Anyone who’s been diagnosed with high cholesterol levels has probably been advised, at some point, to start using margarine enriched with plant sterols.
That’s because plant sterol-enriched margarines, which are high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, promise to help lower your blood cholesterol levels.
“Plant sterol (or phytosterols) is actually a good ingredient that naturally occurs in vegetable oils,” says Accredited Practising Dietitian, Peta Adams. “So when it’s added to margarine it doesn’t affect the flavour too much. For the most part in Australia, we use soybean oil to enhance margarines.”
Compared to other healthier, less energy-dense foods, margarine seems a bit rich. So should we really be introducing margarine with plant sterols into our diets to lower our blood cholesterol levels?
If there’s someone who really doesn’t use margarine or butter, or they don’t eat many sandwiches, then I wouldn’t suggest that they start having margarine with plant sterols to lower their cholesterol.
Adams says yes – but only you already regularly use margarine or butter.
“As a dietician, I’d only ever advocate that people with high cholesterol use margarine with plant sterol if they regularly use butter or margarine in vast quantities,” explains Adams.
“Otherwise, you’re just adding margarine into your diet when it really doesn’t have a lot of other nutritional value to it.
“If there’s someone who really doesn’t use margarine or butter, or they don’t eat many sandwiches, then I wouldn’t suggest that they start having margarine with plant sterols to lower their cholesterol.
“It will have an add-on effect and could counteract the whole point of using the product in the first place.”
What’s better for your cholesterol: spreading toast with margarine with plant sterols or avocado?
Adams says the answer comes down to individual dietary patterns.
“I’d go for the avocado for the person who doesn’t use butter or margarine often because there are plant sterols in avocados as well,” she says.
“It doesn’t have the same extent of plant sterol as the margarine enriched with it. But the avocado has more nutrients. It also contains fibre, which can help trap some of the fats occurring in a meal and that is equally as beneficial for someone with cholesterol.”
Is the enriched margarine effective when you cook with it?
Adams straight out says no – enriched margarine is most effective spread fresh.
“A lot of its value would be lost to cooking. So if you are going to have plant sterol-enriched margarine, you want to spread it fresh over vegetables or on a sandwich.”
How much is too much margarine with plant sterol?
recommends all polyunsaturated or monounsaturated margarine spreads, including those enriched with plant sterols, be consumed in moderate amounts.
Adams advises using around two tablespoons of plant sterol-enriched margarine a day, in the right dietary circumstances.
“That’s quite a significant amount of energy,” she says. “So again, if you are adding margarine into your diet, it is more likely to have a weight gaining effect or a weight neutral effect. That’s obviously something that we don’t want to aim for when someone is looking at their cholesterol.”
Are other foods enriched with plant sterols?
There sure are. Although plant sterols are mainly found in vegetable oils, they are present in smaller amounts in nuts, legumes, grains, cereals, wood pulp and leaves.
Adams says you will need to eat more of these foods to equal the effect of having the recommended amount of enriched margarine in your diet.
However, as legumes and grains are healthy foods to introduce into your diet, it might be a better approach to lower cholesterol for some people, especially if they are obese or overweight. “Remember, cholesterol lowering is a lot about changing your diet and for some people, weight loss.”
The Heart Foundation advises that people with high blood cholesterol consume two-to-three grams of plant sterols every day from plant sterol enriched foods for a 10 per cent reduction in cholesterol levels.
Adams also recommends that people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds whose national dishes feature a lot of legumes, grains and vegetables, swap Western style meals for traditional, sterol-rich dishes.
Try Mexican recipes with pinto beans, a Mediterranean stew with lentils, a Maltese broad bean dip or an Indian lentil soup.
You can also buy breakfast cereals, milk and yoghurts enriched with plant sterols.
The Heart Foundation advises that people with high blood cholesterol consume two-to-three grams of plant sterols every day from plant sterol enriched foods for a 10 per cent reduction in cholesterol levels. However, the effect of plant sterols will vary person-to-person depending on a person’s age and metabolism.
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Legume-rich recipes
Roasted cauliflower with Lebanese lentils and kaniwa
