Is it really worth using Flora or Bene... - Cholesterol Support
Is it really worth using Flora or Benecol instead of butter.
Personally I am very suspicious of all the gunk that goes into these highly processed products and use butter. The French use butter a lot and have one of the lowest rates of heart disease in the world - they eat a lot of fat, duck, goose, dairy etc. What they dont eat is a lot of processed foods. The whole cholesterol.saturated fat thing is a bit debatable anyway imo as it does not appear to be the whole story with heart disease, there are several other factors- diabetes, obesity,high blood pressure etc. Note that the average total cholesterol level in France is 6.1, they have one of the highest saturated fat consumptions and one of the lowest heart disease levels in the world. Not sure why our NHS is trying to force our levels down below 5.0.
But if you want to lower your cholesterol via products like these, you can get the maximum amount of sterols/stanols from 1 small yoghurt drink of benecol or flora anyway. That amount is supposed to lower cholesterol by 0.5% (the maximum you can lower it through using these products), so you dont need spread on top of the drink to achieve this. I was told this by hospital consultant who also says that these products do not always work for everyone.
Thank you for your reply. This just confirms what I already thought. I will stick with natural butter as I use very little anyway.
Yes, the yoghurt drink seems the only sensible way, as it's too hard to get the right dose with the other products. I'm sure I was told a higher % back in 2009 but the number's not in my notes. It was a distinct third place behind oat bran and replacing dairy with soya, though.
Thank you I've made my mind up...back to butter! These cholesterol spreads like Flora are really expensive too. I've been wracking my brains trying to decide whether to go back to butter. I don't use a lot of it myself anyway and I have a cholesterol lowering drink every day, which are not cheap if you buy Benecol, although Lidl's and Morrisons have some cheaper options.
Yes, I agree. I've often wondered how much spread you would have to go through to make any sort of difference. I try to avoid too much bread certainly during the week and it has helped me to lose weight,
I am likewise very dubious of any product that is man made. Butter is a healthy product, just don't eat pounds of it every week. Imo the best way to lower cholesterol is to eat healthy non processed food, lots of fresh green veg, and take some exercise. Also cut down on grains - wheat, rye, barley etc., especially if you think you might have a mild sensitivity to them, if you are sensitive to them, they would be setting up inflammation which would then require your body to make loads more cholesterol (LDL) to repair the damage. Its also worth remembering that the so called "BAD' cholesterol LDL, isn't all bad, the bid fluffy type of LDL is not bad, unfortunately the tests never differentiate between the different types of LDL's. I am all for eating fresh food, in season, locally produced where possible. Mankind evolved by eating the food that was available to eat, he did not evolve eating food that is only one or two molecules away from being plastic ! ! I know what I would rather eat.
Butter is man made! It does not occur naturally either and some of it is packed full of rubbish, especially chemically-manipulated "spreadable" butters, so exercise the same caution with it.
There are a few tests that differentiate between the different types of LDLs, aren't there? But I agree they're rarely seen in the UK yet.
As natural a diet as possible is the way to go. I wish I could eat butter, cheese, etc., but i can't so I have to go with alternatives. however, where I can i eat fresh fruit and vegetables, good quality meat, (no Tesco burgers for me!) and fish and make all my own breads, cakes etc., Perhaps here Mother did know best!!!!
My doctor, who does not want to pop me on statins, suggested I have a Benecol drink each evening. I noticed on the packaging that it is proven to lower cholesterol. I must say that it tastes so sweet that I did wonder what else it might contain that is not so healthy. But staying with the good news, I read up a bit on how it works. Benecol products are fortified with sterols and stanols which are plant extracts that prevent cholesterol being absorbed in the gut. They claim to be able to lower LDL by up to 10% without affecting HDL.
Apparently one should consume at least 2 grams of sterols a day. One bottle of Benecol contains 2 grams so all you need to do is drink one after your dinner. More than 3g of plant stanols a day is not recommended so don’t drink more than one. And check with your doctor if you are taking medication to lower cholesterol. As I suspected, Benecol (the light version at any rate) contains sweeteners which I don’t believe are beneficial to health, so it seems to be one of those compromise products that gives with the one hand and takes with the other. I guess it’s a matter of prioritising the most urgent health concern.
I have used them and find they do work. My doctor told me that the science is correct and plant sterols reduce cholestrol. My only complaint is the cost of these products. If they were so effective, then why don't they reduce the price?
At my recent Desmond programme for diabetes they stated that these are just expensive and that they do very little.
An example given was an Asda Olive spread large tub £1.50 and Bencol spread very small tub £3 do exactly the same. So save your money and just eat healthy portions of healthy food food.
I have been quite impressed by the product called 'Pure Soya Margarine' - it is a non dairy product and they have a website to look at ingredients etc.
Are commercial cholesterol testing kits/machines any use?