Plant Sterols May Lower Cholesterol

SAN DIEGO--A new study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service found that two daily servings (2.2 grams per day) of plant sterol esters decreased overall cholesterol levels. Plant sterols, a natural soybean extract, combined with a low-fat diet, lowered cholesterol more than a low-fat diet alone.

This study, titled "Effect of Dietary Sterol Esters in Salad Dressings on Blood Lipids, Lipoproteins and Carotenoids" was presented April 18 at the American Society for Nutritional Sciences at the Experimental Biology 2000 meeting here. The study followed 53 men and women with mildly elevated cholesterol for six weeks. Subjects ate low-fat diets and used salad dressing enriched with plant sterols for three weeks. The low-fat diet was then continued without the dressing for another three. When consuming a low-fat diet with plant sterols, participants lowered total and LDL cholesterol levels by 14.1 percent and 18.2 percent respectively; triglycerides fell 16.2 percent. In contrast, a low-fat diet alone only lowered the levels 7.3, 8.4 and 9.2 percent respectively. For further information, contact Karen King at kingk@asns.faseb.org.

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