Eating Foods High in Plant Sterols Reduces Cholesterol Naturally

[Guest guest]

Who knew you could reduce cholesterol by eating

pistachio nuts?...Yum .......Lynn

Eating Foods High in Plant Sterols Reduces Cholesterol

Naturally Friday, March 21, 2008 by: John M.

Yarlott

(NaturalNews) When the human blood cholesterol level is higher than that

which can be used by the human body, the surplus cholesterol may

eventually cause strokes, and or cardiovascular distress. Medications,

such as statins prescribed to lower the blood cholesterol, are themselves

known to affect our bodies negatively in the long term. A healthy liver

manufactures most of our daily essential cholesterol requirements.

Additional cholesterol in the foods we eat is absorbed in the intestines

and elevates the

blood

cholesterol. One way to lower the blood cholesterol is to include

foods in our diet that are high in phytosterols.

Phytosterols

(

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytosterol) , also known as

plant

sterols, are essential components of plant membranes that perform

functions for plants similar to that of cholesterol in humans.

Phytosterols in the foods we eat are believed to block cholesterol

absorption sites in the human intestine thus helping to reduce

cholesterol.

The International Food Information Council

((

http://www.ific.org/publications/factsh...) has published an article

that provides positive information on the use of plant sterols and

stanols summarized as follows: " Foods and beverages supplemented

with plant sterols/stanols may reduce cholesterol and are a promising

addition to interventions aimed at lowering heart disease risk. Maximum

effects are observed at plant sterol/stanol intakes of approximately two

to three grams per day. The level of LDL cholesterol reduction ranges

between 6 to 15 percent. A growing body of scientific evidence also

suggests other positive health outcomes that include the reduced risk of

certain types of cancer. "

In one clinical trial

((

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstrac...) the abstract states

" Plant sterol consumption significantly reduced (P < 0.05)

LDL-cholesterol concentrations from baseline in both nondiabetic and

diabetic subjects

by 15.1% and 26.8%, respectively. The diabetic subjects had significantly

(P < 0.05) lower absolute concentrations of total cholesterol after

treatment than did the nondiabetic subjects; however, there was no

significant difference in the percentage change from the beginning to the

end of the trial. There was also a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in

absolute non-HDL-cholesterol concentrations after treatment in both

groups.

In another article, the author stated that 1.8g per day of phytosterols

reduced blood cholesterol up to 12%. There are several types of plant

sterols: beta sitosterol, avenasterol, and campesterol to name a few.

Another source

(

http://www.olivado.com/studies2.htm) gives the daily requirements of

beta sitosterol as 2g in order to reduce serum cholesterol

10-20%.

A recent article in Science Daily entitled " Pistachios Lower

Cholesterol; Provide Antioxidants "

((

http://sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/0...) discusses a clinical

trial at Penn State University. The participants experienced blood

cholesterol reductions of 8.4 to 11.6 percent after eating 3 ounces

(85.05g) of

pistachios on a

Step I Diet for two weeks.

In another study, the subjects were fed wheat germ either with or without

phytosterols. The study showed a 42% reduction in blood cholesterol in

those with the phytosterols as opposed to those without. The authors who

reported this study included a list of foods and their phytosterol

content. Using their list and the

USDA nutrient

database, I have created a chart for 18 high phytosterol foods that shows

the amount of each food that would achieve comparable results as those

achieved with the pistachio diet with respect to the lowering of

cholesterol. Note that Oils generally require less amounts and nuts and

legumes require moderately higher amounts of a given food. Other plant

foods require much higher amounts and were excluded from the chart. See

High Phytosterol Foods

(

http://jmyarlott.com/amount.asp) .

References:

ScienceDaily.com

((

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...)

DietaryFiberfood.com

((

http://www.dietaryfiberfood.com/cholest...)

American Chemical Society

((

http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cg...)

Nutraingredients.com

((

http://nutraingredients.com/news/printn...)

Naturalnews.com

(

http://www.naturalnews.com/016596.html)

USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory

((

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/s...)

Foreign Agricultural Service Labeling Requirements

(

http://useu.usmission.gov/agri/label.html)

Olivado Natural Nutrition

(

http://www.olivado.com/studies2.htm)

International Food Information Council

((

http://www.ific.org/publications/factsh...)

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