The Cholesterol Breakthrough -
The Borneo Post - Sunday, 14 October 2001 The
new millennium has ushered in a genuine breakthrough in the control of
high blood cholesterol, which offers real hope to thousands of people
struggling with this common problem. It's not a new chemical discovered by
a drug company but a group of natural substances found in plants, called
plant sterols. The importance of this development can't be overstated.
Unlocking the cholesterol-lowering potential of these natural components
of everyday food will change the way diet is used to reduce blood
cholesterol forever. Plant
sterols have doubled the potential of diet to reduce blood cholesterol.
And, as they can be incorporated into everyday foods like margarine,
including them in our daily meals is as easy as preparing a sandwich. The
results of scientific studies speak for themselves. Margarines enriched
with plant sterols, simply spread on a few slices of bread each day, can
reduce blood LDL-cholesterol by about 10 percent in a matter of a few
weeks. Importantly, the effects of plant sterols are traditional to those
of the traditional cholesterol-lowering diets. What
are plant sterols? Plant
sterols are "cousins" of cholesterol and look very similar to
it. This close similarity in appearances between plant sterols and
cholesterol is the key to the blood cholesterol lowering effects of plant
sterols. While the amounts of plant sterols we currently consume in foods
have just a small impact on blood cholesterol, higher intakes can have a
dramatic effect. This can be achieved by enriching foods with plant
sterols. How
Do Plant Sterols Lower Cholesterol? Cholesterol
in the gut comes from two sources. The majority of the cholesterol comes
from the bile passing down from the liver. Bile enters the gut when we
eat, as part of the digestion process. A smaller amount of the cholesterol
entering the gut, about one third, comes from the animal foods in our
daily diet. Plant sterols work in the gut, where they reduce the
absorption of cholesterol from both sources into the bloodstream. As a
result, more cholesterol passes out of the body and the level of
cholesterol in the blood falls. Do
Plant Sterol Margarines Really Work? Plant sterols are a new and potent weapon in the fight against cholesterol - simple, safe and effective. Plant sterols are not a fad, which will be here today but gone tomorrow. Plant sterols are here for good. Diets to lower blood cholesterol levels have been changed forever. |