Margarine with plant stanols and sterols for lowering LDL cholesterol
What it found
Plant stanol and sterol esters in margarine lower LDL cholesterol only modestly and do not work in all conditions.
They have not been shown to reduce clinical endpoints, and prescription drugs lower LDL cholesterol much more.
What they found
LDL cholesterol effect
Plant stanols and sterols have a modest ability to lower LDL cholesterol, and they are not effective in all conditions.
Clinical endpoints
The stanols and sterols have not been shown to reduce clinical endpoints.
HDL and triglycerides
They have no effects on HDL cholesterol or triglyceride levels.
Compared with prescription drugs
Prescription drugs (statins, ezetimibe, and niacin) lower LDL cholesterol much more than stanol and sterol esters. They also raise HDL cholesterol and lower triglycerides.
Statins and niacin
Statins and niacin have been shown to reduce cardiovascular clinical endpoints.
What the authors conclude
“Except in borderline normo/hypercholesterolemia, prescription drugs should be preferred to stanol/sterol esters for lowering LDL cholesterol in 2011.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say that except in borderline normo/hypercholesterolemia, prescription drugs should be preferred to stanol/sterol esters for lowering LDL cholesterol in 2011.
How it was done
Recommendations on using plant stanol and sterol esters have not been updated since 2001, and many new lipid-lowering medicines have appeared since then.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This is a review, not a new study, so it cannot show cause and effect from new data.
- It cannot show whether plant stanols and sterols reduce heart attacks or other clinical outcomes, because that has not been shown.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Queensland University of Technology, Australia
The paper
- Title
- Lowering LDL cholesterol with margarine containing plant stanol/sterol esters: is it still relevant in 2011?
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Doggrell SA (2011). Lowering LDL cholesterol with margarine containing plant stanol/sterol esters: is it still relevant in 2011?. Complementary therapies in medicine. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2010.12.004PubMed 21296266DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error