"pearl" > wrote in message news:...
<..>
> > > 'The diet reduced low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol by
> > > 29.0% +/- 2.7% (P <.001) ' (in two weeks)
> > > http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract
> >
> > And his claim was "> 50%". IOW, 172% of the average in that study.
>
> The average in the study was a reduction of 29%. JC's was
> ~50%. IOW, ~11% more than the *two weeks* on the diet.

Correction. That should of course be 21%, not 11%. Still.

Here's another relevant study abstract;

Metabolism 1997 May;46(5):530-7
Effect of a diet high in vegetables, fruit, and nuts on serum lipids.
Jenkins DJ, Popovich DG, Kendall CW, Vidgen E, Tariq N,
Ransom TP, Wolever TM, Vuksan V, Mehling CC, Boctor DL,
Bolognesi C, Huang J, Patten R.
Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Center, Division
of Endocrinology, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

We assessed the effect of a diet high in leafy and green vegetables,
fruit, and nuts on serum lipid risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Ten healthy volunteers (seven men and three women aged 33 +/- 4
years [mean +/- SEM]; body mass index, 23 +/- 1 kg/m2) consumed
their habitual diet (control diet, 29% +/- 2% fat calories) and a diet
consisting largely of leafy and other low-calorie vegetables, fruit, and
nuts (vegetable diet, 25% +/- 3% fat calories) for two 2-week periods
in a randomized crossover design. After 2 weeks on the vegetable diet,
lipid risk factors for cardiovascular disease were significantly reduced
by comparison with the control diet (low-density lipoprotein [LDL]
cholesterol, 33% +/- 4%, P < .001; ratio of total to high-density
lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol, 21% +/- 4%, P X .001; apolipoprotein
[apo] B:A-I, 23% +/- 2%, P < .001; and lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)],
24% +/- 9%, P = .031). The reduction in apo B was related to
increased intakes of soluble fiber (r = .84, P = .003) and vegetable
protein (r = -.65, P = .041). On the vegetable compared with the
control diet, the reduction in total serum cholesterol was 34% to 49%
greater than would be predicted by differences in dietary fat and
cholesterol. A diet consisting largely of low-calorie vegetables and
fruit and nuts markedly reduced lipid risk factors for cardiovascular
disease. Several aspects of such diets, which may have been consumed
early in human evolution, have implications for cardiovascular disease
prevention.'

Publication Types: Clinical trial Randomized controlled trial
PMID: 9160820 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]