Pectin for better health

DO you have high cholesterol?

Diabetes? If you do, your bathroom cabinet probably contains medicines to control these problems. But maybe you should also look inside the produce compartment of your refrigerator for help. You just might find the solution in sweet oranges, crisp apples, crunch carrots and tasty nuts and beans. What’s so special about these foods? I consider them my health protector. They all contain a gelatinous fiber called pectin. Found in varying amounts in many fruits and vegetables, pectin is the “glue” that holds plant cells together. Home canners know pectin as a white powder made from cull apples or grapefruit skin, that used to firm up jellies. Many people don’t eat the skin of these fruits but I strongly advise you to eat it.

because it is where most of pectin lies.

Several studies have confirmed that pectin is one of the best substances for reducing high-blood cholesterol levels. Pectin reduces blood levels of a harmful kind of cholesterol known as LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. That is important because high levels of LDL cholesterol have been shown to multiply one’s risk of developing heart disease.

Pectin acts like a sponge in your intestines. It binds components of digestive fluids secreted by the liver and gall bladder. Some of these components called bile salts are formed from body stores of cholesterol. Normally,

after the bile salts are used to

digest food, they are reabsorbed into the body to be recycled. But when pectin combines with bile salts, the intestines can’t reabsorb them and they are excreted. That means the body has to dip into its cholesterol stores to make more bile salts. The more often it must do this, the lower its cholesterol stores and the healthier your

arteries. Studies have shown that pectin can absorb up to four times its weight in cholesterol.

Pectin seems to work best in people whose cholesterol levels are highest. It is particularly effective with those with a genetic tendency toward high cholesterol levels, reducing their blood levels by as much as 19 percent. How much pectin do you need to consume to see results? That depends on you. For me, eating two apples a day is enough.

Vitamin C

A few studies have noted that when extra vitamin C is added to your diet along with fruits rich in pectin, one’s cholesterol level drops even lower. Conveniently, some pectin-packed fresh and vegetables are also rich in Vitamin C. The enzyme that starts converting cholesterol to bile acids is activated by Vitamin C. With Vitamin C you have the enzyme capability in your body to transform cholesterol into bile acids. People deficient in Vitamin C produce less bile acid.

Diabetics

Fruits rich in pectin also works in ways that can help diabetics keep their blood sugar and

insulin levels normal and stable. When you eat these fruits or consume them with meals, especially if you eating a lot of fats and sweets, it reduces the subsequent rise in blood sugar and insulin levels. Pectin may work by slowing the absorption of sugar through the intestine. It creates a kind of diffusion barrier on the intestinal lining. It creates a thicker membrane barrier through which the glucose has to pass to be

absorbed so that sugar is absorbed gradually through a longer length of intestine.

There are claims that pectin-rich fruits can help one’s lose weight without cutting calories. THis has not been proven. To do that it would have to cause

malabsorption of food and it doesn’t do that. In fact, unlike some fiber rich food pectin seems not to interfere with vitamin or mineral absorption which makes it safe even in large amounts. That means you can enjoy eating your apple, grapes, oranges and

carrots.

Help bowel movement

Studies done over a number of years have shown that pectin changes the structure of the cells lining the intestine. Therefore, there is more intestinal cell turnover and growth in animals given fresh fruits rich in pectin. In

trying to see if these findings have any

practical application, scientists decided to look at inflammatory bowel disease. They found that in rats with experimentally

induced colitis, those that ate fruits rich in pectin healed much faster than those fed with fiber-free liquid diet. A study of the rats supplemented with pectin showed that their intestinal cells showed more growth and bigger cells.

In the colon, pectin is broken down into what are called short-chain fatty acids. The cells that line the colon can use these fatty acids directly as an energy source. These fatty acids provide an important source of nourishment for these cells helping them reproduce, grow and heal. More research needs to be done before recommendations can be made but I’m hopeful pectin foods may soon play a role in the treatment of bowel disease. It’s

inexpensive, harmless and may have real

potential for patients who need some intestinal healing. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain by eating fruits rich in pectin. Food containing pectin is good for you.