ABSTRACT
I n t ro d u c t i o n The excessive ingestion of dietary fats found in typical Western diets increases the risk of obesity, hyperlipemia, and diabetes mellitus, factors that are linked to arteriosclerotic diseases. This has become a global problem with regard to nutrition (1). On the other hand, serum LDL cholesterol concentration was determined to be an independent risk factor for arteriosclerosis through large-scale clinical trials, in which cholesterol-lowering drugs such as cholesterol synthesis inhibitors and cholesterol absorption inhibitors were used (2,3). A dietary therapy that prescribes a low cholesterol intake is effective in lowering serum LDL cholesterol concentration (4), but it is difficult in practice to maintain such a diet over a long period of time. Cholesterollowering foods containing phytosterols have recently been developed.
