10.13.2006

Plant sterols, cholesterol and heart health

Phytosterols (found in a wide variety of different herbs, and particularly the Leguminosae such as licorice, red clover, and soy) have a marked effect on decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and balancing cholesterol:

One gram of plant sterols added into reduced-calorie orange juice reduced C-reactive protein by 12% and significantly improved cholesterol levels compared with plain low-calorie OJ, reported Sridevi Devaraj, Ph.D., of the University of California at Davis here, and colleagues, in the October issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Downing the supplemented juice twice daily significantly decreased total cholesterol by 5% and reduced LDL cholesterol by 9.4% compared with study participants' baseline levels and compared to placebo.

Likewise, HDL levels improved significantly compared with baseline (6% increase), though not with placebo, over the eight-week period.

From http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Prevention/tb2/4282

My only question: why are we adding isolated phytosterols to orange juice? Ever heard of tea? What about black bean soup?

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