"Include more whole grains and vegetables and beans and colours - not iceberg lettuce, but red bell peppers and carrots and broccoli and red cabbage and the really colorful foods. Those are all really low in saturated fat and cholesterol, and they're really high in other nutrients and phytochemicals that are good for you," added Gardner.

The study included 120 adults, ages 30 to 65. All were members of the target population for food-based approaches to lowering cholesterol: They had moderately high LDL levels, between 130 and 190 mg/dL.

Researchers randomly divided the outpatients into two diners' groups: 61 ate the conventional diet, while 5!) ate the plant-based diet. Each weekday for a month, they visited a research dining hall for a specially prepared, carefully weighed, chemically analysed lunch or dinner.

New Food Pyramid
Recently, the US Department of Agriculture unveiled the new food guide pyramid - the first revision to the pyramid since it was first released in 1992. The revised pyramid is based on dietary guidelines published earlier this year.

The new graphic features a sketch of an individual exercising and stresses the importance of at least 30 minutes of exercise each day for adults and at least 60 minutes most days for children and teens. There are also six colourful triangles, each representing a different food group - grains, vegetables, fruits, oils, milk/dairy, beans/meat.

Although not specifically included in the pyramid, the new guidelines also include "discretionary calories1' - the calories that are left over once all nutritional needs have been met. Discretionary calories can be used on larger servings of pyramid foods, higher-fat selections of pyramid foods, or extras such as desserts.