By Anupreeta Das
CHICAGO (Reuters) - New on the U.S. functional food menu: yogurt shots that may lower your cholesterol and a carbonated drink its makers say will help you lose weight.
These are two of the latest offerings as food and drink companies try to cash in on the healthy eating trend.
In May, Unilever, which makes Hellman's mayonnaise and Lipton tea, will launch a yogurt drink fortified with plant sterols in the U.S. market. Sterols are plant extracts that have been shown to lower levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol, in some clinical studies.
"One of these (100 milligram drinks) a day, and your cholesterol level comes down 10 percent," said Alan Jope, a global vice president at Unilever (UNc.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (ULVR.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), speaking at the Reuters Food Summit in Chicago this week. "We have 141 studies throughout the industry about the impact on cholesterol of plant sterols."
Unilever sees the "vitality shots" and health drinks market as a high-growth area in the United States, Jope said.
The yogurt brand will be called Promise, and will be priced at about $1 for a 100-milligram bottle. The company also plans to launch a fruit-and-vegetable shot under its Knorr label later this year.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes the labeling of health claims about the role of plant sterols, which inhibit the body's absorption of cholesterol on certain foods and beverages.
Coca-Cola Co.'s (KO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Minute Maid Premium Heart Wise orange juice, Unilever's Take Control spread, and Benecol, another spread sold by McNeil Nutritionals, a Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) company, contain plant sterols and are currently available in the U.S. Continued...
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