Cholesterol-lowering cheese?

by Nicole Weston, Posted Jun 1st 2006 @ 11:04AM

Just when you thought that they had lowered the fat and calories (and taste) in just about every product there is, increasing "good" fats and vitamins in an effort to give even the worst foods some nutritional benefit, along comes a product that surprises you. A new study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that a simple addition of Stanol, a substance known to lower cholesterol, to cheese gave the cheese a cholesterol-lowering effect.

At first glance, it may seem like a rather obvious conclusion because stanol is in other supplements and drugs, where it has been successfully shown to lowerer LDL cholesterol levels. It has never before been combined with a food product and its success when combined with cheese means that the risks associated with eating high-cholesterol foods could be mitigated simply by fortifying them.

More studies are needed, but it looks like we could be seeing a new wave of cholesterol-lowering foods in the future.

Source

Filed Under: Science, Health & Medical, Ingredients
Tags: cheese, cholesterol, dairy, europe, finland, hdl, health, healthy, ldl, nutrition, research, risks, science, stanol, study