Home remedies passed on from one generation to the next often are the best solutions to most problems. Surprisingly, there are home remedies to tackle bad cholesterol too.
Cholesterol, a wax-like substance produced in the liver, helps to keep the walls of cells flexible and is needed for the creation of several hormones. But when it comes to bad cholesterol, higher levels of it can lead to causing heart disease and increase the risk of strokes.
There are LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. The body requires the HDL cholesterol, which is also called the ‘good cholesterol’ and can lower your risk for heart disease and stroke, while LDL cholesterol is what one must control, as it raises your risk for heart disease and stroke while HDL.
Dr Archana Batra, a Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator based in Gurugram, speaks of five ingredients that can be found in your kitchen that will help in maintaining a healthy cholesterol level.
1. Chose whole grain cereals instead of refined grain cereals:
Dr Batra says, “The process of refining the grains tends to remove many of the nutrients it is naturally packed with. The process may also remove fibre from the cereal.” In addition, she says that one must include oats in their diet on a regular basis, more so for people who have higher cholesterol levels. “You can also choose to consume dalia (broken wheat) and avoid refined flour completely,” she says.
2. Include whole pulses in your diet:
Pulses play a very important role in our diet and help maintain a healthy heart. Dr Batra says, “It would be a good idea to include some sort of pulse in your diet regularly. They are good for the heart and also help in maintaining a healthy blood pressure level. Consuming pulses, especially whole pulses with their outer coating is good because it contains fibre. It would be even better to consume these pulses after sprouting them.”
3. Consciously add more vegetable servings to your meal:
“Find ways to include vegetables in every meal. A salad before your meal is also a great way to add to the vegetable intake. Foods like kidney bean salad and quinoa salad are great to keep the cholesterol levels under check,” says Dr Batra. As per the studies, vegetables like okra and eggplant are especially useful in reducing cholesterol levels, however, “the trick is in the oil that is used while cooking these vegetables. Most Indian preparations are heavy on oil and that defeats the purpose of eating these vegetables”.
4. Make fruits your friends:
“Apples and berries are known to help keep cholesterol levels under control. While consuming fruits in general is good, do try and ensure that you have at least one fruit a day,” she says. According to this report by Harvard, apples, grapes, strawberries and citrus fruits are rich in pectin, a type of soluble fibre that lowers LDL (low-density lipoprotein).
5. Include seeds in your diet:
“Chia seeds, flaxseed, almonds, etc. should also be a part of your diet as these contain fiber and good fats. Consuming these will help in reducing the bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol levels(HDL),” says Dr Batra. These nuts and seeds also have additional properties that help in protecting the heart.
Dr Batra recommends the following food combinations to keep your cholesterol in check:
1. Sprouts fruits salad
2. Apple and sweet corn salad
3. Lemon chia water or chia pudding
4. Quinoa with kidney beans curry
5. Overnight Oats (Oats + non-dairy or dairy milk + yogurt + nuts + fruits)
Here’s the recipe to make another healthy beverage that controls cholesterol levers — Apple cinnamon or berries oatmeal smoothie:
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups of apple
1 small cinnamon stick
1 cup curd
¼ cups of cooking rolled oats
1 ½ tsp of honey
¼ tsp vanilla essence
Method:
Combine all the ingredients in a mixer and blend until it becomes a smooth paste.
Serve immediately.
How the ingredients of this smoothie helps:
Apple is known to reduce the cholesterol levels of your body and also has other health benefits. It is also a diabetic-friendly fruit and is known to be rich in antioxidants. Cinnamon on the other hand is good to relieve digestive discomfort and also has prebiotic properties. Curd is also known to improve digestion. Oats is a fibre rich food while honey is known for its immune-boosting properties.
(Edited by Yoshita Rao)
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