Eating Apples Every Day Could Be The Secret To Lowering Your Cholesterol

High cholesterol remains a significant problem for many adults. Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that around one out of every ten individuals who is age 20 or older has elevated cholesterol (hyperlipidemia). 

As the Amercian Heart Association notes, having high cholesterol puts people at risk of developing heart disease, which can be fatal. However, some individuals are able to manage and lower their cholesterol levels by diligently following a healthier diet that puts a premium on functional foods. For them, apples can be a delicious "food as medicine" choice.

It's no secret that apples have long been a favorite fruit in North America, as evidenced by their top spot on the U.S. Department of Agriculture list of most frequently consumed fruit in 2023. In fact, each year, every person eats approximately 14.7 pounds of apples in various forms. 

Although apples are filled with a wide range of nutrients that make them heart-friendly snacking choices, their pectin (a type of fiber) is what makes them potential tools against rising cholesterol. Why? According to the Cleveland Clinic, pectin helps usher cholesterol from the body.

The key to understanding pectin's role as a cholesterol-lowering agent lies in understanding what type of fiber it is. WebMD explains that pectin is a soluble fiber. As such, pectin combats the tendency of LDL cholesterol (the "bad" type of cholesterol) to clog the arteries. Though the pectin in apples isn't powerful enough to completely sweep cholesterol from the arteries, it can be a contributor to an overall heart-friendly diet.

To learn more about pectin in action, let's look at a 2016 study in Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy. Though the study was conducted on animal subjects, it gives insight into the potential of apple pectin as a cholesterol-fighting nutrient. After obese rats were fed apple pectin, they exhibited decreases in their LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol levels.

Similar findings came from a 2020 trial on human subjects in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. As part of the trial, adults with mildly high cholesterol ate two apples daily versus a placebo drink for eight weeks. Those who consumed apples experienced decreases in their LDL cholesterol levels. The researchers referred to pectin as one of the main nutritional mechanisms that caused the cholesterol-lowering effect.

Overall, apples appear to be able to affect cholesterol in adults. While they might not be able to completely push down elevated cholesterol levels to normal, they may be able to offer some assistance.

And if you're a woman who's gone through menopause and wants to use food to lower rising cholesterol (a phenomenon common after menopause), you'll be glad to know that at least one study showed that apples might be beneficial for postmenopausal women. The 2012 study was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and explored the effects of eating 75 grams per day of dried apple on 160 postmenopausal women. 

For a year, researchers evaluated several biomarkers of the female participants involved in the study. After three months, the women who ate dried apples every day had reduced their total cholesterol by 9% and their LDL cholesterol by 16%, on average. By six months, those figures had respectively jumped to 13% and 24%, implying a correlation between eating apples and cholesterol reduction.