Plant sterols - healthy eating the easy way?

Cholesterol-lowering phytosterols can even be added to so-called unhealthy foods and still have a positive effect on heart health, according to a study published in last month's British Journal of Nutrition​.Researchers studied the effects of chocolate containing the cholesterol-lowering phytosterol ingredient Reducol, made by Canadian company Forbes Medi-Tech, on people with slightly raised cholesterol levels. They found that after four weeks LDL cholesterol in participants had been significantly reduced.

In the study, 70 participants with mild hypercholesterolemia ate three 10g servings of the phytosterol-enriched chocolate daily over a period of four weeks - this provided 1.8g of unesterified phytosterols. The control groupconsumed placebo portions of chocolate that contained no phytosterolsupplement. All subjects consumed a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet bothbefore and during the study period.

At the end of the study, blood levels of both total and LDL-cholesterol levels had significantly dropped by 6.4 per cent (-0.44 millimoles per litre (mmol/l)) and 10.3 per cent (-0.49mmol/l), respectively when compared to the placebo group.

The results demonstrate the role that functional foods can play in the fight against heart disease. "Functional food has not always been palatable,"​ said study director DrHaydn Pritchard of the University of British Columbia in Canada. "Focusing on theconsumer's appetite for lowering cholesterol, we felt the Belgium trufflechocolates containing Reducol provided an appealing vehicle to lowertheir cholesterol - and taste good."​

Forbes Medi-Tech, which extracts plant sterols from woodpulping by-products, is currentlyawaiting a response from regulatory authorities in the US, EuropeanUnion and Canada regarding a health claim supporting the health benefits ofphytosterols related to cardiovascular health.