Lower your cholesterol with plant stanols and sterols

[HysteryDiagnosis]

The FDA says they are GRAS.... your mileage may vary. I think you can find them somewhere.

Curr Pharm Des. 2011;17(9):922-32.
Plant sterols and stanols in the treatment of dyslipidemia: new insights into targets and mechanisms related to cardiovascular risk.
Baumgartner S, Mensink RP, Plat J.
Source

Department of Human Biology, School for Nutrition, Toxicology and Metabolism, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Abstract

Plant sterols and stanols are naturally occurring constituents of plants and as such normal components of our daily diet. The consumption of foods enriched in plant sterols and stanols may help to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations. Meta-analyses have shown that consuming approximately 2.5 g plant sterols or stanols per day lowers serum LDL-C concentrations up to 10%, with little additional benefit achieved at higher intakes.

However, recent studies evaluating plant stanol intakes up to 9 g/d have indicated that LDL-C concentrations can be reduced up to 17%, which suggests that more pronounced reductions can be achieved at higher intakes. Studies describing effects of high plant sterol intakes on serum LDL-C concentrations are not consistent.

Besides the effects of higher than advocated intakes on serum LDL-C concentrations, several topics will be discussed in this review. First, besides the well-characterized effect of plant sterols and stanols on serum LDL-C concentrations, evidence is now emerging of their effects on triacylglycerol metabolism, which makes them highly attractive for interventions in metabolic syndrome-like populations. Secondly, there is an ongoing debate whether increased plant sterol concentrations are associated with an increased cardiovascular disease risk or not. For this there are at least two possible explanations.

First, the potential atherogenicity of increased plant sterol concentrations might be ascribed to the formation of plant sterol oxidation products (so-called oxyphytosterols) or secondly, elevated serum plant sterol concentrations should only be seen as surrogate markers for characterizing subjects with high intestinal cholesterol absorption. Finally, we discuss recent studies, which suggest that plant sterols and stanols can improve endothelial dysfunction in subjects at risk, although evidence is limited and more research is needed.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. My concern now that my cholesterol is under control is how do I get rid of the plaque I built up

over all these years?

[donco]

2. Exercise and

high doses of niacin…better check with a doc first though.

[roguevalley]

6. that's nice to know. I walk about seven miles a day and will

include niacin. :)

[sabbat hunter]

3. boosting your HDL

HDL helps get rid of LDL.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Does that actually eat up the plaque? I will ask my doc about this. I know that years

of bad living and horrible genes have probably got me all blocked up by now. :(

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. Doesn't that Plavix stuff work? I thought they said it cleared it..... anyhoo, this was terminated

don't know why.

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00720720?term=sterols&rank=20

[laconicsax]

5. Do you have a link to go with your post?

:shrug:

[Locrian]

8. stay away for sugars / carbs...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/the-cholesterol-myth-that_b_676817.html



How to Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally...

1. Make sure you're getting plenty of high-quality, animal-based omega3-fats. I prefer those from krill oil. New research suggests that as little as 500 mg may lower your total cholesterol and triglycerides and will likely increase your HDL cholesterol.

2. Reduce, with the plan of eliminating, grains and sugars in your daily diet. It is especially important to eliminate dangerous sugars such as fructose. If your HDL/Cholesterol ratio is abnormal and needs to be improved it would also serve you well to virtually eliminate fruits from your diet, as that it also a source of fructose. Once your cholesterol improves you can gradually reintroduce it to levels that don't raise your cholesterol.

3. Eat the right foods for your nutritional type. You can learn your nutritional type by taking our FREE test.

4. Eat a good portion of your food raw.

5. Eat healthy, preferably raw, fats that correspond to your nutritional type. This includes:

-- Olive oil
-- Coconut and coconut oil
-- Organic raw dairy products (including butter, cream, sour cream, cheese, etc.)
-- Avocados
-- Raw nuts
-- Seeds
-- Eggs (lightly cooked with yolks intact or raw)
-- Organic, grass-fed meats

6. Get the right amount of exercise, especially Peak Fitness type of exercise. When you exercise you increase your circulation and the blood flow throughout your body. The components of your immune system are also better circulated, which means your immune system has a better chance of fighting an illness before it has the opportunity to spread.

7. Avoid smoking and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.

8. Address your emotional challenges. I particularly love the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) for stress management.