Research

Hormonal

Viscous soluble fibers (e.g., psyllium, oat beta-glucan) reduce LDL-cholesterol by 5-10% when consumed at doses of 5-10 g/day, primarily by reducing ileal bile acid absorption.

Incorporate 5-10 grams of viscous soluble fiber daily into your diet. Good sources include psyllium husk, oat bran, or guar gum. This specific type of fiber is proven to lower LDL cholesterol by binding bile acids. For best results, combine this with a diet low in saturated fats and consider adding soy protein and plant sterols for a synergistic effect.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Viscous fibres such as guar, glucomannans, pectins, oat b-glucan and psyllium continue to be seen as hypocholesterolaemic... One of the most recent [1] has emphasized the relatively small mean reduction in LDL-cholesterol (0.57 mmol/l) per gram of fibre for the 2–10 g/day dose of viscous fibres... Viscous fibres appear to lower serum cholesterol by reducing ileal bile acid absorption [15] through impeding bulk diffusion to the luminal surface and so increasing faecal bile acid loss and de-novo hepatic synthesis from intracellular cholesterol [16–20].
David J.A. Jenkins et al. · Current Opinion in Lipidology · 2000

Why this rating

Supported by multiple meta-analyses and controlled trials cited in the review.

Source

Viscous and nonviscous fibres, nonabsorbable and low glycaemic index carbohydrates, blood lipids and coronary heart disease

David J.A. Jenkins et al. · Current Opinion in Lipidology · 2000

DOI 10.1097/00041433-200002000-00008

narrative_reviewCited 314×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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