Question

Ingredients are sometimes added to a food to improve a health condition. Plant stanols or sterols are added to spreads (margarines) to help with what condition?

Answer 1

Answer:

The inclusion of plant sterols in the food is an effective strategy for lowering total and LDL cholesterol.

Explanation:

  Plant sterols, or phytosterols, are structurally similar to cholesterol, but unlike cholesterol, they are only naturally present in products of plant origin such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, oilseeds, seeds, vegetable oils and whole grains. Since their content in these foods is low, the industry now chooses to fortify foods in significant amounts of plant sterols and in a wider range of products such as vegetable creams, milks, yoghurts, cheeses, soy drinks and sauces. Plant sterols, as their regular consumption, is associated with lowering total cholesterol and LDL (so-called "bad cholesterol"). Given the high prevalence of individuals with high LDL and total cholesterol in society today, and due this is a risk factor for cardiovascular health, plant sterols are a very important to health. Also, plant sterols have been linked to other benefits to the body, such as protection against certain cancers and decreased inflammatory status.

   

Answer 2

Below are the choices that can be found elsewhere:

high cholesterol 

high blood sugar 

low blood sugar 

high blood pressure 

I believe the answer is high cholesterol. Margarine usually tops butter when it comes to heart health. Margarine is made from vegetable oils, so it contains unsaturated "good" fats — polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. These types of fats help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad," cholesterol when substituted for saturated fat.