27 +/- 0.20 versus 4.48 +/- 0.22, p < 0
.02) with no effect on triglycerides. There was no significant interac
tion between the effects of treatment and sex for any of the blood lip
id variables. Women tended to have greater decreases in total, LDL, an
d HDL cholesterol levels than men, but the percent decrease in LDL/HDL
ratio on psyllium was similar in men, 4.9%, and women, 4.7%. It is co
ncluded that 6.7 g of psyllium fiber daily, with a low-fat diet, reduc
es serum cholesterol levels in both men and women with hyperlipidemia.