Frequent eating helps in fighting heart disease

Controlling cholesterol levels may be a case of not only what we eat but how often.

Men and women who eat six or more times a day have about 5 per cent lower concentrations of cholesterol than less frequent eaters, which could translate into a lower risk of heart disease, the number one killer in many Western countries.

"If you are already eating well and want to have further benefit, at least for cholesterol, dividing what you eat into more frequent meals may have additional benefit," said Professor Kay-Tee Khaw of Cambridge University.

Professor Khaw and her colleagues questioned more than 14,000 people, aged between 45 and 75, about how often they ate, including meals, coffee and tea breaks and snacks. They also measured the volunteers' cholesterol levels.

Their research was published in The British Medical Journal.

Professor Khaw's team found lower levels of cholesterol in the frequent eaters regardless of their body mass, physical activity or whether they smoked.

She said people who ate more frequently tended to be more physically active than others.

- REUTERS

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