Linda’s Tips and Travel Notes

Food and Dining Radio Show – 2.07.08

Linda Gassenheimer (LG)
Fred Tasker (FT)
Joseph Cooper (JC)
Rebecca Reeves (RR)

LG: Well February is American Heart Month. Do you want to lower your cholesterol? Thousands of Americans take drugs to help lower their cholesterol. Can we eliminate it with our diet? Joining us today is Rebecca Reeves, the Past President of the American Diabetic Association. She says plant sterols can help. What are they? We’re going to find out. Welcome Doctor Reeves.

RR: Thank you.

LG: And Fred Tasker is here today in his usual seat. What are we drinking today?

FT: I’m going to talk about the other substance the helps your heart. It’s called wine.

LG: Great. Well Doctor Reeves is joining us from her office. Let’s start with the basics. What is a sterol?

RR: Sterols are natural substances derived from plants. They are a natural component of the plant. What we know is that these plant sterols can reduce cholesterol in your blood and eventually reduce the “bad cholesterol.”

LG: How does this happen?

RR: The chemical structure of it resembles cholesterol chemical structure. The body doesn’t know what it is when it’s absorbing it so what it does is interfere with absorption of cholesterol in the body. It’s a mal-absorption of real cholesterol in the gut.

JC: The gut [laughing]?

RR: Yes, [laughing] the intestine.

LG: How do we get them?

RR: The actual amount of them in food is very low. We maybe eat 300 milligrams of plant sterols a day. They are mainly found in fruits, vegetables and oils. You’d have to eat an exorbitant amount of these foods. But they have perfected technology of extracting these sterols from the plant. And then they figured out how to make it available for food manufactures to incorporate it into food. And that’s the latest technology that is available now.

LG: How much do you need a day?

RR: There are various amounts in various products available. The range is about 800 milligrams to 2 to 3000 milligrams. You’re going to get the best effect if you’re at 2500 milligrams. The FDA has approved a health claim for plant sterols that starts with 800 milligrams. So you may see reduction in cholesterol if it’s incorporated into a diet with low fat.

LG: What will it say on the package?

RR: There will be an emblem that says “corowise” in a heart.

LG: If another product out there has it sometimes they don’t say. It just says it lowers your cholesterol.

RR: “Benecal” and “Take Control” are margarines with those benefits. There are other products like Minute-Made orange juice that says “heart wise.” The Nature Valley oatmeal raisin bars and Lifetimes cheese both have plant sterol. There’s also an oral grain bread that has plant sterols. Each product has a different amount. You want about 2000 milligrams a day.

JC: Does it come in a tablet form?

RR: Yes there are tablets. The one that’s most beneficial is Cetrum Cardia. It’s very new on the market.

LG: What if you’re going to eat the sterol, you’re taking a drug and you’re going to take a supplement? Can you have too much?

RR: No, it will eventually become excreted. It’s one of the safest according to all of the studies. There are no adverse side effects. And they have done studies taking it in addition to statins.

LG: We have a call. You’re on the air.

Caller: I know you’re talking about sterols, but if you’re trying to watch cholesterol, should you look at carbohydrates or fat?

RR: Fat; Saturated fats and trans-fats. You want to reduce those amounts.

LG: You really need a balanced diet with the right amount of the right fats. You should not give up one ingredient over the other.

RR: I totally agree with you. It’s substituting in olive oils and poly-saturated fats with saturated fats.

JC: What about having oatmeal every morning. I hear that’s supposed to help lower your cholesterol.

RR: It’s good. There’s scientific data behind oatmeal.

FT: I see a product called Activia. Does that help?

RR: No, it’s not in Activia. But there is a product called Promise and it’s a super shot. So if you look near where you’d find Activia you’ll see little containers and you chug the whole thing. You get the whole plant sterol. It’s a kind of a liquid yogurt in which they have placed plant sterols.

JC: Is it fattening?

RR: No, it’s not like eating margarine. You do need to be cautious about the amount of margarine you use.

LG: It’s time for a short break – we’ll be back with more.

[break]

LG: We’re talking with Rebecca Reeves who is the Assistant Professor of Medicine at Baylor College. We’re talking about how plant sterols can lower our cholesterol.

Before we go back to the Doctor, it’s dinner in minutes time. It’s the Chinese New Year so we’re having Kung Pow Chicken for lunch. Peanuts and noodles are served at the New Year because they symbolize long life. This dish has both in it. See the recipe on my website. You can use any kind of peanuts. Fred, what are we drinking?

FT: I thought I’d talk about nice new wines I came across. Are there any plant sterols in wine?

RR: No, but wine has flavanoids which have cholesterol reducing qualities.

FT: Miami Herald Wine Columnist Fred Tasker’s Wine Suggestions:

I don’t know if wine has any plant sterols or not, so I think I will just talk about a couple of really nice new wines I’ve come across lately.Wine fans may be familiar with the nice quality Napa Valley wines of the Hess Collection – cabernet sauvignon, merlot and such. It’s called the Hess Collection because the winery is owned by Donald Hess, an important art collector, and he has his art gallery in his winery.

It’s great to visit. You’re touring this gallery of really ultra-modern art –  the kind where you can’t figure out what it is – and you look through this big window down on to his wine fermentation room.

But the wines I’m talking about art new ones for Hess. He’s just set up a winery called Colomé — at the highest altitude in the world – almost 10,000 feet. It’s in Salta Province in far northwestern Argentina. It’s so high that he says they get more ultraviolet radiation, which produces thicker skins, which give more color and flavor to his wines.

He makes two fabulous wines: A malbec, with a beautiful deep violet color and really concentrated flavors of mulberries and bitter chocolate. It’s $25.

And he makes a torrontes, a crisp, almost spritzy white wine that’s a little like gewürztraminer, with flavors of lychee and white grapefruit. A wonderful aperitif. And it’s only $13.

You probably won’t find these in supermarkets – you’ll have to check your local wine shop. But these wines are worth it.They’re called Colomé.
LG: We have a phone call for the Doctor.

Caller: You’re talking about the plant sterols but are you talking about eliminating medication or using them in conjunction with it?

RR: In conjunction with. Never eliminate medication without speaking with your doctor first.

LG: But you think people could possibly get off meds?

RR: First I’m saying you speak to your physician. Then based on how well you’re doing, sure there’s a chance you could come off meds.

FT: They also talk about point ranges. How does that work with sterols?

RR: Yes, somewhere between 10-14%. So you can see significant reduction.

LG: Yes, that is a worry. People might say “oh, I can eat any pastry I want because I had my sterols today.”

RR: No, you still need to reduce saturated fat. This is not a panacea; it’s a wonderful adjunct.

LG: Does it reduce good cholesterol?

RR: No, it does not affect protection HD cholesterol at all.

LG: Does cooking alter the sterols?

RR: No, heat does not alter them.

FT: It’s win win!

LG: And if you exercise and eat properly…

FT: I know, moderation. [laughing] I hate moderation.

LG: [laughing] But should everybody be eating them? Even if you have normal cholesterol?

RR: There’s no harm for anyone. There is a greater risk in our country for heart disease. So definitely keep track of your cholesterol levels. For prevention I don’t think there’d be any harm.

LG: Thank you Doctor for taking time out from your busy schedule. It has been a pleasure.