A new UK study has found that regularly swapping meat for Quorn products could help to lower cholesterol at a rate comparable to following a Mediterranean or vegan diet.

The study was carried out by scientists at the University of Exeter. Published in the journal Clinical Nutrition, it involved 72 adults in the ‘overweight’ BMI category who had high cholesterol levels.

Researchers found that participants who ate 180mg of Quorn products on a daily basis – equivalent to two servings of Quorn mince – saw a 10% reduction in ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol over the four-week study period. This equates to a 0.3 millimole per litre (mmol/l) decrease in bad cholesterol levels in less than one month.

Many research studies have shown the effectiveness of broader dietary changes, such as switching to a Mediterranean or vegan diet, in lowering cholesterol. Studies show that these changes will typically deliver a 0.2-0.3 mmol/l reduction in bad cholesterol levels after 12 weeks.

The team at University of Exeter also noted that typical doses of atorvastatin, the most popular statin prescribed by the NHS to treat high cholesterol, commonly yield a 0.3-1.3 mmol/l reduction after 12 months.

According to medical research, a decrease of 0.39 mmol/l in bad cholesterol levels is associated with a 25% lower lifetime risk of heart and circulatory disease.

While the health benefits of switching to Mediterranean and vegan diets are known, research shows that such wholesale dietary changes may be difficult for consumers due to wide-ranging factors including costs of ingredients, unfamiliarity of foods and the reduced availability of specialist products.

The researchers concluded that dietary substitutions that are easy to implement are likely to be more attractive to the public, and that Quorn products could play a key role in cholesterol management as a widely-available, high-fibre, low in saturated fat food source.

The study saw half of the participants (39) given meat and fish products to eat daily as part of their regular diet, while the other half (33) were provided with Quorn’s mycoprotein-based products.

Further heart health benefits were also found – study participants who ate Quorn products experienced, on average, a 13% drop in blood glucose levels and a 27% fall in c-peptide concentrations, compared with the control group. Current data shows that 2.4 million people are at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in the UK based on high blood sugar levels.

The findings come after the latest annual Health Survey for England estimated that 59% of adults suffer from raised cholesterol and one in ten from diabetes, with both conditions known to cause cardiovascular disease.

Quorn mycoprotein is not only low in saturated fat, but is also high in beta-glucan, a fibre common in foods such as oats and barley. Fermentation of this fibre in the intestines is thought to create short-chain fatty acids which may reduce the amount of cholesterol produced by the body.

George Pavis, who led the study for the University of Exeter, commented: “Previous laboratory studies, where all food eaten is controlled and alcohol and caffeine consumption regulated, have clearly shown that daily consumption of mycoprotein reduces bad cholesterol, but this is the first study of its kind to explore the impact of such a dietary intervention in a real-world, home-based setting where participants were not restricted in terms of what else they consumed or did”.

Sam Blunt, Quorn’s director of sustainability and corporate affairs, added: “The potential cholesterol-lowering effects of Quorn’s mycoprotein were first identified nearly four decades ago and, since then, numerous studies have helped us to understand more about the extent of its cholesterol management capabilities, with its high-fibre content thought to play a key role in this”.

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