New weapon in war against heart disease

CSIRO scientists are researching an important new weapon in the war against heart disease - plant sterols.

Plant sterols are natural ingredients in the cell walls of many everyday foods including nuts, seeds and vegetables, but at quite low levels according to CSIRO scientist Dr Peter Clifton.

CSIRO will be running trials on foods fortified with plant sterols to find ways of increasing the dietary intake of these cholesterol lowering substances.

Announcing the trials today, Dr Clifton said that sterol-fortified margarine trials conducted last year by CSIRO had already proved LDL or 'bad' cholesterol could be reduced by up to 10 per cent within three weeks in men and women with elevated levels.

However, many people would find it difficult to eat the minimum of 20g or four teaspoons of margarine a day required to optimise the effect of these naturally-occurring plant substances on cholesterol levels.

"The study announced today involves a broader range of foods enriched with plant sterols including bread, milk, cereal and yogurt, making sterol-fortified foods easier to incorporate in the average Australian diet," Dr Clifton says.

"This has the potential to radically change the Australian diet, particularly for the 50 per cent of Australians who have elevated cholesterol levels which puts them at higher risk of heart disease."

Item provided courtesy of CSIRO