Oral sterol intake in The Netherlands: evaluation of the results obtained by GC analysis of duplicate 24-h diet samples collected in 1994

In the spring and autumn of 1994, a total diet study, in which 123 participants collected duplicates of their 24-h diets, was carried out. One of the goals of this study was to determine the amount of sterols in the duplicates of 24-h diets so that we could establish the oral daily intake of these analytes. Lyophilised samples were analysed for cholesterol, coprosterol, brassicasterol, campesterol, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol content. The mean intake of all participants was: for cholesterol, 202 mg person−1 day−1; for campesterol, 27 mg person−1 day−1; for stigmasterol, 15 mg person−1 day−1; and for β-sitosterol, 102 mg person−1 day−1. The median intake of all participants was: for cholesterol, 160 mg person−1 day−1; for campesterol, 26 mg person−1 day−1; for stigmasterol, 14 mg person−1 day−1; and for β-sitosterol, 98 mg person−1 day−1. The mean and median intake for brassicasterol could not be calculated because too many values were below the limit of determination. The coprosterol intake was below the limit of determination for all samples. The mean intake for the plant sterols was 146 mg person−1 day−1, and the mean total sterol intake was 348 mg person−1 day−1. The median intake for the plant sterols was 138 mg person−1 day−1 and the median total sterol intake was 313 mg person−1 day−1. On the day of sampling the cholesterol intake of 32 participants was above the recommendation of the Dutch Food and Nutrition Council (Voedingsraad) of a maximum of 33 mg MJ−1. The overall mean intake of cholesterol of 25 mg MJ−1, however, is below this recommendation. The total sterol intake found in this study corresponds well with the results found in the 1984/1985 duplicate diet study. The sterol intake in mg MJ−1 found in this study corresponds well with the results from the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey and the Market Basket study.