I must thank you for your overwhelming response to my article Strategies for Reducing Cholesterol. It gives me immense happiness to know that most of you have benefited greatly after following the diets given. It would take you 3-4 months of correct eating to completely bring your blood fats under the normal range. You have now completed a month of following a cholesterol lowering food-plan.

The cholesterol battle 

In the Metro’s we are all living in the cholesterol age. People are generally over stressed and under nourished. Under nourished not because of lack of food, but due to lack of good quality food. Natural foods are being replaced by canned foods, packaged soups canned juices, canned spices and pre-prepared masala pastes.

Do remember that the longer it takes for any food to reach from the farm to your table the lower will be its nutrient content. Canned and processed foods have made life more easy and comfortable but at the cost of providing its very basic function – optimum nutrients. Processed, refined and canned food not only deprive your body of essential immune boosting nutrients, but also are the main cause of obesity, constipation, heart disease and cancer.

Poor nutrition 

While you may be aware that fruits, grains, freshly cut and cooked vegtables are an important part of the dinner table. They are being sadly replaced by refined foods such as pizzas, pastries, backed dishes with cheese, fried noodles, meat sauces, ketchup’s, pav bhajis, macaroni, altered fats such as margarine etc.

If you could stop for a moment to think about the high cost of this type of ‘poor nutrition’ on one side as against the economic benefits of good home cooked high fiber low fat Indian food( i.e. vegetables, rice & chappati) full of good nutrition on the other, you would probably be encouraged to follow the concept that better nutrition is actually a low cost, low tech, affordable way to attain the goal of optimum health. So the next time your teenage daughter insists on white bread sandwiches or burgers or your school going son insists on chips & chocolate, tell him/her that he is eating ‘junk food’ which will lead him to ‘junk health’. These foods are responsible for the growing incidence of diabetes, heart disease and most cancers.

A cholesterol lowering diet

Breakfast

• 1 cup tea (no sugar, 2 tbs. low fat milk)
• 1 glass carrot juice
• 1 to 2 bowls papaya

Lunch

• 2-4 oat bran + oatmeal chappaties ( 3 tbs. Oat bran, 1 tbs. Oatmeal per chappati)
• 2 cups of any vegetable
• 2 cups raw salad
• 150gms. fish (alternate days)

Tea

• 1 cup tea (no sugar, 2 tbs. low fat milk)
• Apples or pomegranate or oranges

Dinner

• 2-4 at bran + oatmeal chappaties (3 tbs. Oat bran, 1 tbs. Oatmeal per chappati)
• 1-2 cups any vegetable
• 1 cup whole channa or rajhma or green mung
• 1 cup raw salad.
• Use 2-3 tsp. of olive oil for cooking

Follow this diet for the next two weeks continue a 30 minutes walk 4-5 days a week. If you are suffering from one or more other medical problem or if you are on any medication, it is advisable that before attempting any diet please consult your family physician.

Fruits & Vegetables

The skin of the apple and the flesh just below it contain more nutrients than the center  of the fruit. Hence the skin should not be discarded. Freshly prepared apple juice aids in detoxification process and rejuvenates the cells. Apart from their cholesterol lowering properties, apples make an excellent medicine for gout joint pains. Uric acid levels are generally high in such patients.

Apples & Carrots

These are potent cholesterol lowering foods, high in protein & which is a soluble fiber capable of flushing out your cholesterol. Carrots have an additional advantage of being leaded with Beta-carotene can boost HDL levels and lower LDL levels. Apples are known to neutralize the uric acid & bring relief to the sufferers. Apples are generally sprayed with a lot of chemicals to prevent them from decaying. Therefore do not consume them on an empty stomach as they may cause indigestion & wash them thoroughly before eating them.

Carrots apart from being very useful in controlling cholesterol are also beneficial in the treatment of diarrhoea. 300 gms of carrots can be boiled in equal quantity of water and made into a pulp – then strained and given to the person suffering from diarrhoea. This soup replenishes the electrolytes lost namely sodium & potassium and additionally supplies calcium, phosphorous and magnesium.

We hope this diet is helpful to treat your cholesterol levels. However, perhaps a diet may not be enough to treat your faulty cholesterol levels. At Health Total we offer you excellent health plans to treat your cholesterol and lower your health risks. So give us a call on our toll free number  1-800-843-0206"> 1-800-843-0206 and get your first free consultation today!