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FDA
Approves Healthy Heart Claims for Plant Stanols/Sterols
Plant sterols and stanols are natural components of
foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and vegetable oils.
They work as part of the normal digestive process to
block the absorption of cholesterol.
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Previously, makers of
the margarine-like spreads, Benecol (1.7 g stanol
esters/serving) and Take Control (1.6 g vegetable
oil sterol esters/serving), could only claim "promote
healthy cholesterol" on their labels. Based
on a recently issued interim final rule on plant
stanol/sterol esters, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration
stated that "Foods containing at least 0.65
g per serving of vegetable oil sterol esters, eaten
twice a day with meals for a daily intake of at
least 1.3 g, as part of a diet low in |
| saturated
fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart
disease." Thus, the cholesterol-lowering spread
manufacturers can claim a reduced risk of heart
disease on their labels. |
Source:
News & Analysis@ Food Online.
AACC Approves New Definition for Dietary
Fiber
Dietary fiber includes polysaccharides, oligosaccharides,
lignin, and associated plant substances that aid in
reducing high cholesterol and high blood sugar. The
American Association of Cereal Chemists now defines
dietary fiber as "the edible parts of a plant of
analogous carbohydrates that are resistant to digestion
and absorption in the human small intestine with complete
or partial fermentation in the large intestine."
Source:
Health Supplement Retailer (August 2000) vol.6, no.
8.
Cholesterol Lowering Effects of Fenugreek
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Recently, Prassana conducted
a study evaluating the hypolipidemic effects of
fenugreek in 18 patients with high cholesterol.
The patients were divided into 3 groups of 6 and
received the follow ing treatments: Group I- 50
g placebo, Group II- 25 g placebo + 25 g fenugreek
powder, and Group III- 50 g fenugreek powder. The
placebo powder was a mixture of equal portions of
rice powder & Bengal gram powder. Blood samples
were collected after overnight fasting on days 0,
10, and 20 during the test period and estimated
for lipid profile. The serum cholesterol, triglyceride,
and VLDL levels of Group II and III were significantly
reduced compared to Group I. Serum HDL levels had
a tendency to decrease on day 10 in Groups II and
III, but they rose again to near normal levels on
day 20. |
Figure 1. Effect of fenugreek
on the lipid profile (LDL) of patients (P value: a<0.05,
c<0.01; values are mean ± SEM)
Source:
Prasanna, M. (2000) Ind. J. Pharmacol. 32, 34-36.
Sabinsa Corporation supplies Fenufibers®,
a fiber product obtained from fenugreek (Trigonella
foenum graecum) that contains a minimum of 50% dietary
fiber.
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