Sterols and low-fat foods

Better Nutrition, Sept, 2004

As you may have read in BN, plant sterols have been proven to reduce both total cholesterol levels and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, levels. That's why sterols are now being added to some high-fat foods such as margarine. But do they have the same effect when added to low-fat food items?

Scientists added plant sterols to low-fat foods--2 percent milk, yogurt, bread and breakfast cereal--so that test subjects received 1.6 grams of sterols per day.

They reported in the May 2004 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition that low-fat foods fortified with plant sterols lowered LDL levels. However, dairy products with added sterols have a greater effect on lowering both LDL and total cholesterol.