Fruit juices and bad LDL cholesterol

Question
Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to read my e-mail.  I enjoy eating fruits and vegetables but would like to consume more of them. Some of my main health concerns are to help lower LDL cholesterol, lower my weight, and just feel better.  I understand the when you use a juicer you are extracting the juice from your fruit or vegetable and the body can absorb the nutrients faster and more efficiently.  However, when you use a blender you you are putting more fiber into your drink but it is harder for your body to digest the enzymes and you are not getting all the nutrients.  So here is my questions, how can I get the advantages of both a juicer and blender?  Can I save the pulp from the juicer and then blend it together to get the benefits of the fiber.  Is there any studies conforming that when juicing you will lower the LDL cholesterol.  My main goal is to lower my LDL cholesterol, what do you recommend?

Thank you,

John

Answer
Dear John,

Yes, there are such studies, and yes, you can get the advantages of both a juicer and blender.

Examples of studies:

1. Orange juice (3 cups a day) improved blood lipid profiles, confirming recommendations to consume 5?0 servings of fruit and vegetables daily (Am J Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 72, No. 5, 1095-1100, 2000).

2. Flavonoids of red wine (independent of alcohol content) and purple grape juice (above 2 cups a day) improved vascular function and prevented LDL from oxidation thus reducing cardio-vascular risks (Circulation. 1999;100:1050-1055).

3. A 3-week of consumption of 1.5 cups tomato juice and 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup daily increased LDL resistance to oxidation (British Journal of Nutrition (2007), 98 : 1251-1258).

4. In animal experiments, pomegranate juice significantly decreased vascular inflammation (Nitric Oxide
Volume 17, Issue 1, 2007, 50-54) and Aronia fruit juice had lipid-lowering effects in rats with experimentally induced hyperlipidemia (JFood Biochemistry, 31 Issue 5, 589 - 602, 2007).

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS to lower LDL

Oatmeal and oat bran, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachio nuts and walnuts, fish, olive oil, legumes, whole grains, moderate consumption of alcohol -- all these are shown to help reducing LDL while almost all of them can keep HDL at healthy levels or even increase HDL levels up to 10% (alcohol). Take also omega-3  and nicotinic acid (niacin) supplements.

Avoid foods containing corn syrup or refined sugar, bread made with white processed flour, saturated (animal) fat, red meat

Tanya Zilberter

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