News: Concern to Your Heart, Fortified Foods May Can Help

First, there were healthy "margarine-like" spreads. Then came orange juice, followed by yogurt, granola bars, rice "milk," cheese and, now, chocolate bars.

A growing number of popular foods are fortified with sterols and stanols, natural plant substances that lower the so-called bad cholesterol -- low density lipoprotein (LDL) -- by 10% to 15%.

"Major sectors of the food arena are seeing these materials being added," says Peter Jones, professor of human nutrition at McGill University in Canada, who receives some food-industry funding. "The efficacy is indisputable.... The sky's the limit because you can put this stuff into anything. It has no taste, no after-odor, no negative 'mouth feel.' "

Add some other dietary changes -- eat less fried food and products with trans fat, more fiber and beans, some nuts, a little soy -- and you can get a total reduction in LDL of 25%, Jones says. These foods achieve results similar to statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs, he says. For people who can't control cholesterol with diet alone, there's evidence that these foods can help cut the dose of statins needed.

Sterols and stanols are the plant world's version of cholesterol. They don't add to heart disease risk. In the intestines, they are absorbed preferentially so other cholesterol gets eliminated from the body.

In 2001, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommended that people with elevated blood cholesterol levels add foods fortified with sterols and stanols to help cut their LDL levels.

It takes about two grams a day to effectively reduce LDL levels.

"A little bit here and a little bit there won't do any good," says Scott Grundy, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, who also receives some industry funding. "When you do eat them, you have to cut down on appropriate amounts of other food. Otherwise, you could gain weight over the long term." That, in turn, can increase blood cholesterol levels.

Safe intake is about three to five grams a day.

For now, "people should have these products recommended by their physician to lower their blood cholesterol," Grundy says, because there's no evidence that they control cholesterol preventively.

Up to 20% of people with high cholesterol levels show no improvements with sterols or stanols for reasons still not understood.

Plenty of healthy foods have naturally occurring stanols and sterols. Among them: corn; sunflower, safflower, soybean and olive oils; almonds; beans; wheat; lettuce; bananas; apples; and tomatoes. Trouble is, it takes a lot of these foods -- for example, about 13 cups of almonds -- to reach the levels attained in the fortified products.

Here's a rundown on some of the latest fortified products:

1. Lifetime Low Fat Cheese. Comes in cheddar, extra sharp cheddar, mozzarella and jalapeno jack. Available at Whole Foods and other chains as well as specialty stores and online at www.lifetimefatfree.com. Provides 0.65 gram of sterols per ounce.
2. Minute Maid Heart Wise Orange Juice. This juiced-up juice can be found in most grocery stores. Provides 1 gram of sterols per 8 ounces.
3. Nature Valley Healthy Heart Chewy Granola Bars. From General Mills, these bars come in honey nut and oatmeal raisin flavors. Provides 0.4 gram of sterols per bar.
4. Rice Dream Heartwise Rice Drink. Use in place of milk on cereal, as a beverage or in recipes. Provides 0.65 gram of sterols per 8 ounces.
5. Spreads. Benecol, Take Control and Smart Balance OmegaPlus Buttery Spread are margarine-like spreads available at major grocery chains. Provides 1.7 grams stanols (Benecol); 0.45 gram sterols (Smart Balance); 1.7 grams sterols (Take Control).
6. Yoplait Healthy Heart Yogurt. This yogurt comes in Cherry Orchard, Harvest Peach, Strawberry and Strawberry Banana. Provides 0.4 gram stanols per 6 ounces.
7. CocoaVia chocolates. Produced by the makers of M&M's, CocoaVia chocolate-covered almonds and other products are available at select Wal-Mart and Target stores, and early next year at Walgreen's and natural food stores. Also available online at www.cocoavia.com. Provides 1.1 to 1.3 grams of sterols per serving.

Article from Los Angeles Times in this link

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