Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
No single food causes heart attacks and no single food
prevents them. Cereals containing oats may claim that their
soluble fiber lowers cholesterol, but you can also get soluble fiber
from most fruits and whole grains. You will raise your cholesterol
if you take in more calories than you burn, no matter how much
soluble fiber you eat.
You may read that you should eat olive oil
because it contains monounsaturated fats that help to prevent
heart attacks, but you can also get monounsaturated fats in
peanuts, nuts, sunflower seeds and many other seeds. It's your
total intake of nutrients that counts. You can't prevent heart
attacks just by eating oat bran, olive oil, fish oil or any other
specific food. The best research on diet available today shows
that if you want to prevent heart attacks and many cancers, you
should eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains,
beans and other seeds.
January 1, 2006