These might be completely new to you. But it is worth finding out more about them because they can have a positive influence on your health.

It is easy to compare plant sterols and plant stanols to cholesterol. Our cholesterol is actually split into two types – the good kind and the bad kind. The plant sterols and stanols act in much the same way, except they naturally exist in the plant world. The plant stanols are the plant equivalent of bad cholesterol (LDL) and the sterols are the equivalent of good cholesterol (HDL). This helps us figure out how they work with our bodies to help our health.

But there is one key thing you should bear in mind. If you take plant sterols and stanols regularly you are likely to notice a reduction in the amount of bad cholesterol you have in your system. Bad cholesterol can lead to all kinds of health problems both for the short term and the long term, so it really does pay to try and reduce the levels you have in your body. These plant extracts can help you do just that.

The good news is that introducing these things into your diet isn’t as hard as you might think. All you have to do is figure out what you can eat that is related to the plant world. Vegetable oils are a good example. Since these come from vegetables they will have plant sterols and stanols in them. A myriad of different vegetables also have them built in, so you can see it is easy to build them into your diet by eating more of them. Fruit is good too, although it doesn’t contain levels quite as high as vegetables do.

Watch out for other products that have been designed to include more in the way of plant sterols and stanols. Have you ever seen those yogurt drinks for example? Those are a good way to take in some sterols and stanols first thing in the morning for a great start to the day.

The plant sterols and stanols work by effectively grabbing onto the bad cholesterol in our bloodstream and taking it out with them as they exit the body. So by eating more fruit and vegetables and substituting your current dairy products with those that have the stanols and sterols in them, you are going a long way towards helping to reduce your cholesterol levels.

As part of a healthy lifestyle you can see how beneficial these plant sterols and stanols can be. Make sure you combine your new diet with regular exercise, as this also helps to remove bad cholesterol from your body and it will help you lose excess weight as well. Watch out for foods which can give you an extra boost of plant sterols and stanols, and take them on board as part of your new healthier lifestyle. When you combine all these ingredients together you will see and feel the benefits.