Beta-Sitosterol
Plant Sterols Complex
500 mg
90 Capsules
Scientific studies have shown that plant sterols can help lower cholesterol
levels*+. Beta Sitosterol provides high potency botanicals shown in
clinical studies to address the challenges of prostate health that can lead to
an enlarged prostate. * In addition, it also contains ingredients shown in
clinical studies to help promote healthy and normal cholesterol levels. A Great
Product!*
Beta-Sitosterol Plant Sterols is a unique dietary supplement rich in the plant sterols Beta-Sitosterol, Campesterol and Stigmasterol.
- Healthy
urinary function*
- Healthy
prostate function*
- Provides
Cholesterol Lowering Benefits* +
- Vegetarian
Formula
- Prostate
Health
Beta Sitosterol
information:
Beta sitosterol is a plant-derived sterol. Plant sterols or phytosterols are
common components of plant foods, especially plant oils, seeds and nuts,
cereals and legumes. The most common phytosterols are beta sitosterol,
campesterol, and stigmasterol. Beta sitosterol is found in high amounts in nuts
and amaranth.
Benefits of Beta-Sitosterol Confirmed
To confirm these
remarkable effects of beta-sitosterol, another study was performed and the
results were published in the British Journal of Urology. The study
involved 177 patients with benign prostate enlargement. Patients received 130
mg of beta-sitosterol each day and were monitored for more than six months.
Measurements of the International Prostate Symptom Score, urinary flow, and
residual urine in the bladder after voiding were recorded.3
On average, urinary flow
values increased by 4.5 ml/second while residual urine volumes decreased by a
substantial 33.5 ml. The International Prostate Symptom Scores showed a
statistically significant improvement. These results with beta-sitosterol are
comparable to those seen with the commonly prescribed drug Proscarr, used to
treat benign prostate enlargement.
Two years later, a
review of all existing studies of beta-sitosterol in the treatment of benign
prostate enlargement was conducted. The researchers identified randomized,
placebo-controlled, double-blind trials involving a total of 519 men. In three
of the trials, beta-sitosterol was used, and in one trial, a glucoside of
beta-sitosterol was used. In these studies, beta-sitosterol improved urinary
symptom scores and urinary flow rates, and significantly reduced the volume of
residual urine in the bladder.
How Does Beta-Sitosterol
Work?
Prostate Specific: In
the human body, supplemental beta-sitosterol acts in several ways. First, it
protects the prostate against growth caused by age-related reactivation of
increased conversion of testosterone to the dihydrotestosterone (DHT) form. The
higher production of DHT is normal from puberty to the early 20s, a man's most
sexually active period. In an adult, however, reactivated production of DHT is
a major contributing factor in undesirable growth of the prostate or benign
prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). By normalizing this conversion and depriving the
prostate of the active metabolite DHT, prostatic tissue growth ceases and
existing tissue atrophies. (Kirby RS, Christmas TJ. Benign Prostate
Hyperplasia. London, England: Mosby-Year Book Europe Limited; 1993)
Beta-sitosterol has been shown to do just this, naturally block this unwanted
conversion, reducing and normalizing the supply of DHT to the prostate, and, in
effect, maintain a normal male hormone balance for a healthy prostate. (Shrinkage
in volume of the prostate from either beta-sitosterol or use of the herbal
products appears to be a mixed clinical picture. Some reports indicate
significant symptom improvement with no change in volume, while others report
shrinkage. Since beta-sitosterol does not appear to affect prostate cell
apoptosis of the cells stimulated by DHT [unlike cancer cells], the existing
cells, and consequent volume increase will only reduce upon their death after
their extended life span. The differences in reports may be due to the end
period of the research protocols, since it seems that this could take as long
as 18 months, long past the end point of most research. Also, beta-sitosterol
has no demonstrated effect on inflammation of the prostate, which could account
for some of the reported volume increase.
STUDY’s:
Beta-Sitosterol and
Cancer*
Preliminary research
suggests that beta-sitosterol may help fight colon cancer. In a 2010 laboratory
study published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, for instance,
scientists found that beta-sitosterol isolated from the Asclepias curassavica
plant inhibited the growth of human colon cancer cells.
Some research indicates
that beta-sitosterol may also fight breast cancer. For example, a 2003
laboratory study published in Oncology Reports found that beta-sitosterol
induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells. Apoptosis, a type of programmed cell
death, is key to halting the proliferation of cancer cells.
Furthermore, a 2008
laboratory study published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research found that
using beta-sitosterol in combination with the breast cancer drug tamoxifen may
enhance the drug's effectiveness.
It's important to note
that more research needs to be conducted before beta-sitosterol can be
recommended for the treatment or prevention of any form of cancer.
Beta Sitosterol and the Prostate*
There are dozens and
dozens of classic double blind studies done with real men on the effects of
beta-sitosterol on benign prostate hypertrophy or BPH. Below we have summarized
some of these studies . . . all of which indicate that beta-sitosterol is a
highly effective treatment for BPH.
A most unique review of
31 years of studies was published in the volume 280 of the Journal of the American Medical Association (1998) where they chose 18 different trials
involving 2,939 men in total who were treated for BPH with strong extracts of
saw palmetto containing beta-sitosterol. They said after reviewing all these
studies, "The evidence suggests that Serenoa repens (saw palmetto)
improves urologic symptoms and and flow measures."
One of the very best
studies done was published in the British Journal of Urology, volume 80 (1997),
at the University of Dresden. Drs. Klippel, Hilti and Schipp studied 177 men
for 6 months who suffered from BPH. Half the men got a placebo and half got the
prescription extract Azuprostat containing 130mg of beta-sitosterol. They cited
a full 32 references to substantiate their research. They carefully screened
all the men and tested them extensively during the study. They concluded,
"These results show that beta-sitosterol is an effective option in the
treatment of BPH."
Another unique review in
a different manner was done by Dr. Buck in the British Journal of Urology, volume
78 (1996). At the Department of Urology in Glasgow, Scotland he did a 12 page
review of herbal therapy for the prostate including Harzol, Tadenan, Permixon,
Strogen and Sabalux (all European prescription herbal extracts standardized for
beta-sitosterol content). He documents his review with 59 published worldwide
studies and discusses the biological basis of prostate illness. His conclusions
of the efficacy of herbal treatment of prescription drugs and therapy are well
founded certainly.
In the Lancet, vol 345
(1995) a very professional study was done at the University of Bochum in Herne,
Germany by Dr. Berges and his associates. They used pure beta-sitosterol with
200 men half of whom received a placebo over the course of a year. They said,
"Significant improvement in symptoms and urinary flow parameters show the
effectiveness of beta-sitosterol in the treatment of BPH." This is clearly
one of the most important and well done studies on prostate ever published.
In volume 55 of Current
Therapeutic Research (1994) a study done at the University of Brussels, Belgium
by Dr. Braeckman using Prostaserene (an extract standardized for
beta-sitosterol) for a mere six weeks led him to conclude, "Traditional
parameters for quantifying prostatism, such as the International Prostate
Symptom Score, the quality of life score, urinary flow rates, residual urinary
volume, and prostate size were found to be significantly improved after only 45
days of treatment. After 90 days of treatment, a majority of patients (88%) and
treating physicians (88%) considered the therapy effective."
A study published in
volume 21 of European Urology (1992), at the Institute of Clinical Medicine at
the University of Rome, DiSilverio and his colleagues studied 35 men with BPH
for 3 months and gave half of them a placebo (inert capsules). They concluded,
"On the basis of these considerations, monotherapy with S. repens extract
(beta-sitosterol extracted from saw palmetto) may be more favorably accepted,
since on account of similar clinical results, when compared to the combination
therapy cyproterone acetate plus tamoxifen..."
In the German journal
Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift, volume 22 (1990) at eight different urological
clinics in Europe 263 total patients with BPH were studied over a two month
period. They were given either Tadenan (a Pygeum africanum extract standardized
for beta-sitosterol content) or a placebo. This very extensive study compiled
from different clinics and different doctors yet all agreed that,
"Treatment with the Pygeum africanum extract led to a marked clinical
improvement: a comparison of the quantitative parameters showed a significant
difference between the Pygeum africanum group and the placebo group with
respect to therapeutic response."
Again, in Minerva
Urologica e Nefrologica, volume 39 (1987), Drs. Bassi et al at the University
of Padova studied 40 men with BPH with and extract of Pygeum africanum with a
high beta-sitosterol content. Half the men received a placebo and many
parameters were measured for the two month study. They concluded, "The
preliminary results demonstrate a significant improvement of the frequency,
urgency, dysuria (difficult, painful urination) and urinary flow in patients
treated with the active drug."
In the Italian journal
Minerva Urologica e Nefrologica, volume 37 (1985), doctors at the University of
Padova studied the effect of beta-sitosterol extract on 27 men with BPH. Dr.
Tasca and his associates measured urine flow and other parameters in men
ranging from ages 49 to 81 compared to men receiving a placebo.
In the journal Urolage
A, volume 24 (1985) at the University of Basel, Switzerland, Dr. Vontobel and
his colleagues studied a strong extract of nettles containing a high
concentration of beta-sitosterol in a double blind study of 50 men for nine
weeks. They said that the use of beta-sitosterols from nettles, "The
evaluation of the objective parameters showed significant differences."
The British Journal of
Clinical Pharmacology in volume 18 (1984) at the Hospital Ambroise in Paris,
Champault and two other doctors did a classic double blind study with 110 men
half of them getting a placebo. They concluded, "Thus as predicted by
pharmacological and biochemical studies PA109 (4 tablets of Permixon daily)
would therefore appear to be a useful therapeutic tool in the treatment of
BPH."
In Medical Science
Research, volume 16 (1983), Drs. Malini and Vanithakumari at the Institute of
Medical Sciences in Madras, India studied the effect of beta-sitosterol on the
fructose concentration of the prostate. Fructose is vital to the function of
the prostate with regard to the androgenic hormones such as DHEA and
testosterone. This was a very unique and thorough study lasting almost two
months.
In volume 77 of the
German journal Midizinische Klinik (1982) a study done at the Urological Clinik
of Krankenhauser in Ludenscheid-Hellersen was performed on 23 patients. Dr.
Szutrely gave the patients either Harzol (herbal extract standardized for
beta-sitosterol content) or a placebo for patients with prostate enlargement
over a two month period. They measured their prostates with ultrasound
equipment before and after treatment. At the end he said, "Within the
scope of a controlled double blind study to demonstrate the effect of
conservative therapy of benign prostatic hyperplasia with Harzol, ultrasonic
examination of the prostate adenoma (enlargement) was carried out on 23
patients before and after therapy with the trial preparation of a placebo.
Within a two month treatment with Harzol there was a significant change in echo
structure of the prostate adenoma, and this is interpreted as a reduction in
the interstitial formation of oedema (swelling)."
These have been only a
few of the many dozens of medical journal publications of studies taken place
in some of the most important urological clinics around the world. These
studies all indicate that beta-sitosterol is highly effective in reducing
enlarged prostates in BPH patients as well as significantly decreasing their
BPH symptoms.
Beta Sitosterol and Cholesterol*
If there was only one
supplement you could take to reduce your cholesterol it should be
beta-sitosterol taken in 300-600 mg doses every day. Beta-sitosterol is the
most studied, most proven, most effective supplement to lower total and LDL
cholesterol. The studies on this in the medical journals actually go back 50
years yet most people have never even heard of it
Upjohn Pharmaceuticals
tried to make a prescription analog (chemical relative) of it decades ago for
lowering cholesterol but did not succeed - the natural molecule works best. The
scientific community has been well aware of it and clinics around the world
have done extensive studies on both humans and animals including gall bladder,
bile and liver functions since these are all part of the cholesterol
metabolism. The major mechanism this seems to be effective is simply by
preventing the dietary cholesterol from being absorbed in the intestines where
fat is digested. Another way this seems to work is by increasing the flow of
bile acids, which binds the cholesterol in the digestive track and excretes it
in the feces.
At McGill University in
Montreal (Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 75, 1997, p. 217-27) doctors did a review
of the literature on beta-sitosterol and cholesterol metabolism. They researched
in detail 18 major studies that used sitosterols to lower cholesterol and
triglycerides. They concluded, "addition to diet of phytosterols
represents an effective means of improving circulating lipid profiles to reduce
risk of coronary heart disease." This study came complete with forty high
quality references and left no doubt about the effectiveness of phytosterols on
humans. Also at McGill University (Metabolism Clinic Experiments 47, 1998, p.
751-6) patients on a fixed diet were given sterols from pine oil for a mere ten
days in a strict, randomized crossover study. This was not a low fat or low
cholesterol diet at all. They successfully lowered both their total cholesterol
and LDL levels in this short term placebo controlled experiment. They concluded,
these results demonstrate the short term efficacy of pine oil plant sterols as
cholesterol lowering agents"
A very interesting study
was done at the Center for Human Nutrition in France (Ann. Nutr. Metab. 39,
1995, p. 291-5) in that healthy people with normal cholesterol levels were
given beta- sitosterol to see if their normal levels could be lowered even
further. We always think of studies as using unhealthy people with pathological
cholesterol levels given supplements to make them normal again. Amazingly
enough the healthy people lowered their normal cholesterol levels even more
with no change in diet or exercise. In fact, they were a full 10% lower in only
a month. This kind of effect is really fascinating. They said, "The
present results may be of great interest in the prevention of high cholesterol
diet-associated risks, especially in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
Since beta-sitosterol was so effective for people who didn't even need it,
think what it will do for those people who do need to lower their blood lipids.
They concluded, "These findings suggest that a significant lowering of
plasma total and LDL cholesterol can be effected by a modest dietary intake of
soybean phytosterols"
A good study was done at
the Wageningen Agricultural Institute in the Netherlands, the same clinic that
did so much good research on trans fatty acids (Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 72, 2000, p.
1510-5). They gave men and women a margarine containing plant sterols and got
very significant reductions in cholesterol as well as lower LDL levels in only
three weeks. Why a clinic would give margarine to people after studying the
negative effects of hydrogenated oils is another matter. Again, these were
healthy subjects with normal cholesterol levels, yet they still got great
benefits very quickly with no change in diet or exercise.
At Uppsala University in
Sweden (Eur. Heart J. Supp. 1, 1999, p. S80-S90) the doctors wanted to give the
volunteers the phytosterols in conjunction with a cholesterol lowering diet to
see the results of a more comprehensive lifestyle program. The results were
really impressive in that the men and women lowered total cholesterol a full
15% and LDL cholesterol a full 19% in less than a month. The shows the very
dramatic results you can get with just adding some reasonable dietary changes
even without any exercise program at all.
At the University of
British Columbia at their St. Paul's Hospital (American Journal of Medicine 107
(1999) p. 588-94) a very impressive review was done complete with 86 references
of using plant sterols to lower total cholesterol and LDL. They said of the
recent research, "In 16 recently published human studies that used
phytosterols to decrease plasma cholesterol levels in a total of 590 subjects,
phytosterol therapy was accompanied by an average 10% decrease in total
cholesterol and 13% decrease in LDL cholesterol levels." This is the best
review to date and should convince anyone of the effectiveness of sterols over
drugs.
At the University of
Kagawa in Tokyo two studies were done. The first was done on healthy young men
who were given plant sterols for only five days. In this short time their
cholesterol levels fell measurably (Joshi Eiyo Daigaku Kiyo 14, 1983, p.
165-72). The second study was done on healthy young women (same journal 15,
1984 p. 11-18) again giving them plant sterols for only five days.
"Administration of phytosterol (mainly sitosterol) increased the output of
fecal cholesterol." These were all healthy young Japanese people eating a
traditional low-fat diet who did not have a cholesterol problem to begin with,
yet they received measurable results in only five days.
At the University of
California in San Diego men were isolated in a hospital ward and fed 350 mg of
cholesterol and then beta-sitosterol supplements (American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition 35, 1982, p. 697-700). This resulted in a 42% decrease in cholesterol
absorption in the intestines. They said, "Evidently, the judicious
addition of beta-sitosterol to meals containing cholesterol rich foods will
result in a decrease in cholesterol absorption with a consequent decrease in
plasma cholesterol"
The University of
Helsinki took a big interest in lowering cholesterol with plant sterol therapy
back in 1988. The first study (Clinical Chimica Acta 178, p. 41-9) studied
familial (genetic) hypercholesterolemia. The higher the sterol levels they found
in the patients’ blood the more cholesterol was excreted rather than absorbed.
The second study was in 1989 (Metabolism Clinical Experiments 38, p. 136-40).
Men were studied again for blood levels of sterols and they found the higher
the levels the more cholesterol was excreted successfully. The third study in
1994 (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 59, p. 1338-46) studied
vegetarians who eat twice as many plant sterols as normal people. They showed
one reason vegetarians have lower cholesterol levels besides the food they eat
is the efficiency of their cholesterol excretion due to their intakes of plant
sterols. In the last study in 1999 (Current Opinion Lipidology 10, p. 9-14)
they said, "Plant sterols may be useful for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia they may have a potent cholesterol lowering effect as shown
in normal and hypercholesteremic men and women with and without coronary heart
disease and diabetes mellitus"
The best study of all
was a review from the University of British Columbia (American Journal of
Medicine 107, 1999, p. 588-94). This included a full 86 references, and went
over seventeen different human studies using plant sterols to lower cholesterol
since 1951 (Proceedings of the Society for Biological Medicine 78, 1951, p.
143-7). A total of 590 men and women were used in these studies with
phytosterol therapy resulting in an average 10% reduction in total cholesterol and
a 13% reduction in LDL cholesterol. They found this worked best in high-fat
diets; the worse the diet the more results the researchers got.
LifeSource Vitamins Beta-Sitosterol Plant Sterols is a
unique vegetarian dietary supplement which can aid in prostate health, normal
urinary flow and function, and healthy cholesterol levels.
Every LifeSource Vitamins product
exceeds the standards and requirements set forth in the FDA’s Code of Federal
Regulation (21 CFR, 111) Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP).
Proudly Made in the USA, with ALL
USA Ingredients!
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Since 1992
*Disclaimer: None of the above statements have been evaluated by the FDA. These
products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. As
always, consult your physician before taking any and all supplements.
LifeSource Vitamins. Individual results may vary.
Disclaimer: All the information contained throughout this website is based upon the
opinion of the founder of LifeSource Vitamins Bruce Brightman, and the entire
team at LifeSource Vitamins whose relentless research and studies have been
ongoing on since 1992. Other articles
and information are based on the opinions of the authors, who retains the
copyright as marked on the article. The
information on this site is not intended to replace your health care
professional, but to enhance your relationship with them. Doing your own studying and research and
taking your health care into your own hands is always best, especially in
partnership with your health care professional.
If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medications, or have any medical
conditions, always consult your health care professional before taking
supplements based on the information on this site.