- Becel
Becel is a brand of
margarine , produced byUnilever and sold in many territories world wide. It is sold in theUnited Kingdom ,Ireland ,Poland andAustralia under the name Flora. InBrazil ,Canada ,Germany andPortugal the margarine is sold with the normal name, Becel.The name Becel originates from the three letter
acronym BCL (Blood Cholesterol Lowering). When introduced, the blood cholesterol lowering effect was achieved by modifying thetriacylglycerol (TAG) profile of the fat used in the margarine: an increased level of poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) reduces theblood cholesterol level (see e.g. A. Keys et al, Serum cholesterol response to changes in the diet. IV. Particular saturated fatty acids in the diet, Metabolism 14, 776-787 (1965)).More recently, products were introduced under the "pro-activ" sub-brand. These products are based on the effects of plant sterols and sterol esters on
blood cholesterol lowering (see e.g. M.B. Katan et al, Efficacy and Safety of Plant Stanols and Sterols in the Management of Blood Cholesterol Levels, Mayo Clinic Proceedings 78, 965-978 (2003)). In recent years the Becel/Flora brand has been extended to products other than margarine. Cooking oil, pot yoghurts and yoghurt drinks are some of the non-margarine products launched by Unilever under the Becel/Flora brand, all of which are designed to help lowerblood cholesterol level.In the United States, Becel is sold under the name "Promise" by Unilever USA.
External links
* [http://www.becel.com.br/ Becel Brazil website]
* [http://www.becel.ca/ Becel Canada website]
* [http://www.becel.de/ Becel Germany website]
* [http://www.becel.nl/ Becel Netherlands website]
* [http://www.promisehealthyheart.com/ Promise (Unileaver/Becel USA) website]
* [http://www.flora.pl/ Flora Poland website]
* [http://www.florahearts.co.uk/ Flora UK website]
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