A new study found that cocoa bars enriched with plant stanols help to lower cholesterol. Plant stanols have been approved by the FDA as a treatment alternative to lowering cholesterol and are encouraged as a first line of treatment for high LDL or total cholesterol. The Journal of the American Dietetic Association published the results this month.
Plant stanols work in the GI tract to limit the absorption of cholesterol and fat in the diet, thereby lowering the total amount in the body. They are usually more effective for individuals who have high cholesterol because of reasons other than family history.
For the study 67 men and women with previously diagnosed high cholesterol were randomized to one of two groups. The first group consumed two cocoa snack bars a day containing 1.5 grams of plant stanols for 6 weeks. The second group consumed cocoa bars minus the stanols for the same period of time. Levels of total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol were measured in the blood before and after the study. Researchers also measured levels of fat soluble vitamins to determine if the stanols had any effect on their absorption.
Those individuals in the plant stanol cocoa bar group had a significant reduction in both total and LDL cholesterol after the six week period. They also had increases in their HDL, or good cholesterol. Total cholesterol was lowered by an average of 4.7 percent and LDL by an average of 6 percent. The control group did not have any significant reduction in total or LDL cholesterol.
Absorption of fat soluble Vitamins A and E was not affected by the treatment, but beta carotene was lower in the plant stanol group.
The authors concluded that cocoa bars enriched with plant stanols are an effective and possibly enjoyable way to lower ones cholesterol. The study was funded in part by the maker of the bars. Hopefully another study will support the use of cocoa bars as a means of lowering cholesterol.
Posted by Dr. Christina Gutierrez on November 13, 2006 04:10 PM
