NEW! CardiaBeat® Phytosterol—Omega-3 Matrix

Lee Swanson, President of Swanson Health Products

Peter Jones, Ph.D. University of Manitoba, Winnipeg Canada

Dear Friends and Valued Customers,

It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you Dr. Peter Jones of the University of Manitoba, located in Winnipeg, Canada. Dr. Jones recently stopped by our Swanson corporate offices to speak with us about research he has conducted on a unique new solution for cardiovascular health protection, now available as CardiaBeat.® Dr. Jones is not a paid endorser for CardiaBeat; rather, he is a dedicated researcher with an interest in nutritional approaches to common health concerns.

SWANSON: Before we get to the research, can you explain what plant sterols are exactly and why we should be including them in our daily diet?

Dr. Jones: Plant sterols are chemical cousins to cholesterol. They’re structurally similar, but they behave differently. While cholesterol comes from animal foods, plant sterols are found in foods like nuts and beans. There’s evidence that they may help us maintain healthy circulating cholesterol by competing for the same receptors and transport mechanisms in the digestive system.

SWANSON: CardiaBeat also contains omega-3 fatty acids. What is their role?

Dr. Jones: Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oils are believed to address the cardiovascular system in these ways: They have a positive impact on circulating triglyceride levels, and they may play a role in helping to maintain consistency in the heart’s rhythm. Fish oils and plant sterols are very complementary. They each address the issue of cardiovascular health through different mechanisms, so their combined effect can be quite comprehensive. That’s the rationale for combining plant sterols with omega-3s in a sterol ester form.

SWANSON: One final definition—what’s an “ester”?

Dr. Jones: A “sterol ester” is simply a molecule that is formed by bonding a sterol (in this case the plant sterols sitosterol or campesterol) to a fatty acid (in this case the omega-3s DHA or EPA). Bonding sterols in this way makes them soluble so they can be used as ingredients in supplements or foods. The esters in CardiaBeat are unique in that they are formed using very specific beneficial fatty acids from fish oils.

SWANSON: Your team was among the first to study this type of sterol ester. How did you develop this area of investigation?

Dr. Jones: We were looking for additive and synergistic activity for plant sterols. We know that plant sterols can help maintain healthy cholesterol levels, likely by influencing our ability to absorb cholesterol from foods. We also know that omega-3 fatty acids help us support healthy triglyceride levels. The idea to combine omega-3 fatty acids and plant sterols in a unique sterol ester just made sense, and our published studies show that we can indeed realize substantial combined benefits through the combination of these two natural ingredients. We began with about 30 people and placed them on a strictly controlled diet with foods that we prepared ourselves. The study was designed as a crossover in which each individual became his or her own control. Subjects came in for four weeks of treatment and observation, then resumed their normal lives for four weeks, then returned for four weeks and so on. The order of treatments was randomized so that we had a control period, a period of supplementation with plant sterols alone, a period of supplementation with fish oil or olive oil, and a period of supplementation with the plant sterol/omega-3 esters. Blood samples were taken at the end of each treatment period. Upon completion of the study, we analyzed all the blood samples for cholesterol, triglycerides and various other markers. What we found was that our hypothesis was correct and the combined plant sterol/omega-3 ester produced the most significant positive benefits and the most comprehensive positive benefits in terms of promoting healthy levels of both cholesterol and trigylcerides.

SWANSON: It’s very exciting work that you are doing and I look forward to following the further research. Meanwhile, I’ll be taking CardiaBeat and encouraging others to do the same. Thank you for sharing your research.

Dr. Jones: This work is exciting and it continues to show that we should all increase our consumption of plant sterols and omega-3s, whether through functional fortified foods or supplements. It just makes good health sense, and I’m glad to help get the message out.

Editor’s Note: Our thanks to Dr. Jones for sharing his research and insights.

Readers are encouraged to visit www.ihealthtube.com for more in-depth video discussions.