European Food Standards Agency gives Phytosterols the Green Light
Two article 14 cholesterol-lowering health claim opinions relating to plant (phyto) sterols and stanols have now been written into European Health legislature.
High cholesterol is one the main causes of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD); the most common cause of death in the UK, according to the British Heart Foundation. Of the 94,000 UK deaths attributed to CHD each year, about 40 per cent are linked to high cholesterol levels.
In the summary of its scientific opinion, EFSA’s Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) found: “…1.5 - 1.9 g and 2.0 - 2.4 g plant sterols/plant stanols per day was observed to lower blood LDL-cholesterol by an average of 8.5 % and 8.9 %, respectively. The Panel concludes that for an intake of 1.5 - 2.4 g/d an average reduction of between 7 and 10.5% can be expected. The Panel considers that such a reduction is of biological significance in terms of reduced risk of coronary heart disease.”
