Regular intake of foods high in soluble fiber, such as oat and psyllium, may help to reduce a high cholesterol number to a healthy one.
This meta-analysis was carried out to determine whether an association exists between the consumption of soluble fiber from oat bran, psyllium, and pectin and plasma concentrations of lipids. Researchers analyzed data extracted from 67 controlled trials that examined the effect of soluble fiber on blood lipid levels.
The team of investigators discovered that soluble fiber from oat, psyllum, and pectin decreased the concentrations of total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol floating in the blood. On the other hand, these fiber-rich foods were found to have no significant effect on serum concentrations of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triacyglycerols. The findings of this study show that high dietary ingestion of foods rich in soluble fiber, such as oat and psyllium, may help to improve cholesterol number.