Plant sterols and stanols are natural compounds found in various plant-based foods that resemble cholesterol in structure. They are primarily derived from vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. These compounds are known for their cholesterol-lowering properties, as they can inhibit the absorption of dietary cholesterol in the intestines.

• Can improve:
• Can prevent:
  • coronary heart disease | cardiovascular disease ? [ h | i ]
• Reduces:
  • low-density lipoprotein (LDL) [ a | b | c | d | e | g ]
  • fasting plasma glucose levels [ a ]
  • total cholesterol (TC) [ a | e | g ]
  • atherosclerotic lesion development | atherosclerotic risk [ c ]
• Increases:
• Side-effects:
• Safety profile (C):
  • Safe [ f ]
  • Negative
    • a link between elevated plasma concentrations of circulating plant sterols with CVD presence [ a ]
    • a potential role in the development of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cardiovascular disease (CVD), inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and allergic asthma [ c ]

Dosage

Notes

? – Contradictory studies.