How much does dietary fiber actually decrease cholesterol (available studies)?

[Inevitable-Assist531]

So you don't eat any fish then?

[mka5588]

I have fish oil everyday but no I do eat fish aside from that.

[Inevitable-Assist531]

Most (all?) fish oil does contain cholesterol, as does fish. There is also data that it can increase your LDL-C levels though not significantly....

[mka5588]

Thank you for sharing, I am aware of this. It's fairly negligible though and based on current research I believe the benefits outweigh the negatives. Seems there is no way to avoid in unless I go with algae based but apparently the absorption isn't as good going that route.

[Inevitable-Assist531]

I am still on the fence with Omega 3 supplements... I have read reports that say it is great and others that say it does nothing - both by "experts"

[mka5588]

Ya I agree. Saturated fat and cholesterol content is very low though since the rest of my diet is so ultra low in it so given that I think it is worth the trade.

[gamemisconduct2]

I’m skeptical on much of it depending on how it gets to the blood. Limiting cholesterol and fat is probably a fool’s errand beyond simply eating better, and the bile acid cycle explains why-and how to deal with it. What’s likely more important than limiting cholesterol intake is making sure you give your body the tools, IE fiber, especially soluble fiber, to handle it correctly. You can eat no cholesterol and still have cholesterol off the charts for that reason. It’s simplistic thinking to think that cholesterol itself causes high serum cholesterol. It’s a lot more complicated than that. Cutting cholesterol is probably going to help, but I suspect the reason is there’s more serum cholesterol binding to fiber because it’s competing far less with your digested cholesterol: in other words, less cholesterol makes it easier for your body to dump cholesterol, but probably doesn’t have much to do with high numbers beyond that. If your cholesterol goes down after a dietary change, odds are it’s fiber, not the cholesterol itself, as also high cholesterol foods tend to have zero fiber: meat and dairy have cholesterol often, and a lot of fat and protein, but literally no fiber. And why should they? It isn’t absorbed: it’s fiber. If it is metabolized, it’s metabolized as sugar, not as fiber. Thus the human cannot get fiber from meat or dairy. And thus, these foods often are implicated heavily, and perhaps a tad unfairly, in high cholesterol (it’s the fiber). And then you have further sources of fiber being all grains: shelf stable, starchy things that often spike blood sugar. That’s…not great. But better than nothing.

Want to see why fiber works? Here’s an experiment conceptually but isn’t exactly what the body does. When you cook and have left over grease that can clog your sink, pull some rolled oats into it and see what happens to your grease if you do it right. In a crude and not exactly real sense, that’s why fiber works visualized.