Plant Sterols and Lower LDL Cholesterol

It seems that more and more of us each year discover that we have “high cholesterol.”  Can plant sterols and sterolins help?  Studies indicate that they can—but how?  Let’s start with what plant sterols are…

What are plant sterols?

Put simply, plant sterols (short for “phytosterols”) are a type of plant cholesterol.  Plant sterols are produced by plants, just as cholesterol is produced by the human body, and play an important role in the overall health and function of the plant at the cellular level.  But in order to understand how plant sterols can benefit you, an adequate understanding of how and why the body produces and uses cholesterol is also important.

Cholesterol in the human body

The human body produces cholesterol—a type of fat molecule known as a lipid—because every cell in the body needs cholesterol.  Specifically, cholesterol is used by the body to create and regulate the health of cell membranes, to create vitamin D, certain hormones and bile acids in the body, and it serves other functions as well.  Our cells cannot properly function without cholesterol.

When the body produces cholesterol molecules, they bind with proteins to form what are called lipoproteins.  Depending on the ratio of proteins to cholesterol within them, these lipoproteins will be either low-density lipoproteins (LDL) or high-density lipoproteins (HDL), terms with which you are no-doubt familiar.  LDLs are comprised of more cholesterol molecules than protein, whereas HDLs are comprised more proteins than cholesterol.  Very frequently you hear that LDL is the “bad” cholesterol and HDL is the “good” variety.  This is a flawed way of looking at cholesterol, as both of these lipoproteins carry out specific and important functions.

The purpose of LDL cholesterol

The purpose of LDLs is to deliver cholesterol via the bloodstream to cells in every part of the body. The protein acts like a transport—a supply truck, if you will—loading up with cholesterol molecules and carrying them through the vascular “highway” system to all corners of the body.  Cells throughout the body that are deficient in cholesterol create LDL “receptors,” which signal that they need some of the cholesterol being transported in the blood.  When the LDLs arrive, they merge with an LDL receptor and are synthesized into the cholesterol-deficient cell, filling that cell’s demand and need.

The human body produces approximately 75-80% of its daily cholesterol needs.  This occurs primarily in the liver, although other organs and cells also produce cholesterol.  That the body produces cholesterol to meet most of its needs is important to understand on two levels.  First, it is improper to label LDL cholesterol as inherently “bad,” for the body needs it and produces it—it is only bad in excessive amounts.  And second, when functioning properly, the body does not produce more LDLs than it needs, the balance of its cholesterol needs being supplied through the foods we ingest.  We therefore should understand that we need LDLs, but we must understand how they are kept in check, and how to keep them in check.

The purpose of HDL cholesterol

Just as with LDL cholesterol, the body also produces HDL cholesterol—lipoproteins with more protein than cholesterol— whose job it is to keep the vascular network clear of excess cholesterol.   Whereas LDLs act as loaded supply trucks carting around and dropping off cholesterol, HDLs act as recycling trucks, traveling through the bloodstream collecting unused cholesterol molecules before they can pile up, and transporting them to the liver for disposal or recycling.  Our diets should ensure that a sufficient force of HDLs is maintained on a vigilant circuit through the vascular system, and that LDLs are not found in excess amounts in our arteries.  The heart needs clean, free-flowing arteries, and we would be well not to place a strain on the body’s cholesterol-regulation system through unrestrained consumption of high-fat or high-cholesterol foods, which dump high amounts of LDL cholesterol into the system.

The effects of high LDL imbalance

If we have to have an excess of lipoproteins in the blood, the high-protein, low-cholesterol variety (HDLs) is what we want.  But due to modern changes in food sources, production, and processing, and due to the sedentary lifestyle that seems to be this generation’s heritage, our bodies are more at risk than ever before of seeing an HDL/LDL imbalance in favor of LDLs, which is definitely not what we want.  For when there aren’t enough HDLs to keep up with the loads of excess cholesterol being dumped in the arteries, the excess cholesterol can bind to artery walls and constrict blood flow.  And that is bad—very bad.  When LDLs overpower HDLs for long enough periods of time (and shorter for some of us), heart disease, hypertension, heart attack, stroke, angina, and other dangerous and deadly diseases are likely to be the result.

Enter plant sterols

Plant sterol molecules (phytosterol—particularly beta-sitosterol) are structurally similar to the cholesterol molecules produced in the human body, and to those ingested from animal products such as eggs, meat, and cheese:

Because of this similarity, plant sterols “compete” with dietary cholesterol for absorption into the blood through the small intestine.  Plant sterols compete by occupying receptor lipoproteins in the intestinal wall called chylomicrons, which would otherwise receive cholesterol molecules and pass them through the intestinal wall on their way to the liver for LDL synthesis.  By thus “blocking” the absorption of dietary cholesterol into the system, lower amounts of cholesterol molecules enter the blood as LDLs, giving the HDLs less excess cholesterol in the blood to sweep up and carry back to the liver.  All this contributes to a vascular system that is at lower risk of arterial plaque formation, which in turn lowers the risk of the various arterial and heart-related diseases mentioned above.

Are plant sterols safe if I'm currently taking cholesterol-reducing drugs?

Cholesterol-reducing medications each work differently to lower LDL cholesterol levels.  Some drugs suppress cholesterol production in the liver, others stimulate the liver to break down excess cholesterol, and yet others function more like plant sterols, blocking dietary cholesterol from being absorbed into the blood in the first place.  No matter which drug you may be on, however, plant sterols are safe to use.  The Cleveland Clinic, one of America's top hospitals, states quite pointedly that "Plant stanols/sterols do not interfere with cholesterol lowering medications." source  You can feel safe getting the pure nutrition inherent in reVigorate while following "doctor's orders" with your prescribed cholesterol-lowering medication.

Plant sterols sources

As opposed to chemical-based drugs, however, plant sterols are a natural way to combat unsafe levels of diet-introduced LDL cholesterol.  The American Academy of Family Physicians states that “eating plant sterols and stanols can help lower your LDL cholesterol while keeping your HDL cholesterol the same.”  Remember, keeping HDL levels up is important since HDLs are needed to keep the arteries clean.  So the fact that plant sterols do not lower HDL (“good” cholesterol) levels is very important.  In addition, the AAFP notes that “the National Cholesterol Education Program recommends that you take in 2 grams of plant sterols and stanols each day” to lower your cholesterol, in addition to making other body-beneficial lifestyle changes, such as increasing exercise, eating a healthful diet, and not smoking. (Source: FamilyDoctor.org - Supporting articles: Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, National Cholesterol Education Program)

Getting enough plant sterols is a challenge

So how much is 2 grams? Well, it’s not very much—just .07 oz. But not all plant foods are good sources of plant sterols, making it difficult to get a sufficient quantity in your diet to have any measureable effect on LDL cholesterol levels. This difficulty is compounded if you’re not anxious to substitute foods in your current diet with sterols-rich foods, or if you’re unwilling to spend the money on them (as many of them are not your run-of-the-mill veggies and can be expensive). To give you an idea of what kinds of foods you’d need to eat to get adequate plant sterols in your diet, consider the following foods, high in plant sterols:

So just how much of any of these foods would you have to eat to get 2 grams of plant sterols? Let’s look at almonds for an example. Just one ounce of almonds contains 30 mg of plant sterols. So you’d need to eat 4.2 pounds of almonds a day to get your allotment of plant sterols. That’s a lot of almonds! Well, how about apples? Are they any better? Well, at only 25 mg of plant sterols per medium apple, you’d need to eat 80 apples a day to get the needed 2 grams! Who wants to eat a whole box of apples each day? You might keep your cholesterol under control, but at 80 apples a day you’d be swapping one problem for another… 

A better way to get plant sterols

Each capsule of reVigorate Natural Plant Sterols and Sterolins contains 380 mg of 100% all-natural and organic sprout powders from soy, wheat, barley, fenugreek, and mung bean, which each contain high-bioavailability plant sterols and sterolins.  Taking 2 reVigorate capsules with a meal and 8 oz. of water—three times a day—will help your body receive these health-beneficial plant sterols and sterolins in a useable form.  If you are not currently in the habit of "watching what you eat," reVigorate plant sterols are a perfect fit for you, as they can help mitigate excess buildup of LDL cholesterol from the foods you eat.  If you are already eating a heart-healthy diet, reVigorate can boost your immune system, help your cells to be healthy, and offer many other benefits to your body.  It's a win-win for you either way.

Order reVigorate today and put our plant sterols to the test.  That is most certainly a personal challenge!  We have full confidence in the effectiveness of our plant sterols and sterolins supplement. Here's to your good health!

In spite of the potential benefits of taking a plant sterols supplement, if you have high cholesterol (or believe that you do) it is recommended that you see your health care practitioner for competent medical advice.

Note: None of the statements above have been reviewed or approved by the FDA.  Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease.