What are plant sterols?
Plant sterols and cholesterol
Managing cholesterol
Summary
Plant sterols are plant-based compounds naturally occurring in foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts. Consuming plant sterols, or phytosterols, may help a person lower high cholesterol levels.
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat like substance that the body needs to digest fatty foods and to produce certain vitamins and hormones. Too much low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol can cause a narrowing or blockages in the arteries. This can lead to serious health conditions such as heart disease or a stroke.
Factors such as type 2 diabetes, a family history of high cholesterol, consuming too much dietary cholesterol, and not getting enough physical activity can raise the risk of a person developing high levels of LDL cholesterol.
This article discusses plant sterols in more detail, how they can affect cholesterol, and some tips for managing cholesterol levels. What are plant sterols?
Yagi Studio/Getty Images Plant sterols are fatty compounds that naturally occur in plants. Older research from 2015 suggests that plant sterols have a similar chemical structure to the cholesterol present in animal food products, with only minor differences in this chemical structure.Research from 2020 suggests that there are over 250 different types of plant sterols. The most common types present in dietary sources are beta-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol.They are present in plant-based foods, such as: fruits vegetables whole grains wheat germ nuts seeds legumes beans vegetable oils There are also several food products such as margarine spreads, yogurts , and certain nutritional supplements that may contain added plant sterols.Research from 2018 based on data from China suggests that vegetable oils contain the largest amount of plant sterols. In contrast, fruits and vegetables typically contain the smallest amount. What are the health benefits of plant sterols? The body cannot produce plant sterols naturally. Therefore, if a person wants to increase levels of plant sterols, they can do so through their diet. However, the body can only absorb a small amount of the plant sterols that are present in food.A 2020 study […]

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