Micronutrients & recovery
Plant sterols and stanols (PS/PS) reduce LDL-C by 8-12% through competitive inhibition of intestinal cholesterol absorption, with efficacy plateauing at approximately 3 g/day.
If you have moderately elevated cholesterol and are not on statins, adding 2-3 grams of plant sterols/stanols daily (found in fortified spreads or supplements) can lower your LDL by about 10%. Take them with meals, preferably in fat-based spreads like canola oil, to maximize absorption. This is not a substitute for statins if you are at high cardiovascular risk.
Plant sterols plus stanols reduce LDL-C by decreasing intestinal absorption of exogenous cholesterol, competing with it in the formation of solubilized micelles... The lipid-lowering effect of PS is dose dependent and proportional up to the attainment of a plateau (reached at approximately 3 g/d of PS, achieving an average effect on LDL-C of -12%)
Why this rating
Supported by multiple meta-analyses of RCTs (Level A evidence), though long-term safety data (>2 years) is limited.
Source
Lipid-lowering nutraceuticals in clinical practice: position paper from an International Lipid Expert Panel
Arrigo F.G. Cicero et al. · Nutrition Reviews · 2017
DOI 10.1093/nutrit/nux047
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