Apple pectin has been found to lower total and LDL cholesterol levels.

 

In an abstract written by Theuwissen E. Mensink, RP, he says the importance of increasing the intake of water-soluble dietary fibers is increasingly recognized for lowering serum LDL.

 

He states that well-controlled intervention studies have shown that major water-soluble fiber types including pectin effectively lower serum LDL cholesterol concentrations without affecting HDL cholesterol or triacylglycerol concentrations. In addition, Mensink says epidemiological studies suggest that a diet high in water-soluble fiber is inversely associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease.

 

In another study conducted by the Department of Paramedical Sciences, Technikon Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa, researchers established that the water-soluble dietary fiber pectin significantly decreases the concentration of serum cholesterol levels. The authors wrote, “Pectin supplementation caused significant decreases in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein A and B and lipoprotein (3).

 

Sarah Spagnuolo, MD and Mike Roizen, MD, in their article, “Pectin Pro Con,” featured on the www.clevelandclinicwellness.com site, agreed that, “Pectin is a safe product for weight loss and lowering cholesterol. There are few, if any, reasons to avoid it, and many good reasons to try it.

 

A study conducted by the Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, designed to assess the long-term effect that apple consumption might have on cardiovascular health, revealed that women who ate dried apples every day for a year lowered their total cholesterol by 14 percent and their levels of LDL cholesterol by 23 percent (8). Daily apple consumption also significantly lowered levels of C-reactive protein and lipid hydroperoxide, two substances that may indicate an increased risk of heart disease.

 

The researchers also theorized that the nutrients in apples may reduce inflammation in the body. In addition to lowering their cholesterol, the women lost an average of 3.3 pounds.