Plant sterols have been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels, depending on how much you eat. They block the ability of the body to absorb cholesterol back into the body and as such it passes harmlessly out of your system. Plant sterols can lower total cholesterol by an average of 10 percent. You can get plant sterols from the foods such as nuts, seeds and legumes, bread and cereals, fruit and vegetables (but in small amounts). If you have high cholesterol and need to lower it you will find it very difficult to get enough in by these foods alone. In order to have a cholesterol lowering effect you will need 2 to 3 grams of plant sterols per day. This means 2 to 3 serves of plant sterol enriched foods per day, and these are now available in many supermarkets.
One serve of plant sterol enriched food is equivalent to:
* 2 teaspoons of plant sterol enriched margarine spread
* 1 cup of plant sterol enriched breakfast cereal or 2 breakfast biscuits
* 1 cup of plant sterol enriched milk
* 1 200-grams tub of plant sterol enriched yoghurt
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