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Sitostanol

Sitostanol (stigmastanol) is a plant product. It is made from vegetable oils or the oil from the wood pulp of pine trees and then combined with rapeseed oil. Sitostanol is used to prevent heart disease and high cholesterol levels. Sitostanol is an ingredient in some types of margarine, which are advertised as reducing the risk of coronary heart disease. However, although there is a lot of evidence that Sitostanol can lower cholesterol levels, there are no long-term studies that prove that Sitostanol actually lowers the risk of coronary heart disease. Sitostanol should not be confused with beta-sitosterol, an unsaturated plant sterol used in other cholesterol-lowering foods. Both sitostanol and beta-sitosterol are used to lower cholesterol levels in people with high cholesterol levels and both appear to be equally effective.

How does Sitostanol work?

Sitostanol prevents both dietary cholesterol and cholesterol produced by the liver from entering the body.

How effective is Sitostanol?

Sitostanol is likely to be effective when used to lower cholesterol levels. Sitostanol is effective when used to lower cholesterol levels in adults who suffer from high cholesterol levels. It does not need to be taken with meals to be effective. Cholesterol levels decrease within 2 to 3 weeks of starting Sitostanol use and return to their pre-Sitostanol baseline levels 2 to 3 weeks after stopping use. Sitostanol does not appear to have the same effect in all people. About 12% of patients do not respond to Sitostanol.

Sitostanol is usually used as part of a Sitostanol-enriched diet such as margarine. Sitostanol alone can reduce total cholesterol and bad LDL cholesterol levels by 10 to 15%. Scientific research suggests that a dose of about 2 grams per day lowers cholesterol levels the most. Higher doses do not appear to work any better. When Sitostanol is added to a medication of prescription cholesterol-lowering drugs such as pravastatin or simvastatin, it can lower total cholesterol levels by an additional 3 to 11% and LDL cholesterol levels by an additional 7 to 16%.

Sitostanol also appears to be effective when used to lower cholesterol levels in healthy children. However, treatment of children is only recommended if LDL cholesterol levels are higher than 190 mg/dl or LDL cholesterol levels are higher than 160 mg/dl and other risk factors for heart disease are present. Sitostanol may be effective when used to lower cholesterol levels in children with a congenital tendency to high cholesterol levels.

Safety and side effects

Sitostanol is safe and harmless for most people. However, it can cause stomach upset and too much fat in the stool. Adults can safely use Sitostanol for up to a year and children can safely use it for up to 3 months. There are concerns that Sitostanol may reduce the absorption of certain nutrients as it reduces fat absorption. Sitostanol appears to reduce the absorption of beta-carotene, but this reduction does not appear to be relevant to health.

Precautions and warnings

Pregnancy and lactation: Not enough is known about the use of Sitostanol during pregnancy and lactation. For this reason, pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid Sitostanol.

Interactions

At the present time there is no information on interactions of Sitostanol with medications or supplements.

Dosage

The following dosages have been investigated in scientific studies:

Oral

  • For high cholesterol levels: 800 mg to 4 grams of Sitostanol per day have been used. However, doses above 2 grams do not appear to work better than 2 grams per day. Taking a single dose appears to be as effective as taking the same dose divided into 2 to 3 doses per day.

References

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