What Is Phytosterol and What Does It Do?
Phytosterols include plant sterols and plant stanols. The latter are more concentrated than the former. Chemical structure of these compounds resembles that of cholesterol, but the similarity ends there. Unlike cholesterol derived from animal sources that absorbs readily and contributes to increase the body¡¯s cholesterol level, phytosterols are present in the body at a very low level and are difficult to absorb.
The resemblance is so close that phytosterolos can actually block cholesterols from being absorbed into the blood stream. The result is that phytosterols get rejected from the body together with cholesterols. This is one of the reasons seabuckthorn seed oil tends to lower cholesterol level, and by lowering the total and LDL cholesterol levels, phytosterols may help prevent heart disease.
This led food manufacturers to add phytosterols into functional foods or offer tablets of phytosterols tablets. Beta sistosterol, another conctrated phtysterol, is now tried do help deal with benign prostatic hyperplasia with frequent and painful urination
Beside ¡°maintaining healthy cholesterol level¡±, phytosterols are also used to reduce symptoms of an enlarged prostate, improve blood sugar level among people with diabetes, and reduce inflammation for people who suffer autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, etc.