Across the globe cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death, accounting for almost 20 million fatalities every year. It is a similar story in the UK, where it is responsible for a quarter of all deaths.
Cardiovascular disease includes a range of conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels such as strokes and coronary heart disease.
The latter is the most deadly of all cardiovascular diseases in the UK, linked to one death every eight minutes. It occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is blocked or reduced.
There are a number of contributing factors when it comes to cardiovascular disease, with your diet, genetics and whether you exercise playing a role. Having high cholesterol and high blood pressure also greatly increases your risk.
Therefore, any steps you can take to help minimise your risk is vital. One expert spoke with Express.co.uk about a simple way to do so.
Registered nutritionist and author of Unprocess Your Life, Rob Hobson, advised adding a specific supplement to your daily routine to help boost heart health.
According to Rob, taking plant sterol supplements could help lower your cholesterol levels and protect against heart disease.
“Plant sterols stand out as the leading supplement for heart health, primarily due to their effectiveness in lowering cholesterol, a major risk factor for heart disease,” he said.
“They work by imitating cholesterol in the body and competing for absorption, resulting in less cholesterol being absorbed from the gut into the bloodstream.
“They also signal the liver to produce less cholesterol, aiding in maintaining lower levels.
“Naturally, plant sterols can lower cholesterol by up to 12 percent without side effects.”
He referenced a scientific study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2005, which gauged the use of plant sterols on 29 patients.
“The results showed that plant sterols are efficacious in lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [‘bad’ cholesterol] and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in both diabetic and nondiabetic persons.
“Plant sterol consumption may exist as a dietary management strategy for hypercholesterolemia [high cholesterol] in persons with type 2 diabetes.”
Although it is possible to get plant sterols from diet, Rob recommended supplements as a way to make sure you’re getting enough.
“While diet is crucial, achieving the optimal amount of sterols from food is difficult,” he said.
“The average diet provides only 200mg to 400mg of sterols daily, with vegetarian diets offering up to 800mg.
“However, to significantly impact cholesterol levels, daily doses of two grams to three grams are needed.
“Plant sterol supplements can also be used alongside statin drugs, enhancing cholesterol reduction more than doubling the statin dose.”
He specifically recommended plant sterol supplements from the brand Healthspan.
At £15.26 for 90 tablets they work out at just under 17p each.
If you are concerned about your heart health or cholesterol levels you should speak to your GP.
