plant sterols and other dietary changes - High Cholesterol Message Board

namelessme · 05-14-2009, 12:05 PM

I really advise staying away from plant sterols.

They certainly can reduce your LDL by 10-15%. But the plant sterols are very similar to cholesterol. Many doctors think the sterols simply take the place of cholesterol in your arteries. They have found plant sterols in plaque.

So... you may get lower cholesterol numbers, but actually be increasing your risk of heart disease.

Eating more fiber (oat bran) could help a little.

ACE28 · 05-14-2009, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by namelessme

I really advise staying away from plant sterols.

They certainly can reduce your LDL by 10-15%. But the plant sterols are very similar to cholesterol. Many doctors think the sterols simply take the place of cholesterol in your arteries. They have found plant sterols in plaque.

So... you may get lower cholesterol numbers, but actually be increasing your risk of heart disease.

Eating more fiber (oat bran) could help a little.

The plant/sterol myth has not been proven by far. Beta Sitosterol and other plant sterols have also been researched and proven effective for inflammatory conditions and Prostate issues. Keep in mind that most doctors do not approve of any type of cholesterol lowering supplements that is not either a statin or a fibrate. The medical circles have criticized and published contadicory literature for POLICOSANOL, PLANT STEROLS, RED YEAST RICE, VITAMIN E, and lately SELENIUM and FOLIC ACID. Unfortunately, the latest HDL raising drug developed by Pfizer proved to be very dangerous and banned by the FDA. The only supplement which is currently known to raise HDL and improve the entire lipid panel is Niacin. This supplement is so effective that the drug manufacturers now consider it to be their own. 15 years ago Niacin was researched and considered to be very dangerous to your health for causing ulcers, excessive bleeding and Liver toxicity/failure and the rise in HDL values were not of importance. The importance was LDL cholesterol only. These theories fell by the wayside..

namelessme · 05-14-2009, 02:16 PM

If you want to try the supplement route, plant stanols may be safer than sterols. They aren't absorbed into the bloodstream, although there could be some concern about it blocking the absorption of some vitamins.

There is not a single study that shows plant sterols reducing the risk of heart disease.

You bring up Torcetrapib, which was an utter failure, and the same risk applies to sterols. Without studies to back it up, all it does is change some numbers on your bloodwork... yet you have no idea if it's reducing risk or increasing risk. Zetia would be another example. Yes, it reduces LDL, but at best probably does nothing, and possibly could even harm.

Policosanol was shown to do absolutely nothing. All beneficial studies came out of Cuba, and could not be replicated elsewhere.

Red yeast rice has lots of studies showing a benefit. And some doctors do recommend it instead of a regular statin. If going the natural route, it's a better option than plant sterols right now -- at least some data supports red yeast rice.

ACE28 · 05-15-2009, 06:48 AM

There are many foods rich in plant sterols which are claimed to help cholesterol levels. These foods have also not been proven but at least they don't increase cholesterol and keep most away from dangerous medications with horrible side effects. Policosanol from Sugar Cane extract is highly effective. Source Naturals policosanol supplements are derrived from sugar cane and helped rasie my HDL. One-A-day discontinued using Policosanol in their Cholesterol Plus due to the negative press and substituted plant sterols. One-A-Day also used 10 mg of pure sugar cane. My blood results on 2 occasions were excellent as were my wife's numbers after 6 weeks.

The natural route for Plant Sterols are these common foods naturally rich in plant sterols though also not proven:

Avocado
Walnuts
Almonds
Soybeans
Cold-pressed olive oil
Peanuts
Sunflower seeds
Wheat germ oil
Sesame seeds

tjlhb · 05-15-2009, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ACE28

The natural route for Plant Sterols are these common foods naturally rich in plant sterols though also not proven:

Avocado
Walnuts
Almonds
Soybeans
Cold-pressed olive oil
Peanuts
Sunflower seeds
Wheat germ oil
Sesame seeds

Of course, many of the above may help anyway (even if the plant sterols do nothing), as they are high in unsaturated fats, if they are eaten to replace food with saturated or hydrogenated fats.