Fruit contains abundant amounts of vitamins, minerals antioxidants and phytonutrients. Making juice allows you to derive the health benefits of fruits in a delicious, convenient form. Commercial juicing process large quantities of fruit during peak growing seasons and preserve them for year-round use. Among the potential health benefits of some fruit juices is their ability to lower cholesterol levels.
Grapefruit
Grapefruit juice contains a compound that lowers cholesterol by inhibiting cholesterol-producing enzymes in your liver. These compounds also enhance the effects of some cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, so you should not use grapefruit juice to lower cholesterol if you take a statin drug, according to Larry Durstine, author of "Action Plan for High Cholesterol." Grapefruit also contains significant amounts of pectin, a soluble fiber that decreases cholesterol absorption and inhibits cholesterol production.
Smokers
Your body's response to the cholesterol-lowering benefits of fruit juice may be influenced by lifestyle habits, according to a study published in the June 2010 issue of the "International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition." In the study, fruit and fruit juice consumption increased cholesterol levels in nonsmokers and decreased cholesterol levels in smokers. Participants ate a pear, an apple and drank 200 milliliters of orange juice each day for 26 days. Results showed significant increases in total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, the "good" form of cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein, the "bad" form of cholesterol, in nonsmokers. Smokers experienced a decrease in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Further studies to clarify the health effects of these differences in the effects of fruit and fruit juice on cholesterol levels is needed.
Pomegranate
Pomegranate juice has garnered considerable research and attention for its cholesterol-lowering benefits. Pomegranate juice is high in flavonoid antioxidants, containing several times more than most other fruits. Flavonoids are notable among different categories of antioxidants for their cholesterol-lowering effects. These compounds prevent oxidation of LDL cholesterol, one of the initiating factors in atherosclerotic plaque formation. Drinking 2 to 3 ounces of pomegranate juice per day for two weeks may decrease your oxidized cholesterol levels by as much as 40 percent, according to Rodale Health Books' "Cholesterol Cures: Featuring the Breakthrough Menu Plan to Slash Cholesterol By 30 Points in 30 Days." Slightly longer use has been shown to cause measurable decreases in LDL levels.
Considerations
While phytonutrients in fruit juices help lower cholesterol levels, their high sugar content may have the opposite effect, according to a study published in the August 2011 issue of the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism." In the study, participants followed diets in which 25 percent of calories were derived from fructose, the form of sugar in fruit, for 12 days. Results showed an increase in triglycerides and LDL levels, implying increased cardiovascular disease risk.
References
- "Action Plan for High Cholesterol"; J. Larry Durstine; 2006
- "International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition"; Daily Consumption of Apple, Pear and Orange Juice Differently Affects Plasma Lipids and Antioxidant Capacity of Smoking and Non-smoking Adults; E. Alvarez-Parrilla, et al.; June 2010
- "Cholesterol Cures: Featuring the Breakthrough Menu Plan to Slash Cholesterol by 30 Points in 30 Days"; Editors of Rodale Health Books; 2007
- "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism"; Consumption of Fructose and High Fructose Corn Syrup Increase Postprandial Triglycerides, LDL-Cholesterol, and Apolipoprotein-B in Young Men and Women; K. Stanhope, et al.; August 2011
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