Plant Sterols and Cholesterol
It’s easy to overlook plant sterols when it comes to planning a healthy diet and lifestyle. However, plant sterols can play a key role in cardiovascular health and your overall health.
What are Plant Sterols?
Plant sterols also known as phytosterols are natural compounds derived from plants. They can be found in various plant based foods such as seeds, nuts, fruits, olive oil and vegetables. These natural plant structures are produced naturally as part of a plants’ biological membranes. Despite being structurally similar to cholesterol, plant sterols can actually play a role in supporting normal cholesterol levels. In its simplest format, in your gut, plant sterols when consumed compete with dietary cholesterol for certain enzymes needed for their metabolism. This helps reduce cholesterol absorption by upto 50%. The result can provide support for cardiovascular health, making plant sterols important compounds to include within your diet especially for supporting normal cholesterol levels.
What are the Health Benefits of Plant Sterols?
There are several benefits of incorporating plant sterols into your diet. Just a handful of the most prominent include the following.
Cholesterol-Lowering Properties
When it comes to the benefits of plant sterols, perhaps the main point that will usually come to mind is their cholesterol-lowering properties. Indeed, in higher doses, plant sterols are proven to be effective for reducing the level of “bad” (LDL) cholesterol in your blood. As such, incorporating them into your diet, either through plant-based foods or supplements, could be worthwhile if you have concerns about your levels of LDL cholesterol.
Enhancing Your Cardio Health
Keeping your body’s cardiovascular systems in good order is imperative. However, many western diets can often leave us at risk of high LDL cholesterol levels. This can significantly increase your risk of conditions such as heart disease and strokes. Fortunately, since plant sterols have been proven to reduce LDL cholesterol levels they can potentially help to minimize this risk and support normal cholesterol levels. Alongside a healthy diet and regular exercise, plant sterols can be an ideal supplement to help support your cardiovascular health.
Low Risk – Plant Sterols Supplement
Plant sterols supplements have been shown to be safe when used as a supplement in line with the label recommendations. As such, while plant sterols supplements should never be used as a substitute for a healthy diet, they can be a good edition to support your health. If you are unsure about taking plant sterols supplements , especially if you are taking medication always discuss with your GP first.