Fecal β-Sitosterol in Patients with Diverticular Disease of the Colon and in Vegetarians

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Abstract
Fecal sterol analysis showed that excretion of β-sitosterol, a major component of poorly absorbable dietary vegetable sterols, is subnormal in patients with diverticular disease of the colon. Thus, the patients had evidently consumed a diet low in plant materials. The finding agrees with the current opinion that diverticular disease of the colon is associated with dietary fibre deficiency and suggests that fecal β-sitosterol provides a rough measure of the vegetable intake. In vegetarians the β-sitosterol excretion was actually high.