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Plant Sterol Supplements

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rhall92380

rhall92380

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Has anyone taken plant sterol supplements in an attempt to lower cholestrol - and was it successful?

Richard
 
I think Flutterby is trying that Richard, as she found she couldn't tolerate statins. Hopefully she'll be along to say whether they are working! I imagine that products like Benecol wouldn't be allowed to make their claims if they weren't proven, but it may be that they work better for some people than others.
 
Hi,
I was advised by my Dr. to follow the portfolio diet which includes sterols and is recommended by the British Heart Foundation. It did lower my cholesterol by 10%, not a massive drop if someone has high levels but that was all that I personally needed. Most of the foods were already in my diet so perhaps it was the `Benecol/Flora things that made a difference??

http://www.florahearts.co.uk/Consum...agazine/CholesterolAndLifestyle/PortfolioDiet

I also added avocados on my Dr's advice. Plenty of health benefits from them, as their profile here shows.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=5
 
My dad used to use benecol/flora which as far as I could tell did nothing more than empty his wallet a bit faster...

I personally think that looking at ways of improving diet to incorporate cholesterol lowering fresh ingredients a far better and probably a lot cheaper way of improving cholesterol...
 
You are not supposed to be able to lower your cholesterol by dietary means by more than 10%, so don't expect anything more, as your body makes it own cholesterol.
 
Thanks for the replies. My last cholestrol was 4.5% so a reduction will be welcome. I agree diet is preferale to supplement route. Fortunately I have a dietician appointment next month.

Richard
 
I'm pretty sure that the sterol companies only make claims for their products in addition to a healthy diet, not for changes from unhealthy diet alone to unhealthy diet with sterol products.
 
I've been using plant sterol products since my last cholesterol test in November 2011 and have been given 2 months to improve the 7.1 result 😱

I am due to have blood tests next Wednesday with the results on the Thursday of the following week. so I will report back.

my friend tried to lower his cholesterol using the yogurts, drinks and marg and also tablets containing plant sterol.... but didn't lower it enough and is now on steroids. so maybe it works on some and not on others 😱
 
macast said:
I've been using plant sterol products since my last cholesterol test in November 2011 and have been given 2 months to improve the 7.1 result 😱

I am due to have blood tests next Wednesday with the results on the Thursday of the following week. so I will report back.

my friend tried to lower his cholesterol using the yogurts, drinks and marg and also tablets containing plant sterol.... but didn't lower it enough and is now on steroids. so maybe it works on some and not on others 😱
Click to expand...

I presume you mean Statins and not Steroids (not usually prescribed for high cholesterol!
 
Vicsetter said:
I presume you mean Statins and not Steroids (not usually prescribed for high cholesterol!
Click to expand...


LOL:D oh dear.... another senior moment 😱

yes of course.... I meant Statins 🙄
 
I'm hpoing plant sreols will help me avoid statins. Diet and exercise keeps my HbA1c less than 5%

Richard
 
rhall92380 said:
I'm hpoing plant sreols will help me avoid statins. Diet and exercise keeps my HbA1c less than 5%

Richard
Click to expand...

Your cholesterol is the same as mine Richard, and your running will probably mean that your HDL cholesterol is very good (as is mine). My consultant is happy that I don't need statins. The only difference between us is that you are Type 2 and I'm Type 1. As you only need a small reduction to get to the 'magic' 4.0 total cholesterol that they look for, then I would think that sterols might help you achieve this 🙂 Let us know how you get on!
 
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