Guy Walks Into A Doctor's Office… Here's a doctor's office conversation that might seem a little farfetched… Doc: Your LDL cholesterol is higher than I'd like to see.
Patient: Is it time for Lipitor?
Doc: Down the road, maybe. But for the time being…
Patient: Don't tell me I have to exercise!
Doc: No, I'd like you to eat two large bags of tortilla chips every day.
Patient: Are they prescription chips?
Doc: No, they're available over-the-counter.
Patient: Great! Thanks, Doc!
Doc: We'll test your blood in six months. Maybe we can cut back to one bag per day. This may sound like a joke, but the folks who make Corazonas tortilla chips probably wouldn't think so. Welcome to the wild, whacky world of functional foods. How would you like a "toe-tapping, flavor explosion in your mouth"? That's how a slightly frightening marketing blurb describes Corazonas Jalapeño Jack tortilla chips, along with this note: "Foods containing at least 0.4 g per serving of plant sterols, eaten twice a day with meals for a daily total intake of at least 0.8 g, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. A serving of Corazonas supplies 0.4 grams of plant sterols." That's right - Corazonas corn chips may reduce the risk of heart disease. Or rather, the FDA allows them to make that claim based on plant sterol research. I think we can be pretty sure that no one has mounted a double blind, placebo-controlled trial in which half the subjects ate Corazonas chips and half ate a placebo chip. As I've noted in previous e-Alerts, plant sterols actually do help block absorption of dietary cholesterol. But of course, dietary cholesterol intake doesn't present the major heart disease danger. The true danger comes further along in the cholesterol chain-of- events when the effects of oxidation and inflammation on LDL play a key role in the development of atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries). So, is there anything in Corazonas chips that might promote inflammation? As a matter of fact… The Corazonas web site (corazonas.com) states that the chips are made with vegetable oil, which may contain safflower, sunflower, and/or canola oil. All three of these oils just happen to have high omega-6 to omega-3 ratios - a common but unhealthy imbalance that promotes inflammation. Of course, I'm not saying that Corazonas chips cause atherosclerosis, but there's more to heart health than just lacing a snack food with something healthy and then claiming it reduces heart disease risk. Which begs the question: If you want a snack, and you want something that that really does reduce heart disease risk, why not snack on a whole, unprocessed food that naturally contains plant sterols? There's a crazy idea! In the e-Alert "Pillow Talk" (3/20/06), I told you about Virginia Polytechnic Institute study that assessed plant sterol levels in different seeds and nuts. Top of the list: Wheat germ. Okay…admittedly, not very snackable, although you can add wheat germ to many dishes, which will make them healthier and give them a mild nutty taste. (That's right - you can actually produce "functional" foods in your own home!) For something closer to the snacking category, the VPI study found sunflower seeds and pistachio nuts to have relatively high plant sterol levels. And although they're completely useless for dipping salsa, they're the real deal if you want to enjoy the heart healthy effects of plant sterols. Sources:
"Industry and Academia Partner to Create Cholesterol-Reducing Snacks" Clarisse Douaud, NutraIngredients-USA, 10/9/07, nutraingredients-usa.com | 
