RESEARCH STUDIES

The effects of plant sterols on cholesterol have been known since the 1950s, with several hundred studies published which support their efficacy and safety. Since the late 1980s Unilever, in collaboration with many independent scientific investigators, has extensively researched this effect of plant sterols in over 40 clinical trials.

A study by Hendriks et al. impressively shows the different effects of butter, a margarine spread and a margarine spread containing plant sterols on cholesterol levels (1).

Several studies on the effects of plant sterol spreads on cholesterol have been conducted in Australia and New Zealand, including studies at CSIRO in Adelaide (2) and the University of Otago in Dunedin (3,4) using Flora® pro-activ.

Flora Dose-response effect of plant sterol - enriched spread intake on cholesterol

Scientific studies consistently show:
  • The 'bad' LDL cholesterol is lowered
  • The 'good' HDL cholesterol is unchanged
  • It takes about 3 weeks.
References:
  1. Hendriks et al. Eur J Clin Nutr 1999
  2. Noakes M et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2002;75:79-86
  3. Cleghorn CL et al. Eur J Clin Nutr 2003;57:170-6
  4. Skeaff M et al. Nutr, Metab & Cardiovasc Diseases (2005) 15, 337e344
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