Phytosterolemia, how to choose food

Phytosterolemia, also known as sitosterolemia , is a rare autosomal recessive metabolic disease. This disease is caused by the metabolic disorder of plant sterols such as sitosterol, which leads to abnormally high levels of sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol in serum. Once phytosterolemia is diagnosed, a low-plant sterol diet becomes the key to controlling the disease.

So what are the contents of plant sterols in various foods? We can refer to the "Chinese Food Composition Table : Standard Edition" to make daily food choices.

Phytosterol content in some foods (mg/100g edible part )

The content of phytosterols in different plant foods is different, so you should be careful to distinguish and choose foods low in phytosterols. When controlling your diet, pay special attention to the content of phytosterols in vegetable oils. In addition to phytosterols, some patients may also have elevated blood cholesterol, so they also need to appropriately limit the intake of animal cholesterol.

While controlling their diet at home, patients should have regular outpatient follow-up visits to monitor blood lipid and plant sterol levels and undergo a comprehensive nutritional assessment. Based on the results of the examination, they can adjust their diet plans and develop individualized recipes to better control their condition.

Author: Niu Yang, Sheng Jinye, Zhang Yajie, Feng Yi, Tang Qingya

Department of Clinical Nutrition, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

Project source: Shanghai Health Science Popularization Youth Talent Project (JKKPYC-2022-06)