Journal of Lipid Research
Volume 44, Issue 9, September 2003, Pages 1713-1719
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Research Article
Phytosterols in low- and nonfat beverages as part of a controlled diet fail to lower plasma lipid levels

https://doi.org/10.1194/jlr.M300089-JLR200Get rights and content
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Dietary phytosterols have been shown to reduce plasma cholesterol concentrations when consumed in different food matrices, but their effectiveness in nonfat or low-fat beverages has not been established. The objective of this study was to examine whether phytosterols alter plasma lipid levels when incorporated into nonfat or low-fat beverages. Fifteen moderately hypercholesterolemic men and women consumed three precisely controlled diets for periods of 21 days each in random order. Diets contained either a nonfat placebo beverage (NF), a beverage that is nonfat with added phytosterols (NFPS), or a beverage that is low in fat with added phytosterols (LFPS). Total cholesterol concentrations were not different between groups at endpoint, decreasing (P < 0.05) equally by 8.5%, 11.6%, and 10.1% with NF, NFPS, and LFPS consumption, respectively. There was no effect of dietary treatment on LDL cholesterol concentrations, which decreased over time (P < 0.05) by 5%, 10.4%, and 8.5% with NF, NFPS, and LFPS, respectively. HDL cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations were unaffected by the diets. Provision of phytosterols as part of nonfat and low-fat beverages did not exert any greater hypocholesterolemic effect than a nonfat placebo beverage.

These results show that intake of phytosterols in a low-fat beverage format is not efficacious for lipid level modification.

cholesterol
hypercholesterolemia
placebo
cardiovascular disease

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Published, JLR Papers in Press, May 1, 2003. DOI 10.1194/jlr.M300089-JLR200

    Abbreviations

    CNRU

    Clinical Nutrition Research Unit

    LFPS

    low-fat with phytosterols

    NF

    nonfat placebo

    NFPS

    nonfat with phytosterols

    TC

    total cholesterol