Applesare rich in pectin, a solublefiber, which blocks cholesterolabsorptionin the gut and encourages thebody to use, rather than store, thewaxy stuff.
These agents fall into several classes that include statins, fibric acid derivatives, bile acid sequestrants, nicotinic acid (also known as niacin) and the cholesterolabsorption inhibitors.
Thus, a lot is riding on the IMPROVE-IT study as it is meant to show that the combination of a statin plus a cholesterolabsorption inhibitor is better than a statin alone.