Plant Sterols

Does Dietary Cholesterol Matter?

Grundy SM · Current atherosclerosis reports · 2016

An ongoing dispute in the nutrition field is whether dietary cholesterol contributes significantly to elevated serum cholesterol and to atherosclerotic disease. Carefully controlled metabolic studies have shown that high-cholesterol intakes cause moderate increases in serum cholesterol levels. It is been difficult to verify this in population studies because of confounding factors. Nonetheless, meta-analysis of controlled studies documents a cholesterol-raising action of dietary cholesterol. Most of this effect occurs in low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), but the cholesterol content of other lipoproteins can be increased as well. Moreover, population studies strongly suggest that dietary cholesterol is atherogenic beyond any rise in LDL concentrations. It must be emphasized that dietary cholesterol is only one of several dietary factors influencing serum cholesterol levels. Others include saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, soluble fiber, and total caloric intake. To achieve substa

Living longer and lifestyle: A report on the oldest of the old in the Adventist Health Study-2.

Santos HD, Alabadi-Bierman A, Paalani M, Padilla SL, Alvarez A, Beeson WL · JAR life · 2025

This investigation aimed to evaluate and describe the health profile and dietary patterns of the oldest Adventists (individuals aged 80 years and older). Cross-sectional investigation. Self-administered lifestyle questionnaire in Adventist congregations in North America. 7192 individuals aged 80 years of age or older enrolled in the Adventist Health Study-2. Dietary intakes for participants were evaluated using a self-administered quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Selected health outcomes data were assessed with the baseline self-administered medical history questionnaire. Our cohort of the old adults Adventists had a predominant female participation (62 %), and the percentage of vegetarians was 52.7 %. Based on classification into respective dietary patterns, 7.8 % of the study population were vegan, 29.2 % of the participants were lacto-ovo vegetarians, 10.2 % were pesco-vegetarians, 5.5 % were semi-vegetarians, and 47.3 % were non-vegetarians. Regarding the assessment

Effect of Avocado Consumption on Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Okobi OE, Odoma VA, Okunromade O, Louise-Oluwasanmi O, Itua B, Ndubuisi C · Cureus · 2023

High cholesterol levels are a significant risk factor for heart disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. Lowering cholesterol plays a crucial role in maintaining good health. One approach to reducing cholesterol is through dietary modifications, and avocados have been recognized as a potential food choice for this purpose. Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), fiber, and plant sterols, which have cholesterol-lowering effects. Incorporating avocados into a low-fat diet can be beneficial. This study design followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines and conducted databases in Cochrane, SCOPUS, PubMed, and Web of Science up until May 2023, combining keywords related to avocados and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The study focused on randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and excluded observational studies, meta-analyses, surveys, abstracts, and reviews. Seven RCTs were included in the study, all reporting total

Plant sterols and atherosclerosis.

Silbernagel G, Genser B, Nestel P, März W · Current opinion in lipidology · 2013

Plant sterols as ingredients to functional foods are recommended for lowering LDL cholesterol. However, there is an ongoing discussion whether the use of plant sterols is safe. Genetic analyses showed that common variants of the ATP binding cassette transporter G8 (ABCG8) and ABO genes are associated with elevated circulating plant sterols and higher risk for cardiovascular disease. However, these data do not prove a causal role for plant sterols in atherosclerosis because the risk alleles in ABCG8 and ABO are also related to elevated total and LDL cholesterol levels. The ABO locus exhibits still further pleiotropy. Moreover, analyses in the general population indicated that moderately elevated circulating plant sterols are not correlated with present or future vascular disease. In agreement, novel studies using food frequency questionnaires, studies in experimental animals, and dietary intervention studies support that ingestion of plant sterols may be beneficial to cardiovascular he

The Effects of Plant Stanol Esters on Intestinal Mucosal Gene Expression Profiles and Microbiota Composition in Healthy Human Subjects

n=20 · NCT01574417 · COMPLETED · COMPLETED

Plant sterols and stanols are dietary components that are naturally present in plants. Their biological function in plants is comparable with these of cholesterol in animals. They are structurally related to cholesterol, but are absorbed by enterocytes to a much lesser extent. It is generally accepted that they inhibit intestinal cholesterol absorption and consequently lower serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations up to 10% at daily intakes of 2.5 g. The exact underlying mechanism of the plant sterol/stanol mediated reduction in intestinal cholesterol absorption is still unknown. It has been suggested that they lower the activity of sterol uptake transporters like Niemann-Pick C1 like 1 protein (NPC1L1) in enterocytes, otherwise several studies indicated that these compounds could activate the liver X receptor (LXR) in enterocytes, thereby activating the ABC transporters involved in the intestinal cholesterol metabolism, whereas recently suggestions have been made that plant sterols and stanols activate transintestinal cholesterol excretion (TICE). This is the direct cholesterol secretion from the blood into the intestinal lumen, in which the enterocytes play a central role. None of these assumptions have so far been evaluated in humans. Objective: The major objective of the present study is to examine the acute effects of dietary plant stanol esters on the intestinal mucosal gene expression profiles in intestinal biopsies in healthy volunteers. The minor objective is to investigate whether semi-long-term use (3 weeks) of plant stanol esters have an effect on microbiota composition.

Effects of Long-term Daily Consumption of Plant Sterol or Stanol Esters in Statin-treated Patients

n=60 · NCT00802516 · COMPLETED · COMPLETED

BACKGROUND Plant sterols and stanols are compounds that are structurally related to cholesterol, which decrease intestinal cholesterol absorption and consequently serum LDL cholesterol concentrations by 10-14%. Nowadays plant sterols and stanols are widely available incorporated in food products like margarines and yogurts and are presented as functional foods. Whether the cholesterol lowering effects of plant sterols and stanols also favorably affect endothelial function in humans is currently unknown. Apart from their cholesterol lowering effects, plant sterols and stanols might have other effects like effects on red blood cell properties, cognitive performance and antioxidant status. Especially to evaluate effects on this type of parameters long-term daily consumption of plant sterols and stanols is necessary. These questions will be answered in statin treated patients since functional foods enriched with plant sterol and stanol esters have been recommended for statin-users as an "add on" therapy. This may ultimately lead to a lower dose of statins or an increased number of patients that reach the target for LDL-cholesterol reduction. AIM The major objective of the present proposal is to examine the effects of a long-term consumption of plant sterols and stanols on the endothelial function of the vessel wall in statin-treated patients. STUDY DESIGN Subjects: The subjects will be recruited among men and women in Maastricht and surroundings, aged between 18 and 70 years. Participation will be on voluntary basis. People who are willing to participate will be invited for two screening visits. Experimental design: The present study is a double-blind, randomized parallel intervention trial with 60 statin-treated subjects, in which the metabolic effects of a long term (90 weeks) consumption of plant sterols and stanols (2.5 g/day) will be studied. After a run-in period of 5 weeks the subjects will be randomly divided into three groups of 20 subjects each. One group will continue with the control margarine without added plant sterols and stanols, one group will use a plant sterol margarine and the last group will use a plant stanol margarine for 85 weeks. The major endpoint will be endothelial function of the vessel wall, and in addition various parameters related to lipids and lipoprotein metabolism, erythrocyte characteristics and cognitive performance will be measured. Risk for subjects The margarines containing the plant sterols and stanols are safe and palatable. Venipunctures and other (non-invasive) measurements are carried out by skilled persons and not of any risk. A subject will spend approximately 1 hour a month in participating in the studies.

Systemic and Intestinal Therapeutic Target Bioactivity of a Functional Beverage Containing β-cryptoxanthin (β-Cx), Plant Sterols (PS) and Galactooligosaccharides (GOS): "in Vivo" and "in Vitro" Studies.

n=40 · NCT03469518 · UNKNOWN · UNKNOWN

Regular consumption of a beverage containing β-cryptoxanthin (β-Cx) and plant sterols (PS) has been shown to exert a synergic effect in reducing some markers of cardiovascular risk and bone-remodeling (formation and resorption). The present project aims to: * Evaluate (by in vivo and in vitro studies) the bioavailability of added β-Cx, PS and galactooligosaccharides (GOS) and its stability in the beverage employed in the proposed study. * Study the biological effect (bioefficacy) associated with the regular consumption of modified milk-based fruit beverages containing β-Cx, PS and GOS in post-menopausal women (target group) by assessing changes in inflammation, cardiovascular and bone turnover biochemical markers. * Characterize genetic variability (polymorphisms), genetic expression and DNA oxidative damage in the target group as determinants of bioavailability and biological effects of β-Cx, PS and GOS. * Evaluate the potential prebiotic effect associated to regular consumption of a beverage supplemented with β-Cx, PS and GOS: including "in vitro" studies and characterization of subjects' microbiota and possible microbiota changes associated to the beverage consumption.