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Dr Elizabeth Klodas, MD is a board-certified cardiologist, author, founder of the Preventative Cardiology Clinic near Minneapolis and the Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Step One Foods. In Part 2 of our interview, Dr Klodas talks about how she turned her back on a medication first approach to cardiology and instead saw her patients' lives transformed using food as medicine.
That led her to create Step One Foods, a nutrition company that promises to help people improve their health, not just their “numbers”. She recently published a new study in conjunction with the Mayo Clinic and the University of Manitoba which reveals her Step One foods can lower cholesterol in as little as 30 days.
Key Take-Aways
Food as medicine
Food as medicine refers to prioritizing food and diet in an individual's health plan, with the goal of preventing or reversing disease. Dr Elizabeth Klodas was convinced she could help her patients lower cholesterol using food, not just drugs.
Mayo Clinic and the University of Manitoba Study
Mayo Clinic and the University of Manitoba tested the products in patients who could not tolerate statin drugs. Step One food products were subjected to a randomized controlled clinical trial with subjects in two countries. It was a “real world experience experiment” where people served as their own controls. It was a free living experiment, meaning it was done in the real world.
Methodology
Subjects received a box of food that included a collection of power bars and granola type items and a pancake mix and oatmeal smoothie mix. Subjects could eat what they wanted and were encouraged to not change their usual food routine. They were to include the Step One foods in the diet but not change anything else.
Results
The study demonstrated that the foods can work as well as cholesterol lowering medications in as little as 30 days. Subjects made two tiny dietary changes for 30 days and they saw 9% LDL reduction.
Decreasing the average LDL of the US population by 9%, could dethrone heart disease as the number one killer of Americans, a distinction heart disease has had for the last hundred years except for the two world wars.
Active Ingredients
Step One foods deliver clinically meaningful levels of the four essential nutrients required for cholesterol lowering and heart health, including: whole food fiber, omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants and plant sterols.
A diet that includes fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and plant sterols has been shown to lower cholesterol. Ingredients include oat bran, chia, walnuts, almonds as well as lots of fruit like raisins and blueberries, cranberries, strawberries.
Key Quote
"Since all or part of cholesterol abnormalities can be traced back to the foods we eat, making better food choices must be part of the management plan – regardless of whether you already take statins or not.
The effects of a healthy diet can be profound. For example, switching to a diet high in fiber, healthy fats, antioxidants and plant sterols has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol by 30% – in just 2 weeks! That’s a statin-level cholesterol response."
Dr Elizabeth Klodas, MD
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The opinions expressed in this Nutramedica program are those of the guests and contributors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Nutritional Fundamentals For Health Inc.
This video is intended for licensed or registered health professionals and students of health professions only. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Information contained in these programs are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
