According to a new report, phytosterols, which are widely found in plants, have important health benefits and can effectively reduce cholesterol. The report also shows that the intake of phytosterol food supplements to prevent intake may reduce the potential cost of coronary heart disease (CHD) - related medical events.

    The title of this report is "targeted use of food supplements can effectively save health care costs", implemented by frost Sullivan consulting. According to the report, if the target population, that is, adults over 55 years old in the United States with coronary heart disease, take phytosterol food supplements to prevent their intake, the risk of medical events related to coronary heart disease can be reduced, resulting in a reduction of personal and social health care costs by nearly 11%.

    In addition, according to the reported data, consumers only need to spend 15 cents a day to eatPhytosterolClass supplements can prevent various diseases at the first time. If American adults older than 55 with coronary heart disease take phytosterol food supplements, the number of medical events related to coronary heart disease may be reduced by nearly 2.3 million between 2013 and 2020, and about US $34billion in medical expenses can be saved in the same period. It is reported that at present, less than 1% of adults over the age of 55 take phytosterol food supplements in the United States, which means that almost all people in this age group still fail to experience the benefits of phytosterols. Over the same period, the proportion of adults in this age group is expected to rise to 13%.

    According to the senior vice president in charge of the Nutrition Committee, elevated cholesterol is one of the risk factors for heart disease, and the daily consumption of a certain amount of phytosterol food supplements can effectively inhibit the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine, thus preventing its accumulation in the body. Therefore, he often encourages patients with high cholesterol or non such patients to eat a diet rich in phytosterols, such as a large number of nuts, whole grains and vegetables. However, daily diet alone is not enough to maintain the cholesterol level in the normal range. In addition, food supplements containing phytosterols can also be consumed at the same time. This report emphasizes that phytosterols can provide a practical preventive health measure for this part of the population.

    In order to achieve the results expected in the report, researchers from Sullivan consulting company systematically reviewed and summarized the published studies that revealed the relationship between the intake of phytosterol food supplements and the risk of medical events related to coronary heart disease. After that, the researchers of the company summarized the incidence of medical events related to coronary heart disease and used cost-benefit analysis to determine the medical costs that can be saved if American adults older than 55 years old with coronary heart disease consume phytosterol supplements to prevent intake.