From The October 2000 Issue of Nutrition Science News

Benecol Good With Cholesterol-lowering Drugs

Benecol, the Finnish butterlike spread used by about 140,000 Finns on a regular basis since 1995, contains cholesterol-sequestering stanol esters from pine trees. New evidence shows that plant stanol esters effectively lower cholesterol even in patients already on medication. In fact, patients with high cholesterol who are on statin drugs may find that using Benecol spread brings their cholesterol down to normal levels. Statin drugs reduce cholesterol synthesis, while stanol esters inhibit absorption of cholesterol from dietary sources as well as cholesterol derivatives in bile.

Steven Blair, Ph.D., of the Cooper Institute in Dallas conducted an eight-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 100 men and 67 women taking statin drugs for elevated (>130 mg/dL) low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Eighty-three were given a plant stanol ester spread containing 3 g/day of plant stanol to use in place of margarine or butter on their food. The placebo group of 84 patients was given a canola oil spread without stanol. At the start of the study, average total cholesterol was 233 mg/dl and average LDL cholesterol was 148 mg/dl. After two weeks, levels in the study group were lower than those in the placebo group. At eight weeks, the men consuming the stanol spread had an average total cholesterol of 205 and LDL cholesterol of 122 compared with average placebo group levels of 220 total cholesterol and 138 LDL cholesterol. There were virtually no side effects from the stanol ester. All patients had been on stanols for at least three months prior to the study.

—American Journal of Cardiology 2000 Jul; 86:1,46.