Meta-Analysis Confirms Phytosterol Cholesterol Benefit

A new meta-analysis published in the prestigious Journal of Nutrition in late January 2009 has confirmed previous findings that a diet rich in phytosterols may significantly reduce cholesterol levels in humans.¹

Phytosterols, or more simply plant sterols and stanols, are the structural components in the cell membranes of plants. Phytosterols are structurally similar to cholesterol, and perform a similar function in plants that cholesterol performs in animals.

The way that phytosterols lower cholesterol is by competing for the limited space in the intestinal micelles, which significantly decrease cholesterol absorption. This in turn affects synthesis of cholesterol in the liver, reducing the production of LDL cholesterol or "bad" cholesterol. Phytostanols are a type of phytosterol that is fully "saturated," a term in physical chemistry that denotes that all the potential bonding sites of the molecule are occupied.

In this study, researchers from The Netherlands' Wageningen University pooled data from 84 previous trials that met their strict inclusion criteria. The researchers evaluated the effects of the phytosterols on LDL cholesterol as well as the delivery mechanism, fat-based or non fat-based, dairy or non-dairy, and liquid or solid food formats. The researchers found that the test subjects had a daily average intake of about 2 grams of phytosterols per day. That average intake yielded an average reduction in LDL cholesterol of about 9 percent. The researchers did not find a significant difference between the sterols and stanols or any of the different delivery characteristics, except that sterols in a solid form did provide a greater benefit than sterols in a liquid form. The researcher salso found a stronger effect if the sterols were split into multiple doses.

These findings fall in line with previous studies, which have found that a daily serving of 800mg of phytosterols can reduce LDL cholesterol by as much as 10% and reduce total cholesterol by as much as 15%.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a cholesterol-lowering claim for products that provide 800mg of phytosterols in a daily serving.

Chol-X® Cardio Formula contains phytosterols (two capsules provide 900mg of phytosterols) and other natural heart-supporting ingredients.

Learn more about phytosterols and Chol-X® Cardio Formula here.