Plant sterols (also known as phytosterols) are natural substances that can help lower your cholesterol. They exist in wood pulp and leaves, but are also found naturally in certain foods such as vegetable oil, nuts, legumes, corn, fruit and vegetables. You can obtain higher levels through enriched margarine spreads.
How do they work?
When consumed, plant sterols reduce the absorption of cholesterol from your intestines into the body. This includes both the cholesterol you eat (called dietary cholesterol) and that made by your liver, which enters the intestines through bile. Studies show that plant sterols can lower LDL (or “bad”) cholesterol in the blood by about 10 percent.
How much do you need?
Typical Western diets supply only 200mg to 400mg of plant sterols per day. Vegetarians usually consume more, around 600mg to 800mg, because they eat more plant foods. If you have a raised blood cholesterol level, you will require 2g to 3g of plant sterols per day to lower your cholesterol.
To easily achieve the required intake for lowering cholesterol:
Use 20g to 30g of an enriched margarine spread daily, which is enough to cover three or four slices of bread. Some plant sterol-enriched margarines can’t be used in frying, so refer to the directions on the packaging carefully. In some countries there are a variety of foods enriched with plant sterols to choose from, such as salad dressings and mayonnaise.
However, in Australia, margarine spreads are the only foods presently allowed to be fortified. The Australian food industry has applied to the regulatory authority for permission to add plant sterols to fibre-increased bread, breakfast cereal bars, low-fat milk and low-fat yoghurt.
Safety precautions
While foods naturally containing plant sterols are safe to eat for the whole family, the safety of enriched foods has needed to be evaluated as these contain higher levels of plant sterols, not usually consumed in the human diet.
More than 30 clinical studies show that margarine spreads with added plant sterols are safe to use. However, safety data is presently lacking for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Also, there are no long-term studies showing the effects in children who consume these products.
Food and nutrition tips
To lower high blood cholesterol and protect against heart disease:
Eat a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol (see fact sheet on “high blood cholesterol”).
Please remember, if you are already on cholesterol-lowering medication, you should continue to take it while using sterol margarines.
Include a minimum of five serves (and preferably seven) of fruit and vegetables daily, such as yellow, orange, dark green, red and purple types.
If desired, and you are not pregnant or breastfeeding, use plant sterol-enriched margarine spreads. These can add nearly 20g fat and more than 700 kilojoules daily, so you may need to compensate by reducing your fat intake from other foods.
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