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What are plant sterol and stanol and how useful are they to our health?

By: Groshan Fabiola

Many people worry about their health and try to protect its integrity as much as possible. People have heard about walnuts, salmon, and oatmeal and know that these foods are good in lowering the level of cholesterol in blood. But not many people have heard about sterols and stanols and their usefulness to us.

Sterols and stanols are substances which can be found in small quantities in some grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and seeds. Food producers nowadays even add these two elements in the composition of the food as they know from the American Dietetic Association that sterols and stanols are good for lowering the level of cholesterol and from keeping the heart diseases away. So, people can find these two useful substances in orange juice, cereals, margarine spreads, and even granola bars.

These two substances look very much alike with cholesterol and when they get into the digestive tract they impede the cholesterol from being absorbed and taken to the arteries and let it go away with the waste. This way the cholesterol will not clog up the arteries any more as it is in an insufficient quantity for doing that.

Some studies concluded that by eating three times a day plant stanol esters you can reduce the level of cholesterol by 20 points. In 1995 another study pointed that by eating an ounce of margarine improved with stanol once a day, one can lower the level of bad cholesterol by 14%. The stanol fortified orange juice seems to have resembling effects, lowering the level of ‘bad’ cholesterol by 12.4%.

In 2000 FDA considered the evidences the studies presented and approved with the fact that the stanols and sterols are good for the health. FDA also allowed producers of food which contains stanols and sterols to advertise that their products are lowering the level of cholesterol in blood and might protect the heart against some risk factors.

Nutritionists highly recommend the population to add these improved aliments into their daily diet and replace the foods that do not contain sterols and stanols with those who contain them.

Other aliments which might contain stanols and sterols are: yogurt, salad dressings, milk, snack bars, and other juices.

Some specialists recommend that we eat whole foods instead of additives and that food which contains naturally sterols and stanols are better than those who are fortified with these two substances.

Not everyone needs to use this fortified sterol and stanol foods. Those who have an increased level of cholesterol and those who have had a heart attack should use them but healthy people can eat other foods too.

Article Source: Main Articles

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