Red Fruit To Lower Cholesterol Levels

You probably know that when it comes to keeping cholesterol down, you want your total number low. However, it is the ratio of bad to good cholesterol that may matter even more. The good kind of cholesterol is transported out of the body, but the bad kind (LDL) stays in your body and has the potential to clog your arteries and raise your risk for having a heart attack.

Food scientists are now looking at fruits and vegetables that may help bring bad cholesterol down and have discovered that bad cholesterol may have met its maker. Eating red or what is commonly called pink grapefruit may work to bring cholesterol down as well or better than some cholesterol-lowering medications. Israeli researchers studied this food and found that it may be effective even in people who don't respond to the most common medications, called statins.

For four weeks, scientists monitored 57 people with heart disease. All of those in the study had failed to respond to drugs that normally bring cholesterol down. When they gave each person in the study one red grapefruit a day without any other change in their diet, they decreased bad cholesterol levels by 20%. It actually may be what is in the color of these fruits that has the effect. Those who ate white grapefruit did not get the same reduction in cholesterol levels. Red grapefruit is higher in antioxidants and lycopene. It is the lycopene that makes the fruit red. Previous studies have shown this compound--which is also present in tomatoes and watermelons--may also play a powerful role in fighting both heart disease and cancer.

There is a word of caution with this study, too. If you have heart problems and you want to eat this each day, talk to your doctor. Grapefruit can interfere with the absorption of some medications. Your pharmacist may even be able to tell you if it is not suggested based on what you are taking.