Cholesterol is a yellowish fatty substance and is one of the essential ingredients of the body. It is the principle ingredient in the digestive juice bile, in fatty sheaths that insulate nerves and in sex hormones. It performs several functions such as transportation of fat, providing defense mechanism, protecting red blood cells and muscular membrane of the body.
Cholesterol travels through the blood in protein packages known as lipoproteins. There are two types of lipoproteins-low density lipoprotein that is also known as bad cholesterol and is the main cause of blockage in the arteries; the other is high-density lipoprotein that is known as good cholesterol as it removes the bad cholesterol from the blood and helps in preventing heart attack.
Natural Remedies for Cholesterol
You must be thinking how to lower cholesterol? Following are some home remedies to reduce colestrol.
Take 1 tsp. roasted chicory root, 1 tsp. lime flowers, ½ tsp. fenugreek seeds, ½ tsp. ginger rhizome, and 1 quart of water. Mix them and bring to boil. Let the boiled mixture cool. Then strain and drink 2 cups a day.
Eat a clove of garlic every morning on empty stomach. In fact, the intake of garlic should be increased by adding it to daily food preparations as it lowers LDL cholesterol level and increases HDL.
Include ginger in your diet as it also reduces cholesterol and thins the blood which improves its circulation.
Take Guggul (Indian bedellium) which reduces triglycerides and LDL by 35% and increases HDL by 20 %. The Guggul extracts are easily available in form tablests and capsules.
Eat more of (about 70- 90% of your food intake) raw food. If you can't eat raw, lightly saute the vegetables in olive oil.
Eat barley. Its good if you replace rice with barley.
Have oatmeal regularly.
Eat apples everyday after every meal. Apples contain pectin that lowers cholesterol.
Drink fresh fruit juices, particularly carrot, celery, and beet juice.
Have soymilk. Replace milk and even coffee creamer with soymilk.
Drink at least 8-10 glasses of water daily.
Take onion juice. It cleans blood, helps digestive system, cures insomnia and regulates the heart action apart from lowering bad cholesterol.
Apply mudpack over abdominal area. It is good cure for indigestion and also improves the functioning of the liver and activates kidneys to promote excretion.
Exercise daily. It can simply be brisk walking or yogasanas like ardhamatsyaendrasana, shalabhansan, padmasana and vajrasana. These Yoga asanas help in lowering blood cholesterol. Obesity is one of the major causes of high cholesterol levels. Reduce weight. However, if you suffer from any heart disease, consult your doctor before starting any heavy exercise like jogging, swimming, running or gym training.
Take 2 tbsps of coriander seeds. Mix it with a glass of water and boil. Let it cool for some time and then strain it. Drink it thrice a day. It lowers blood cholesterol and stimulates the kidneys.
Cholesterol Diet
Oatmeal
Eating a good amount of cholesterol daily is helpful in maintaining the cholesterol level. So, the person who want to maintain there cholesterol level should eat oatmeal daily.
Sunflower Oil
Cook food with the sunflower oil in place of butter and other oil. It will maintain cholesterol level. Diet rich in fiber is also recommended to the patient of cholesterol.
Bran Cereal
Bran cereals are good for treating cholesterol level and you can take them after every meal.