Lower your cholesterol naturally

Ishi Khosla is a former senior nutritionist at Escorts,feels that for complete well-being,one should integrate physical,mental and spiritual health. According to her: To be healthy should be the ultimate goal for all.

Statins are a group of cholesterol lowering drugs prescribed to prevent heart disease. There is increasing awareness of the side-effects of long-term use of these drugs. Many individuals with heart diseases or high cholesterol are looking to switch to natural alternatives to statins or natural statins as they are widely known,to protect themselves from the potential side-effects of statins. This is specially useful among people who have high cholesterol because of dietary absorption. Even those in whom high cholesterol is familial,natural statins work as adjuncts to conventional therapy.

A recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that eating certain foods can lower your cholesterol levels just as well as taking statin drugs. It also reported that these foods are as effective,or even more effective than statin drugs. Cholesterol lowering food components include dietary fibers,good fats,phytosterols and some vitamins. In this particular study,researchers found that foods such as soy protein,tofu,various other soy products,nuts and cereal fiber,as well as plant sterols,can lower total cholesterol and especially LDL cholesterol,better than statin drugs.

Other less commonly known compounds and nutrients with cholesterol lowering benefits include probiotics like lactobacillus obtained from fermented food products,guggulipids,red yeast rice,policosanol found in jagerry and sugar cane,grape seed extract,cinnamon,turmeric,niacin,Pantethine,found in the form of Vitamin B-5 and vitamin C.

Dietary fiber,specially soluble fiber,particularly has been shown to significantly lower cholesterol LDL bad cholesterol while levels of good cholesterol HDL remain unchanged and help prevent the heart disease. Soluble fiber can be found in foods such as oats,barley,legumes peas,beans,certain fruits e.g.,apples,prunes,and berries,certain vegetables e.g.,carrots,broccoli,yams,etc.. Interestingly,oatmeal is the only whole grain food recognized by the FDA to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease,thereby allows its claim as a heart protective ingredient in food labels. Psyllium husk has also been known to exhibit cardio-protective role due to its high fiber content and beta-sitosterol a plant sterol. A study reported that adding psyllium 12 g to the cereal in low and high fat diets for a month significantly reduced serum LDL-cholesterol levels by 12 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.

Good fat: Accumulating data from observational and clinical trials have reported that omega-3 fats actually reduce risk of heart disease by reducing triglycerides and total cholesterol. These could be included through fish,walnuts,flaxseeds and green leafy vegetables. Besides being rich in omega-3 fatty acids,flaxseeds also provide dietary fiber,both soluble and insoluble.

The Harvard School of Public Health advises that nuts have favourable effects on blood lipids and cholesterol reduction. A meta-analysis of seven almond studies showed as high as 10 per cent cut in total cholesterol and LDL bad cholesterol for subjects with high cholesterol levels.

Phytosterols are plant sterols or stanols similar to cholesterol that act in the intestines to lower cholesterol absorption. Increasing the intake of phytosterols may be a practical way to reduce cholesterol levels. More than 40 types of phytosterols have been identified to have cholesterol lowering properties. They are most commonly found in fruits,vegetables including figs,avocados,nuts,oilseeds,oils such as rice bran,olive oil and whole grains including barley,oats,,wholewheat. Taking 2 grams of plant sterols or stanols per day usually results in a 10 lowering of LDL bad cholesterol.

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According to the American Heart Association,a reduction in blood cholesterol can be achieved by consuming 1 to 3 grams of plant sterols or stanols per day. The compounds effectively reduce LDL-cholesterol,both when taken as supplements or in natural foods.

Traditional Remedies:

Guuggulipid,also known as commiphora mukul or the Indian Bedellium ,has been a mainstay of traditional Indian herbal medicine Ayurveda approaches in preventing high cholesterol and atherosclerosis.

Red yeast rice contains a naturally occurring statin called Mevastatin. With so many different options,the best combinations can be worked out under supervision.