Nutrition & Wellness for Life

In celebration of Hearth Health Month:

There are several risk factors that contribute to heart disease.  Luckily, many of these are modifiable – meaning that you can do something about them!  High cholesterol is one such risk factor.  And, there are certain dietary factors that can help lower your cholesterol levels including fiber and plant sterols.  Plant sterols (also called phytosterols) are components of plant cell membranes that can help lower both total cholesterol and bad cholesterol levels (LDL).   Though sterols are found in many plant-based foods such as legumes, fruits, nuts and seeds, most people don’t consume enough plant sterols from these foods to help them lower their cholesterol.  But, you can obtain plant sterols from both fortified foods and supplements.

How do sterols work? 
Scientists believe that sterols (which resemble animal cholesterol chemically) may interfere with the uptake of cholesterol from dietary sources and interfere with the production of cholesterol by our liver.  Sterols are endorsed by the NIH, FDA and the American Heart Association (AHA).  AHA’s 2006 diet and lifestyle recommendations paper indicates that plant sterols/stanols can reduce LDL cholesterol by up to 15% and that maximum effects are noted by taking  2 grams of sterols/stanols per day.  You don’t necessarily have to take 2 grams per day though, as studies note that taking 1.3 grams/day of plant sterols nutritional supplements will favorably benefit cholesterol levels.

If you are on cholesterol-lowering medication, you can consume plant sterols nutritional supplements.  In fact, they have an additive benefit when combined with cholesterol-lowering medications.  However, it’s always a wise idea to consult with our personal physician prior to taking any supplement.  Patients with aortic valve stenosis (abnormal narrowing of the aortic valve) or sitosterolemia (a rare inherited lipid storage disease) should avoid taking plant sterols.

For more info, see http://www.sheknows.com/articles/7142.htm