Plant Sterols Reduces Cholesterol

Plant sterols and stanols, substances that can lower cholesterol, are now being added to foods ranging from granola bars to chocolate. The catch is that you need to eat about 2 grams worth of added plant sterols or stanols every day to put a dent in your cholesterol, reports the Harvard Heart Letter.

Plant sterols are a group of steroid alcohol, phytochemicals naturally occurring in plants.

Plant sterols are white powders with mild, characteristic odor, insoluble in water and soluble in alcohols. They have many applications as food additives, and in medicine and cosmetics.

As a food additive, plant sterols have cholesterol-lowering properties (reducing cholesterol absorption in intestines), and may act in cancer prevention. plant sterols naturally occur in small amount in vegetable oils, especially soybean oil. One such plant sterols complex, isolated from vegetable oil, is cholestatin, composed of campesterol, stigmasterol, and brassicasterol, and is marketed as a dietary supplement.

Plant Sterols Reduce Cholesterol

REDUCE CHOLESTEROL NATURALLY WITH STEROLS AND STANOLS

Plant Sterols Reduces Cholesterol

When eaten, plant sterols and stanols gum up the body's system for absorbing cholesterol from food. Since the liver needs cholesterol for digestion, it grabs LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream while leaving HDL cholesterol alone.

Eating 2 grams per day can lower levels of LDL cholesterol by about 10%, which could translate into a 20% lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Trying to juggle a daily intake from different foods containing plant sterols and stanols could get complicated and lead to higher-than-recommended doses. Exceeding the 2-gram target doesn't offer any extra benefit. What's more, no one knows the long-term effects of getting too much.

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Plant sterols are a group of steroid alcohol, phytochemicals naturally occurring in plants.

REDUCE CHOLESTEROL NATURALLY WITH STEROLS AND STANOLS

Plant Sterols Reduces Cholesterol