Pectin is a soluble fiber found in several fruits. Foods with pectin can help you lose weight because they are low in calories and fat, make you feel full, and stabilize your blood sugar and insulin levels. Foods with pectin also provide many other health benefits, including reducing your blood cholesterol, that can help you lower your risk of heart disease, according to "Dietary Fiber," an Oklahoma State University report.
Sources
Pectin is one of the five primary components of dietary fiber, which is in all plant foods, including beans, bread, cereal, fruits, pasta, rice and vegetables. The three insoluble fibers--cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin--reduce your risk of colon cancer, according to "The New Pritikin Program" by highly-regarded nutritionist Robert Pritikin. The two soluble fibers--pectin and plant gums--help you reduce your cholesterol and weight. The foods with the most pectin include apples, grapes, strawberries and citrus fruits, including grapefruits, kumquats, lemons, limes, oranges and tangerines.
Statistics
You lose weight when you burn more calories than you consume, and "eating fat makes you fat," according to "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease." Pectin--and every other fiber--has four calories per gram, while fat has nine calories per gram. An apple has 0.3 g of fat and 59 calories. An orange has 0.3 g of fat and 71 calories. Grapes have 0.2 g of fat and 34 calories per serving. Strawberries have 0.7 g of fat and 55 calories per serving.
Effect
Eating lots of pectin-rich foods won't help you lose weight if you also consume a large amount of high-fat foods. Fortunately, foods with pectin decrease your appetite, according to "The New Pritikin Program." In "How Fiber Fights Fat," a section in his book, Pritikin explains that pectin-rich foods provide "built-in weight control" because they require more chewing than high-fat foods and swell inside your stomach. Thus, they make you feel full and satisfied and make you less likely to overeat, Pritikin wrote.
Expert Insights
Pectin is plentiful in the unrefined versions of fruits such as apples and oranges, but a large percentage of it is removed as it processed into refined carbohydrates such apple juice and orange juice. The unrefined apples and oranges release energy more gradually than their juices because the pectin delays your stomach's effort to get at the fruits' sugars and starches, according to "The South Beach Diet." Pritikin wrote that gradual energy releases prevent blood-sugar levels from fluctuating. When your blood-sugar fluctuates, your insulin increases. Higher insulin levels increase body fat.
Significance
Losing weight will reduce your risk of obesity-related diseases, including heart disease. Pectin also reduces your risk of heart disease, even if you don't lose weight, because it helps eliminate dietary cholesterol from your body, according to the Oklahoma State report. Pectin also helps lower triglycerides, a blood fat that also increases heart disease risks, according to the University of Michigan Health System.
References
- "The New Pritikin Program"; Robert Pritikin; 2007
- Oklahoma State University Family and Consumer Sciences Department: Dietary Fiber
- "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program For Reversing Heart Disease"; Dr. Dean Ornish; 1996
- "The South Beach Diet"; Dr. Arthur Agatston; 2003
- University of Michigan Health System: High Triglycerides
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