What is a plant stanol?
Plant Stanol is a small but necessary chemical compound that acts as part of the cell membranes of certain plants. Stanols belong to the class of naturally occurring plant compounds called phytosterols. Scientists recognize two forms of phytosterols in plants: sterols and stanols. Both are necessary structural components in plants. These substances act to protect the integrity of the cell membrane as well as cholesterol for the cells of the human body. Scientists
have been studying plant sterols and plant stanols for over 50 years. The health benefits of both forms of phytosterols were well introduced. Research studies have determined that these plant compounds have cholesterol -reducing properties. Phytosterols protect the heart by lowering lipoprotein levels with low density (LDL). High LDL levels are considered to be potential predecessors of health problems, such as cardiovascular disease.Gh cholesterol in a similar way to some prescription drugs. Stanol plants will actually be a BLOforge the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine. Stanols chemically resemble cholesterol found in animal products. Once in the bloodstream, the plant Stanol simply gets in the way of diet cholesterol. Cholesterol, which cannot be completely absorbed, passes from the body as waste.
plants are a naturally occurring substance. It cannot be produced by the body as cholesterol. Instead, it must be consumed. Only wooden pulp, certain types of grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes and vegetable oils contain vegetable stanols.
Less common than sterols, plant stanols account for only about 10 percent of total phytosterols in plants. Sterols are the remaining 90 percent. Due to their low concentration, it is very difficult to consume enough plant stanols from Natural food to effectively reduce cholesterol. In the age of 80, scientists developed a method for extraction of stanols and sterols from plants.The compounds created by the extraction process are called plant stanol esters.
After the esterification process, stanols are more soluble and can therefore be easily added to food that contains fats. A number of functional foods such as margarins, salad dressings and cheese have now been created, allowing to integrate a sufficiently high concentration of plant stanols into the diet to help reduce cholesterol. According to the United States, Food and Drug Administration (USDA) may have a daily consumption of 3.4 grams of plant stanoline esters along with low -fat diet, which decreases cholesterol.