SAN DIEGO—It probably won’t make lovastatin obsolete, but the Right Direction chocolate chip cookie just might help many mildly dyslipidemic patients reduce cardiovascular risk without having to resort to drug therapy.
Probably the most original and user-friendly therapeutic delivery system ever devised, Right Direction cookies are packed with plant sterols and both soluble and insoluble fiber, all of which are cornerstone natural therapies for lowering total cholesterol and LDL. Two of the low-glycemic index cookies per day provide 2.6 grams of sterols, and 10 grams of fiber, 80% of which is soluble (equivalent to 3 cups of cooked oatmeal).
Jay Udani, MD, and colleagues at the Northridge Hospital Integrative Medicine Program, an affiliate of UCLA School of Medicine, randomized a 33 moderately hyperlipidemic men and women to 4 weeks’ treatment with either the Right Direction cookies or a “placebo” cookie similar in taste and texture but without the good stuff. After 4 weeks, subjects were washed out for 4 weeks with no therapy, and then switched to the other cookie for an additional 4 weeks. The study won first prize at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine’s 2006 Nutritional Supplements Research Competition.
Patients ranged in age from 33 to 65, and had a mean baseline total cholesterol of 211 mg/dl (range 158.5–297.3 mg/dl), and a mean LDL of 127.9 (range 80.3–195). Their BMIs ranged from 25 to 35 kg/m2. During the interventions, they were instructed to eat 2 of the cookies each day, and maintain their ordinary diet and exercise patterns. Dr. Udani gave them no other cholesterol-lowering therapy.
While on Right Direction, the patients showed significantly lower total cholesterol values (203 ± 30 mg/dl versus 217 ± 28 mg/dl), and lower LDLs (120 ± 30 mg/dl versus 133 ± 27 mg/dl). There were no changes in the patients’ HDL or triglycerides, nor were there changes in weight one way or the other. Interestingly, there was a slight but meaningful drop in mean fasting glucose (91 versus 95), good news for hyperglycemic patients.
The cookies were developed by Wendy Miller and Norman Null, both registered dietitians. Convinced that they could come up with something tasty that would deliver natural therapeutics to reduce cardiovascular risk, the two experimented in their own kitchens for 2 years. The cookies began life as a turbo-charged waffle, but they quickly realized chocolate chip cookies had far more appeal. Wendy’s cookie-loving young son was the ultimate determiner of marketability.
Patients can obtain Right Direction cookies from the company’s website: www.rdfoods.com. Priced at $1 per cookie (or $2 per day), they’re a relatively inexpensive approach to lipid management. Dr. Udani said the cookies have no adverse effects and can be safely combined with drug therapies.
Though the investigators did not measure it, one can safely assume that compliance with this therapy is not going to be a problem.
