Dietary phytosterols

Dietary phytosterols

The richest naturally occurring sources of phytosterols are vegetable oils and products made from them. Nuts, which are rich in phytosterols, are often eaten in smaller amounts but can still significantly contribute to total phytosterol intake. Cereal products, vegetables, fruit and berries which are not as rich in phytosterols may also be significant sources of phytosterols due to their higher intakes.[4] The intake of naturally occurring phytosterols ranges between ~150-450 mg/day[5] depending on eating habit. Specially designed vegetarian experimental diets having been produced yielding upwards of 700mg/day.[6] The most commonly occurring phytosterols in the human diet are β-sitosterol, campesterol and stigmasterol which account for approximately 65%, 30% and 3% of diet contents, respectively.[7] The most common plant stanols in the human diet are sitostanol and campestanol which combined make up about ~5% of dietary phytosterol

Phytosterols as a marker for cholesterol absorption

The use of serum plant sterol levels to predict cholesterol absorption was first proposed by Tilvis and Miettinen (1986).[35] These researchers showed that serum levels of campesterol, when normalized for total serum cholesterol, correlated positively with cholesterol absorption in healthy populations. Recently it has also been shown that serum plant sterol concentrations fail to accurately reflect cholesterol absorption in individuals with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome.[36] Phytosterols should also not be used as surrogates for cholesterol absorption in situations when phytosterols are being supplemented.[37] Therefore, the use of serum plant sterols as surrogates for cholesterol absorption should be carefully verified and validated prior to its use within a particular population. http://www.healthfulbio.com/

phytosterol