Pectin: What is it? Operation, Uses, Efficacy, Side Effects and Precautions

It is a fiber found in fruits and is used to make some medicines.

Some people use pectin to control:

  • High cholesterol.
  • High triglycerides.
  • Prevent colon cancer and prostate cancer .
  • Diabetes.
  • Gastroesophageal reflux diseases.

It is also usually used with the aim of:

  • Prevent poisoning caused by lead, strontium, and other heavy metals.
  • Reduce skin redness associated with taking niacin.

Certain individuals apply pectin to the skin to protect raw or ulcerated mouth and throat sores.

Also, pectin is used as a thickening agent in cooking and cooking. In manufacturing, pectin is an ingredient in some denture adhesives.

How pectin works

Pectin binds substances in the intestine and adds bulk to the stool.

Uses and efficacy

Among the benefits of pectin is that taking it or ingesting it along with small amounts of insoluble fiber reduces total and “bad” low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

However, the combination does not appear to affect “good” high-density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglycerides.

Among the disadvantages are:

Prediabetes: Beverages containing beet pectin do not appear to lower blood sugar levels in people with prediabetes.

Stomach ulcers : Taking apple pectin for 6 months does not appear to reduce the occurrence of ulcers in the small intestine.

Although not scientifically proven, some people use pectin to:

Diarrhea in young children: It appears to shorten episodes of diarrhea, vomiting and decrease the need for fluid replacement in children 5 to 12 months of age in developing countries who experience these conditions continuously.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease: In children with cerebral palsy, early research shows that giving pectin along with “tube feeding” reduces some symptoms of this condition, such as vomiting, coughing, and wheezing in children with cerebral palsy.

Mercury Toxicity: Early research shows that taking pectin helps flush mercury through urine and decreases the duration of toxicity in children with this condition.

Niacin-Induced Redness: Taking pectin before using the drug niacin appears to reduce the duration of skin flushing. But it does not prevent skin redness from occurring or reduce its severity.

Prostate Cancer: Early research suggests that ingesting products containing specific modified citrus pectin after prostate surgery or radiation may lengthen the wait time for prostate cancer to recur.

Additional is also used for:

  • Colon cancer.
  • Radiation damage
  • Acidity.
  • Infection.
  • Sores in the mouth and throat.

Side effects

Pectin is usually a safe component for use in men, women, children and the elderly, however, anyone who ingests it and has the following allergy symptoms should suspend its use:

  • Inflammation around the eyes.
  • Crying eyes.
  • Dyspnea or shortness of breath
  • Swelling of the lips and throat.
  • Swallowing problems
  • Sudden chills
  • Redness on the cheekbones of the face.
  • Acceleration of the heartbeat

When ingested alone or in combination with guar gum and insoluble fiber (the combination used to lower cholesterol and other fats in the blood), pectin can cause:

  • Stomach cramps
  • Diarrhea.
  • Gases.
  • Loose stools

People who are exposed to pectin dust at work, such as in manufacturing, can develop asthma.

Caution

Pectin can decrease the amount of tetracycline antibiotics that can be absorbed. Taking Pectin with tetracycline antibiotics could decrease the effectiveness of the drug.

To avoid this interaction, the patient should ingest Pectin an average of 2 hours before the antibiotic.

Pectin is rich in fiber and this component hurts in some cases to decrease the absorption and effectiveness of digoxin (Lanoxin). That is why Pectin must be taken in a prolonged period of time before or after the medication.

In pregnant women there have been no cases where the embryo or fetus is affected or harmed by Pectin.

The same occurs in women who are breastfeeding, it has not been proven that this component passes into breast milk and has any counterproductive effect on the development of the baby.