Phytosterols
Specific molecules
The cholesterol of plants — similar enough to ours to take its place at absorption.
That is where their interest comes from, and it is also what enriched margarines sell. Seeds and virgin oils naturally provide as much.
Effects and benefits
Plant cholesterol resembles ours enough to steal its place in the gut. At 0.8 g a day, phytosterols contribute to maintaining normal cholesterol; with fortified foods, 1.5 to 3 g lower LDL cholesterol by 7 to 10% in two to three weeks.
In the gut, cholesterol has to enter small droplets, micelles, to be absorbed. Phytosterols take its place and almost all leave again: part of the cholesterol, from food and bile, goes out with the stool.
Phytosterols contribute to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels, from 0.8 g a day; and, with fortified foods providing 1.5 to 3 g a day, they have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol by 7 to 10% in two to three weeks, high cholesterol being a risk factor for coronary heart disease.
Fortified foods carry a mandatory statement: they are not suitable for pregnant or breastfeeding women or for children under five, and are of no use to those who do not need to watch their cholesterol (Regulation 608/2004). Seeds, nuts and virgin oils naturally provide a few hundred milligrams a day.
Sources: EU Regulation 432/2012 · EU Regulation 384/2010 · EC Regulation 608/2004
Where to find it (13)
- Almond
- Argan oil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Flaxseeds
- Grenoble walnut
- Pine nut
- Pistachio
- Pumpkin seeds
- Rice bran oil
- Sesame seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Virgin canola oil
- Virgin sesame oil