Nuts have cemented their place within heart-healthy eating patterns. Their cholesterol-lowering power is, in part, due to their phytosterol content. But what are phytosterols? And how do they benefit health?

Did you know? Nuts contain high amounts of phytosterols. They’re also excellent sources of healthy fats, and contain vitamin E, folate, antioxidants and arginine – all of which contribute to heart health.

What are phytosterols?

Phytosterols (or plant sterols) are an essential part of the cell membranes of plants. Scientists have identified more than 250 plant-derived phytosterols. Some better-known types include sitosterol, campesterol and stigmasterol (1).

Did you know? Phytosterols, along with flavonoids, carotenoids and phenols, are broad classes of ‘phytochemicals’ – bioactive compounds that promote health and reduce the risk of chronic disease (2).

What are their health benefits?

Phytosterols are structurally very similar to cholesterol in the human body.

This means that, once consumed, they compete with cholesterol for absorption in the digestive tract, so hinder the body’s uptake of cholesterol. They also help regulate the production of cholesterol in the liver (1).

Good evidence suggests consuming phytosterols can help lower total cholesterol, and particularly, LDL (bad) cholesterol. In turn, this can help prevent many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD) (3).

Did you know? CVD is one of Australia’s biggest health problems, claiming a life every 12 minutes and accounting for one in four deaths (4).

As well as their cholesterol-lowering benefits, research suggests phytosterols promote health in other ways, thanks to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties (1).

Did you know? Consuming 3g of phytosterols a day may help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol by around 11% (1).

How much do we need?

Australia’s Heart Foundation recommends people at high risk of CVD consume 2-3g phytosterols per day from plant foods and from phytosterol-enriched foods, as part of a healthy, balanced diet (5).

Most people are not getting anywhere near this (1).

• The average Western diet = 160-400 mg/day of phytosterols
• A typical Asian diet = 350-400 mg/day of phytosterols
• A strict vegetarian diet = 600-800 mg/day (5).

Which foods are highest in phytosterols?

Small amounts of phytosterols are found naturally in all plant-derived foods. The content is richest in the oils, nuts, beans and seeds of plants (1).

By increasing the amount and variety of plant foods, like nuts, seeds and legumes, in your diet, you’ll naturally boost your intake of heart-healthy phytosterols.

Plant sterols can also be added to foods in Australia, including some margarines, milks, yogurts and breakfast cereals (3).

For instance, Flora ProActiv margarine is one product, available in Australia, that has been enriched with plant sterols – containing 8g plant sterols per 100g, or around 1.6g in a tablespoon (20g).

According to the Heart Foundation, it can be difficult to meet the recommended amount of phytosterols, without plant sterol-enriched foods (5).

Despite this, clinical trials suggest reduction of cholesterol absorption can start at a dose of only 150mg, showing that natural food phytosterols are also important (1,6,7).

Table: The phytosterol content of certain foods

Source: USDA food composition database (8)

Include a 30g handful of nuts in your day, every day, for a healthy dose of phytosterols!