Your health: Cholesterol-lowering foods

Diet ‘portfolio'

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that a vegetarian diet emphasizing a “portfolio” of cholesterol-lowering foods did a better job of reducing low-density lipoprotein — the so-called “bad” cholesterol — than a low-saturated-fat vegetarian diet.

The Harvard Medical School newsletter noted that all the participants in the study followed a heart-healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Those in the portfolio group were told to emphasize four specific types of cholesterol-lowering foods in their diets — soluble fiber, nuts, soy protein and margarines enriched with plant sterols — while those in the low-saturated fat group were told to avoid these foods.

A portfolio diet with 2,000 calories a day could include:

Ÿ Soluble fiber: 18 grams per day of fiber from foods such as oatmeal, oat bran, barley, peas, beans, lentils, psyllium, and vegetables such as okra and eggplant

Ÿ Nuts: 1 ounce, or about one handful, per day

Ÿ Soy protein: 42.8 grams per day from soy-based foods such as soy milk, tofu and soy meat substitutes

Ÿ Plant-sterol enriched margarine: 1.8 grams per day (1 to 2 tablespoons, depending on the product)

‘Z-Pak' risks

The antibiotic azithromycin, better known as the five-day “Z-Pak,” typically does a fast job of combating such bacterial illnesses as sinus infections and bronchitis. But research published in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that the drug is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular death.

According to The Washington Post, the study compared records for nearly 348,000 people who took azithromycin with records for people who took other antibiotics and those who took no antibiotics at all. Researchers found that patients taking azithromycin were at 2½ times greater risk of cardiovascular death as those taking amoxicillin or those taking no antibiotic.

Managing ADHD

“The Energetic Brain,” by Cecil Reynolds, Kimberly Vannest and Judith Harrison, covers the science of attention-deficit hypertension disorder, how to get help and how to manage it from childhood through adulthood. The authors — a neuroscientist, a clinician and a special educator — explain how pills commonly prescribed for ADHD work in the brain, notes The Washington Post.

They give equal weight to nonmedicinal treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral interventions and describe the positive effects of a controlled diet and counseling.

A word of warning: the book may be a little over your head if you're looking for something in layman's terms.