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''Power Plants: Plant sterols may be the immune breakthrough of the decade'' by Dallas Clouatre, PhD, Let's Live June 2002
The immune system is the body’s prime defense against infection and disease, yet there is a dark side to the immune response. Allergies, autoimmune disorders (when the body attacks itself, as in rheumatoid arthritis, for example) and generalized inflammation are results of an immune system gone awry. Conventional wisdom has it that the best way to maintain optimal immune function is to take immune boosters such as echinacea, but depending on the state of your body’s defenses, further stimulating the immune system may be the last thing your body actually needs.
Balancing, Not Boosting, Is Key to Optimal Immunity
According to Patrick J.D. Bouic, Ph.D., a leading plant sterol researcher and internationally respected professor of immunology from Stellenbosch University, South Africa, the key to maintaining an optimal immune system is balancing, not boosting. Bouic, who has spent more than a decade researching the effects of special plant compounds known as sterols and sterolins on immune function and immune balance, says balancing the immune system with plant sterols helps to reduce inflammation and heal many otherwise chronic conditions. Bouic makes his points in numerous professional journal articles, but also in his book, co-authored with Lorna R. Vanderhaeghe, The Immune System Cure (Kensington Pub. Corp., 1999).
Plant sterols, especially as a sterol/sterolin mixture in a 100:1 ratio of beta-sitosterol to beta-sitosterol glucoside (meaning a sugar molecule is attached), can help to rebalance the immune system, by regulating the ratio of two types of immune helper cells called Th1 and Th2. The Th1 to Th2 ratio is important to the function of immunity because too high Th2 can result in allergies, autoimmune disorders, inflammation and pain. In the short term, inflammation and pain can be helped with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, but clearly the long-term solution is to reduce Th2 levels to prevent problems.
Sterols’ Many Benefits
The proper use of plant sterols can benefit allergies, cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, osteoporosis, pulmonary tuberculosis and classic autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, etc.), plus syndromes such as chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. There is even evidence that plant sterols may be important for maintaining immune competence in HIV-infected individuals.
How to Use Plant Sterols
A combination of plant sterols and sterolins can be found in a variety of products. The usual dosage for a product containing 20 mg of beta-sitosterol and 200 mcg of beta-sitosterolin per capsule is 2 capsules three times daily for one month. The maintenance dosage is 1 capsule taken three times daily. Flower pollen extracts also contain a small amount of sterols and sterolins. Because these formulas can vary, be sure to follow label instructions. Although not always indicated on a label, the 100:1 ratio of sterols to sterolins is more successful than many other ratios tried experimentally. Because they balance, rather than excite, the immune system, plant sterols and sterolins are safe to use on a daily basis. For serious health conditions, however, work with a health care practitioner. For best results, be sure to take on an empty stomach (preferably 30 minutes before eating). Plant sterols and sterolins are also available in some foods, and minimally processed foods can contribute significantly to daily intake of plant sterols. Some of the most sterol-rich foods include rice bran, sesame and sunflower seeds, and peanuts.
PLANT STEROLS AS CHOLESTEROL FIGHTER
The combination of plant sterols and sterolins used to modulate immune function are taken in relatively small amounts on an empty stomach, preferably 30 minutes to an hour before any other food is ingested. This is because animal and saturated fats in food may interfere with the immune regulation induced by plant sterols and sterolins. If you take a much larger dose of plant sterols—known collectively as phytosterols—with food, however, you won’t get the immune benefits, but you will get a different one: reduced cholesterol. Phyto-sterols (including beta-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol and others) can be taken to help reduce elevated serum cholesterol levels. This effect was first demonstrated in animals in 1951, and subsequently, has been proven to hold true in humans.
The mechanisms by which phytosterols lower total serum cholesterol (about 10%) and LDL cholesterol (about 13%) are not fully understood. Researchers believe that phytosterols may reduce the absorption of dietary cholesterol and inhibit the reabsorption of the cholesterol made by the body.
Phytosterol supplements must be taken with meals to exercise the desired cholesterol-lowering effect. The beneficial dosage based upon clinical trials is at least 1 gm per day. The esterified phytosterols (also called phytostanols) found in special margarine products need to be consumed in amounts at least twice as great, that is, between 2 and 4.5 gm per day.
Dallas Clouatre, Ph.D., a Los Angeles-based health writer and product consultant, is the author/co-author of several books, including The Prostate Miracle (Kensington Publishing, 2000).
Selected References
Bouic, PJ, Clark, A, Brittle, W et al "Plant sterol/sterolin supplement use in a cohort of South African HIV-infected patients—Effects on immunological and virological surrogate markers" South African Medical Journal (2001) 91:848-850 • Bouic, PJ "The role of phytosterols and phytosterolins in immune modulation: a review of the past 10 years" Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition Metabolic Care (2001) 4:471-475 • Breytenbach, U, Clark, A, Lamprecht, J et al "Flow cytometric analysis of the Th1-Th2 balance in healthy individuals and patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) receiving a plant sterol/sterolin mixture" Cellular Biology International (2001) 25: 43-49 • Bouic, PJ, Clark, A, Lamprecht, J et al "The effects of B-sitosterol (BSS) and B-sitosterol glucoside (BSSG) mixture on selected immune parameters of marathon runners: Inhibition of post marathon immune suppression and inflammation" International Journal of Sports Medicine (1999) 20: 258-262 • Pool, EJ and Bouic, P "IL-6 secretion by ex vivo whole blood cultures upon allergen stimulation" Journal of Immunoassay Immunochemistry(2001) 22: 225-234
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