The One Nutrient RDs Should Recommend Every Day

by Katie Murtha MS, RD, CSSD, LDN – www.RDKate.com

As RDs, it can become difficult keeping up with news of the next “supernutrient” or “superfood”. I find myself spending significant time researching each new fad food so I can tell my clients whether it’s worth their money. However, amidst all of these supernutrients, there is one supernutrient – or perhaps more accurately, food additive – that I find myself wishing all RDs knew just a bit more about: phytosterols.

Phytosterols (which include plant stanols and sterols) have been shown in countless studies to have a sigifnicant effect on blood cholesterol. In fact, consuming just 1-2 gm of plant phytoserols (PS) daily can lower blood cholesterol levels by 8-12% (Caswell H, Denny A & Lunn J, 2008). Sterol esters work by increasing cholesterol output into the bile and by transferring cholesterol back into the intestinal track. Essentially, they inhibit absorption of dietary and biliary cholesterol by competing for space in micelles (Nies et al., 2006). No longer should we be recommending low-fat diets to fight high cholesterol…instead we should be encouraging the inclusion of PS on a daily basis, as they have the single largest effect on blood cholesterol than any other dietary change.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to consume 2gm daily through plant sources alone (try around 800 nuts daily). However, industry has already caught on to this fact, so there are many products on the market that are fortified with PS. In September of 2000, the FDA authorized use of health claims for the association between PS and reduced risk of CHD. Foods bearing the claim must contain at least 0.65 gm of plant sterols per serving or 1.7 gm of stanol esters per serving. Note: Doses above 2gm/day do not appear to show any additional benefit (Nies, 2006).

One fortified product is Corazonas brand Oatmeal Squares, which contain 1gm of sterols per square! Other products include Promise yogurt shots and margarine, Kashi Heart to Heart cereal,  Benecol margine, Silk soymilk and Minute Maid Heartwise orange juice (pictured), which contains 1gm per 8 oz. Teach your clients to look for products that advertise the inclusion of PS.

As a general rule PS-fortified butters, yogurt, milk, and mayo are better sources than OJ, non-fat beverages, breads, and cereal bars because the PS are more readily incorporated into milk globule membranes and somore readily compete with cholesterol for transfer into micelles. In other products, the sterols may be trapped in the center of lipid droplets and may not be available until the fat is digested.

So although our clients may not be able to make every dietary change we hope for, this is one change worth encouraging.

Additional source: Powerpoint slides created by Jim Painter PhD, RD

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Stephanie Hofhenke

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