Are you having trouble with high cholesterol levels?
You know that a healthy diet, exercise, and medications can help to lower cholesterol. Now I want to share with you one other tactic for lowering your cholesterol—some useful foods and beverages.
Plant sterols, also called phytosterols, are naturally occurring plant substances found in some of our foods that can actually block cholesterol absorption in the gut. Plant sterols are found in foods such as wheat germ, peanuts, almonds, and Brussels sprouts, as well as corn, canola, and olive oils.
The amount of phytosterols in these foods is tiny, but researchers have found that larger amounts of them will lower cholesterol. Luckily, instead of having to eat mounds of these foods, we can now buy foods and beverages that are fortified with plant stanols, a more concentrated form of plant sterols.
What can these foods do for you? Simply eating 2 to 3 grams of plant sterols per day has been shown to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol by 6 percent to 15 percent. (No additional cholesterol-lowering effect, however, can be achieved by ingesting more than these 2-3 grams a day.)
Some of the foods fortified with plant stanols are Benecol® spread, Take Control® spread, Yoplait® Healthy Heart Yogurt, Nature Valley® Healthy Heart Granola Bars, and Minute Maid® Heart Wise Orange Juice. Plant sterols can also be consumed in capsule form.
Of course, to get the maximum benefit and lower your cholesterol, you should consume these extra plant sterols along with a diet that is low in cholesterol and saturated fat, and high in fiber. On your next trip to the supermarket, look for these products with plant stanols and lower your cholesterol even more.
