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Scientists prove that eating apples has an effect comparable to medication in terms of reducing high cholesterol.
According to a study published in the journal Pharmanutrition, the polyphenolic compounds in apples “may serve as a natural mechanism for cholesterol management and cardiovascular disease support by reducing the solubility and absorption of cholesterol in the intestine.”
In in vitro tests, the researchers found that apple extract was able to reduce cholesterol solubility by 86 percent. They then conducted a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized, crossover study in 50 healthy men and women who were given a high-cholesterol diet with or without apple extract for 10 days. The researchers found that people who took apple extract increased their cholesterol excretion by 35 percent.
"It has long been known that apple pectin has the ability to bind to cholesterol in the intestines and remove it from the body. But we were surprised to discover how powerful this effect can be," the project authors reported.
In another study, conducted by researchers at Florida State University, 160 women aged 45 to 65 were divided into two groups, one of which ate apples daily and the other prunes. The women in the apple group saw a 23 percent drop in their LDL (bad) cholesterol, while their HDL (good) cholesterol increased by three to four percent. This effect was superior to both medication and exercise, the researchers said.
Additionally, women who ate apples lost an average of about 3 pounds (about one and a half kilograms) over the course of a year. Meanwhile, women who ate prunes reported improvements in bone density, but they didn't see the fruit's positive effects on cholesterol levels.
“Two apples a day lower LDL cholesterol levels as effectively as statins, but without the side effects of the drugs,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Bahram H. Arjmandi.
