The Healthy Benefits of Plant Sterols Margarine Lowering Cholesterol
For those who are health-conscious or worried about their cholesterol, paying attention to the positive effect plant sterols can have on the body's cholesterol can lead to a longer, healthier life. According to a number of medical studies conducted by universities and research centers across the globe (see below), ingesting plant sterols through innovative dietary products will lower the body's total cholesterol. Although this information has been known for a number of decades, the innovations in products using plant-sterol based dietary foods the last few years apply this discovery in a manner that benefits the average person.
Scientifically speaking, sterols are an essential part of the cell membrane that both plants and animals produce. Sterols come in two kinds: the kind we absorb from eating meat (what we usually mean when we say "cholesterol") and the kind we absorb from eating fruits and vegetables, known as plant sterols. Plant sterols, otherwise known as phytosterols, are healthier than those that we absorb from meat.
Cholesterol from meat is made up of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is what can clog arteries and lead to health risks, especially of the heart. Plant sterols are similar in structure to LDL, but when plant sterols are taken in great quantities, they prevent LDL from being absorbed by the body in the gut and intestinal track. This is because plant sterols compete with LDL for absorption and effectively block out the body's ability to absorb harmful cholesterol.
Studies show that over time, people who ingest plant sterols as a regular part of their diet will lower their body's total cholesterol without lowering their good cholesterol. In fact, studies show that people who consume plant sterols in addition to being on a low-fat diet doubled their cholesterol reduction in comparison to those who relied on a low-fat diet alone.
This is wonderful news for people who have high cholesterol or are at risk for cardiovascular disease or other heart conditions. However, although most people consume small amounts of plant sterols in their everyday diet, they do not consume nearly enough plant sterols to affect their over all cholesterol levels--even if their diet is rich in fruit and vegetables. The typical American takes in about 0.25 grams of plant sterols a day in an uncontrolled diet that includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, cereals, and legumes. According to the FDA, for the average person to see results in their overall cholesterol levels, a person would need to consume between 1.3 and 3.4 grams of plant sterols a day—which might be pounds of veggies!
This is an unreasonable expectation through the consumption of natural foods, but easily possible with plant-sterol enhanced products or vitamins like Smart Chews, Flora Buttery, Diminicol, or MultiBene. Furthermore, plant sterols are not water soluble, so to make the consumption of an effective amount of plant sterols possible, innovative food processing techniques are required to extract plant sterols from vegetable oils and alter their chemical structure to form plant sterol esters.
This is where products like Smart Chews, Flora pro active, and Diminicol supply real value. For example, Smart Balance fuses plant sterol esters into dietary low-fat products like margarine or mayonaise so that "good" cholesterol can be absorbed with "good" fat. Similarly, MultiBene (from Nestle) enriches food products with plant sterols as well as minerals like calcium, potassium or magnesium. As such, when a person regularly butters toast with low-fat margarine spreads as part of a low-fat diet, their total cholesterol levels will decrease.
Products like Flora Proactive's Buttery Light Spread, Teriaka's Diminicol, Nestle's MultiBene, and BENECOL's Smart Chews have been approved by the FDA as "cholesterol lowering" dietary foods. Since coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, the availability of food products that reduce its major risk factor are more than welcome in today's healthful foods product line. As a result of implementing plant-sterol high products into the regular diet, a man or woman with mid to high cholesterol levels can expect to see significant improvement in their cholesterol levels, especially in combination with maintaining a healthy diet of low fat foods along with natural fruits and vegetables.
Products containing high levels of plant sterols previously mentioned in this article that are currently available on the market include Flora Pro active's Light Spread, Teriaka's Diminicol, BENECOL's Smart Chews, and Nestle's line of MultiBene products. For more information about these products, their benefits, and similar products by the same brand, refer to the press releases on these products as published by the brand names on the sitemap or visit their corporate websites by clicking on the corresponding links above.
Scientific Studies and Sources:
Read the FDA's news release about plant sterols and lowering cholesterol.
Read a medical review of plant sterols from the Washington University in Saint Louis' School of Medicine.
Read an article on how a "New USDA Study Shows Plant Sterols Lower Cholesterol" by Jim De Quattro.
Read an article about how Plant sterol pills significantly lower LDL cholesterol in News Target.
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