Plant Sterols, also known as Phytosterols, are loaded with benefits. One of the biggest benefits that plant sterols provides are helping people to lower cholesterol naturally. With how big of a concern cholesterol is to people many food manufacturers have begun to add plant sterols to foods that they sell, which increases the chances of people absorbing plant sterols naturally. Some of the food that you will find plant sterols added to are margarine spreads, orange juice, granola bars, and some cereals.
The reason that plant sterols help people lower their cholesterol naturally is because of how plant sterols work inside the human body. As plant sterols travel through a person’s digestive system they get in the way of the cholesterol that is trying to build up in your body. By getting in the way of the cholesterol, the plant sterols prevent the cholesterol from building up in your arteries. Instead, what happens is the cholesterol that would normally build up in your arties is passed through your body instead of being absorbed into your body; it simply goes out with the other waste.
When it comes to blocking cholesterol effectively, plant sterols can block up to 15-20% of the cholesterol. Even this small amount of cholesterol being absorbed can make a big impact on how low your cholesterol is. Just by blocking 15-20% of the cholesterol, plant sterols can lower your cholesterol by 20 points. The key to getting your cholesterol lower though is ensuring that you are getting enough plant sterols in your diet naturally.
If you want to use plant sterols to help lower your cholesterol you will need to get at least three servings a day into your diet. This is easily done by eating foods that are fortified with plant sterols. For example, one study done by the University of Davis Medical Center shows that after drinking sterol fortified orange juice for two weeks people were able to lower their cholesterol by 12.4%. Another study that was published in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that eating less than an ounce of sterol-fortified margarine a day can lower your cholesterol by 14%.