If you eat fruits, vegetables or jam, then pectin is a part of your diet. Pectin is a carbohydrate that provides a number of health benefits. Pectin can contribute to healthy blood sugar levels and promote good nutrition by reducing certain cholesterols. Incorporating pectin-rich foods into your daily diet can also help treat a number of other common illnesses.
About Pectin
Pectin is a carbohydrate and a major component of cell structures. It exists in the primary cell wall and in the lamella cell wall, the middle section, of plants. According to the book "Citrus Nutrition and Quality," pectin plays a vital role in the structural integrity of fruits and vegetables. Pectin can come in a soluble and insoluble form as a component of juice particulates and impacts the quality of the juice that is derived from a fruit or vegetable plant. Pectin compounds are made up primarily of glucose residue, which contributes to the sugar taste of juices.
Pectin Food Sources
Citrus fruits and legumes have a high pectin concentration. According to the website Dietary Fiber Food, 60 to 70 percent of the dietary fiber in citrus fruits is pectin. The carbohydrate is present in all plants but concentrations vary. Grapefruits, apricots, oranges and apples are all known to have highly-concentrated levels of pectin. Other non-citrus foods that contain pectin include cereals, peas, carrots, beans and potatoes, according to Dietary Fiber Food.
Pectin Health Benefits
Pectin has been linked to a number of health benefits. According to Dietary Fiber Food, pectin may help reduce the risk of heart disease, discourage the development of gallstones and relieve the symptoms of diabetes. Pectin hinders blood glucose levels from rising dramatically by making you feel full. It is also believed that pectin interferes with glucose uptake after eating, which further helps stabilize sugar levels. Dietary Fiber Food claims that pectin may also promote lower serum cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. This was the case in diets that used pectin supplements or consisted of food sources rich in pectin.
Pectin as a Food Ingredient
Pectin is often used in the making of jellies. Citrus fruit skins contain a lot of pectin, which is isolated from the peels, according to Dietary Fiber Food. When mixed at the correct pH balance, the sugary pectin compounds, along with fruit and citric acid, contribute to the firming of gelatin.
Pectin Medicine
Eating foods that contain pectin or taking medicines with pectin has been known to treat a number of common illnesses. Pectin is often used in combination with kaolin to treat diarrhea, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Other applications of pectin in medicine include the treatment of heartburn, constipation and wound-healing, according to Dietary Fiber Food.
