Patients already on statin medication can reduce their LDL (bad) cholesterol further by consuming a spread containing plant sterols, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol. The plant sterols, from naturally occuring soybean extract, work as part of the normal digestive process to help block absorption of cholesterol.

According to a study published in the June issue of Atherosclerosis(1), the spread containing plant sterols, Take Control(R), actively reduced LDL cholesterol by 10 to 15 percent in both patients who took cholesterol-lowering medication and in those who did not. HDL (good) cholesterol levels remained unchanged. The study was carried out at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, England, on 62 hypercholesterolemic patients between 33 and 62 years of age. The subjects consumed 25 g per day of Take Control over the eight-week trial period. Thirty of the patients were on cholesterol-lowering medication and 32 were not.

"These findings add to the weight of clinical evidence demonstrating the benefits of consuming a plant sterol spread for all adults with raised cholesterol levels -- whether or not they are on statins," said Ernst Schaefer, MD, professor of medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Endocrinology and Lipids Division. "Spreads containing plant sterols provide an additive effect on top of their medication when used as part of a healthy diet. In some patients drug therapy might be avoided, and in others it might allow treatment at lower doses."

According to lead researcher Andrew Neil, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, "These findings now show that spreads containing plant sterols are equally efficacious in reducing total and LDL cholesterol in patients regardless of whether they are taking statin medications or not. Patients who use these spreads alongside cholesterol-lowering drugs can see greater cholesterol reductions than those achieved with medication alone."

Hundreds of studies conducted since the 1950s show the cholesterol- lowering effect of plant sterols.(3,4)

References:

(1) Neil HA, Meijer GW, Roe L. Randomised controlled trial of use of a vegetable oil sterol-enriched fat spread by hypercholesterolaemic patients. Atherosclerosis. (2001) 2: 329-337

(2) Foods containing at least 0.65 g per serving of vegetable sterol esters, eaten twice a day with meals for a daily total intake of at least 1.3g, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.

(3) Pollak OJ. (1953). Reduction of blood cholesterol in man. Circulation. (1952) 7: 702-706

(4) Pollak OJ, Kritchevsky D. Sitosterol. Monographs on atherosclerosis. (1981) 10: 3b:139