Added health benefit achieved from higher than recommended daily intake of plant stanol ester in Benecol® products
Raisio plc Press release 21 June 2010
Scientific publication: Added health benefit achieved from higher than recommended daily intake of plant stanol ester in Benecol® products A study published in the scientific journal American Journal of Clinical Nutrition confirms that increasing the daily intake of plant stanols from the current recommendation of 2 grams to up to 9 grams increases its cholesterol-lowering effect without measurable side effects. The study confirms previous evidence that cholesterol is lowered more efficiently as the intake of plant stanols increases. The first cholesterol-lowering Benecol® product containing plant stanol ester was introduced 15 years ago. The ingredient still interests researchers vastly and new, significant health benefits are still being discovered. The most recent studies on plant stanol ester were presented in Hamburg at the European Atherosclerosis Society congress on 20 June 2010. Increasing intake boosts the cholesterol lowering effect The current recommendation for plant stanol intake is 2 grams per day. Researchers at the Maastricht University studied a daily intake of 0, 3, 6, and 9 plant stanol grams in a group of 93 test subjects 1). The study shows that plant stanol ester decreases LDL cholesterol concentration dose-dependently: in the 9 gram group LDL cholesterol decreased the most, 17.4% on average. A study conducted earlier at the University of Eastern Finland 2)has also shown that the cholesterol-lowering effect of plant stanol increases when intake is increased. Plant stanol ester is only found in Benecol® products. - According to current research, the effect of high cholesterol on the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases is indisputable. When overall cholesterol rises by one per cent, the risk of cardiovascular disease increases by two per cent. Lowering LDL cholesterol is an important means of decreasing the risk of disease, and products containing plant stanol esters are a good way of reducing LDL, says Emeritus Professor Gilbert Thompson, Imperial College, London. 60 clinical studies The health benefits of plant stanol ester have been established in over 60 clinical studies. It lowers the blood cholesterol effectively by blocking the absorption of dietary cholesterol and the cholesterol excreted with the bile into the digestive tract, so that both the overall cholesterol and the LDL cholesterol concentrations are reduced. A recent study shows that plant stanol ester also reduces elevated triglycerides levels in blood. 3) At the end of last year a Greek study showed that a Benecol® diet is as effective in reducing the estimated risk of cardiovascular disease as the Mediterranean diet - a diet well known for being heart-friendly.4) 150 subjects with slightly elevated cholesterol levels took part in the study. The estimated cardiovascular disease risk for the group that followed the Mediterranean diet decreased 24-31% during the four-month monitoring period. The diet based on daily use of the Benecol® spread was just as effective in reducing the estimated risk of cardiovascular disease (26 -30%) as the Mediterranean diet. Based on recommendations elevated cholesterol concentrations shall be decreased primarily by changing the life style: by weight-loss, decreasing the intake of saturated fats and replacing them with unsaturated fats, as well as increasing the share of whole grain and vegetable products in the diet. Benecol® products can be used as an efficient dietary tool to reduce elevated cholesterol. The use is easy: a Benecol® product is chosen instead of normal margarine or a normal yoghurt drink. Plant stanol ester products can also be used together with cholesterol-lowering statin medication. - Benecol® products containing plant stanol ester were among the first food products to be granted the right to use the health claim “Plant stanol ester has been shown to lower/reduce blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease,” by the The European Commission, says Raisio's R&D Director Ingmar Wester. Additional information Ingmar Wester, R&D Director, Raisio Plc, tel. +358 50 601 32, ingmar.wester(at)raisio.com Gilbert R Thompson, Professor, MD, Imperial College London, g.thompson(at)imperial.ac.uk 1) Mensink et al. Plant stanols dose-dependently decrease LDL-cholesterol concentrations, but not cholesterol-standardized fat-soluble antioxidant concentrations, at intakes up to 9 g/d1-3. Am J Clin Nutr 2010; 92:24-33. 2) Gylling et al. Very high plant stanol ester intake and serum lipids, sterols, liver function tests, carotenoids, and fat soluble vitamins. Clin Nutr 2010; 29:112-8. 3) Plat, Joghum. Effect of plant stanol ester on elevated serum triglyceride levels. Paper presented at 78th EAS Congress in Hamburg, Germany, June 21-23, 2010. 4) Athyros VG et al. Effect of plant stanol ester-containing spread, placebo spread, or Mediterranean diet on estimated cardiovascular risk and lipid, inflammatory and haemostatic factors. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis (2009), doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2009.08.014. Images for editorial use http://raisio.materials.fi/