What are plant sterols and stanols?
Beta-sitosterol and sitostanol are two of the plant sterols that actually look a lot like cholesterol. They do not get absorbed the same way and they compete in the gut for cholesterol. In other words, it helps reduce the absorption of cholesterol and has been shown to reduce cholesterol effectively. Scientific studies show that 1.3 grams per day of plant sterol esters or 3.4 grams per day of plant stanol esters in the diet are needed to show a significant cholesterol lowering effect. Plant sterols are present in small quantities in many fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, cereals, legumes, and other plant sources. Look for these added benefits in margarines, spreads, orange juice and many other foods.
