It has been demonstrated that plant sterols lower blood cholesterol levels. According to suggested processes, the sterols compete with cholesterol for the limited absorption capacity in the intestine by diluting the pool of cholesterol present in it. This is a result of the chemical (such as molecular structure) and physical (such as solubility) similarities between plant sterols and cholesterol. To put it another way, plant sterols may stop actual cholesterol from entering your system. Unwanted cholesterol is prevented from entering into the bloodstream by plant sterols.

However, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has given olive leaf extract approval for its capacity to lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Only after examining a substantial body of information that clearly supports such assertions can the EFSA provide such guidelines.