Plant sterols and stanols effect on cholesterol

I recently read an article in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association regarding plant sterols and plant stanols. The article isn't relevant to the public but I thought I would add a piece about the topic.

Plant sterols and stanols are like cholesterol but are found in plants. Research has shown that 2 g of sterols/stanols per day can help lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol.

So where do you get this magical plant cholesterol you ask? Well that's kind of the problem. There are margarines that are fortified with them. But in order to get 2 grams, you need to eat 2 tablespoons of this margarine /day. There about 150 calories in 2 tablespoons of margarine.

IF you are willing to replace calories elsewhere in your diet with calories from 2 tablespoons of margarine, then this might be a good option for you. Especially if you are at a healthy weight or underweight.

Another problem is that these products are pretty expensive and there are other ways to reduce your cholesterol. Of course, medications are probably more expensive, and needless to say, having a heart attack due to high cholesterol is even MORE expensive. So again, if you would like to be really proactive about reducing your cholesterol without medications you could give it a try.

Benecol and Take Control are the two brands that I know about. There may be other fat-based products (mayonnaise, salad dressings) that also use plant sterols/stanols. Let me know if it works for you!

Understanding Cholesterol

I think there are a lot of nutrition catch phrases and buzzwords being thrown around these days--especially by the media. So here is a guide to understanding cholesterol.

The many names of CHOLESTEROL

There a several different types of cholesterol which are based on its density (how big something is compared to how heavy something is. ie: a cotton ball vs. a marble). There are 2 types that we focus on: High Density Lipoprotein and Low Density Lipoprotein.

High Density Lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol

- Think "good cholesterol"
- This is our bouncy ball (or marble)

Low Density Lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol

- Think "bad cholesterol"
- this is our cotton ball, a really fluffy cotton ball


(Mark mentioned that I pronounce lipoprotein wrong. Hope you can get over it because I'm not redoing this video again! )

Where Does Cholesterol Come From?

- Myth: Eating cholesterol is what increases your cholesterol.

Okay, so this isn't totally a myth, but getting cholesterol in your diet isn't the major player in raising your cholesterol. Cholesterol is a necessary component to your body and actually, your body makes its own cholesterol. When you eat foods containing cholesterol, your body adjusts how much cholesterol it makes.

- Your cholesterol levels increase/decrease based on your consumption of saturated and trans fats and mono and polyunsaturated fats.

- Saturated Fats and Trans Fats: increase LDL and HDL
- Monounsaturated Fats: decrease LDL, increase HDL
- Polyunsaturated Fats: decrease LDL and HDL

- Food Sources of Saturated, trans, mono, poly

- Saturated and Trans fats are typically your fats that are solid at room temperature:
- butter
- animal fat
- Shortening and Lard
- Some margarine (unless otherwise specified)
- Check labels on snack foods, pastries, fried foods, etc

- Mono and Poly unsaturated fats are typically liquid at room temperature
- Oils (except tropical oils: palm and coconut oil are mostly saturated fat)
- Margarines made with veggie oils
- nuts, seeds
- Fish


Desired Cholesterol Levels

Total cholesterol: less than 200
HDL (GOOD): more than 40
LDL (BAD): less than 130

Understanding your cholesterol is important as having a "bad cholesterol report card" can significantly increase your risk for various diseases--heart disease, diabetes, etc.

There are ways to improve your cholesterol levels without using medications. (some doctors will give you the option to improve your cholesterol on your own before resorting to the medication route but some won't so make sure you ask if you can try on your own first if the doc doesn't offer that option.) (Also, check your family cholesterol history)

- First, quit smoking and drinking (or limit your alcohol consumption to 1-2 drinks/day)
- Increase physical activity (eventually up to at least 30 minutes physical activity 5 days/wk)
- Decrease Saturated Fat/Trans fat intake (limit meat portions, stick to lean meats, choose fat-free dairy products
- Replace sat. fats/trans fats with poly/mono unsaturated fats (olive oil, canola oil, safflower oil)
- Increase HDL (lose weight is overweight, use canola/olive oil)


Resources: Medical Nutrition and Disease; Food, Nutrition, and Diet Therapy