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Flora ProActiv products contain plant sterols, which lower blood cholesterol by partially inhibiting its absorption from the gut.

Cholesterol in the gut comes from two sources, dietary and biliary cholesterol. It mixes with bile salts, lecithin and triglycerides to form micelles.

It is thought that when plant sterols reach the gut they replace some of the cholesterol in the micelles.^58,59

Micelles then deliver less cholesterol to enterocytes, the cells lining the gut wall, after which the cholesterol is released into the bloodstream.

The cholesterol that is not incorporated into the micelles escapes absorption and is excreted from the body along with >95% of the plant sterols (<5% of plant sterols are absorbed through the gut wall to the blood stream). In this way, cholesterol is removed from the body. Subsequently, levels of LDL-cholesterol are lowered but HDL-cholesterol remains unaffected. ^58,59

Consuming 1.5-2.4g of plant sterols per day can lower cholesterol by 7-10% in 2-3 weeks when consumed as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle with sufficient fruit and vegetables.^3,4