Knowing the best herbal remedies for cholesterol will alter the way you can live your life! After reading this post, you will know everything you need to know about how to help high cholesterol in a safer way than just modern medicine.
Being diagnosed with high cholesterol can be a scary reality. High cholesterol limits blood flow which can result in detrimental results. If you are anything like me, whenever a new problem arises, I search for more holistic, natural ways for a solution before turning to modern medication. Keep reading to find these herbal remedies for cholesterol that you can use to help you become healthier.
This post is all about herbal remedies for cholesterol.
Life-Style Changes
The first step to take, and really the most effective step that can lower your cholesterol is to change your life-style. Eating a healthier diet and exercising are two huge and simple (simple, not easy) ways in which you can help yourself. Making a change to your diet is a hard step to take and to stick to. Take one meal at a time…one decision at a time. Focus on the food at hand and try to make good decisions for that meal/snack.
Exercise! Walking for 30 minutes a day can bring along big results! We think walking isn’t going to do much, but walking purposefully for a straight 30 minutes without interruption can go a long way! Even if you can’t do the 30 minutes, strive to go on a short walk once a day. Keep your body and blood moving.
1. Garlic
Garlic is such an amazing vegetable. It brings so much healing in a variety of areas, including cholesterol!
Garlic is awesome because you can just add a little extra to your meals to get some extra goodness!
But if you can consume more than just a little being added to your meals, you will benefit from it more.
You can eat garlic raw, cooked (sautéed with some a tad of butter, onions, and veggies over rice is AMAZING), or even in capsule form. Research shows that taking 1 garlic for 1-3 months will be a good starting place to start seeing results.
2. Fish Oil Supplements with Omega 3 Fatty Acids
There are different ways to get more omega 3 fatty acids into your diet. Walnuts, soybeans, and canola oil are all foods that contain omega 3s. There are even supplements you can take. All of these options are helpful, but the highest food/supplements that contain omega 3 fatty acids come from fish, specifically salmon, tuna, lake trout, sardines, and herring. If you don’t like the taste of fish, there are plenty of options for fish oil supplements. Eat 1 or 2 servings a week.
3. Flax Seeds
Flax seeds are a great part of the herbal remedies for cholesterol list because it can be used in culinary ways as well as medicinally. Research has shown that flax seeds are especially helpful for women who are in the postmenopausal stage of their life. You can add them to a smoothie, salad, or use them as an egg-substitute in any vegan baking dish. All you need for the egg-substitute is ground flax seed and water! Check out this recipe if this is something you are interested in.
4. Astragalus
Astragalus has been used in traditional Chinese medicines for inflammation. It has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It can be taken as a tea, capsule, or a liquid extract. You should take between 9-30 grams a day. You should start to see results after a week of starting.
5. Plant Sterol/ Sterol Supplements
There are many fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds, and legumes that contain plant sterol:
- Broccoli
- Red Onion
- Carrot
- Corn
- Brussel Sprouts
- Spinach
- Cauliflower
- Peas
- Romaine Lettuce
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Bananas
- Mango
- Tangerine
- Navel Orange
- Sesame Seeds
- Brazil Nuts
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Pecans
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Sunflower Seeds
- Wheat Germ
- Oat Bran
- Rice Bran
- Brown Rice
As you can see, there are A LOT of food items that contain sterols. Why do you want sterols you might ask? Well, sterols help your small intestine to not absorb cholesterol which could help your blood to not have the bad cholesterol.
6. Turmeric
Turmeric is one of the great herbal remedies for cholesterol because it not only decreases the LDL (bad) cholesterol, but it increases the HDL (good) cholesterol in your body. Additionally, turmeric prevents the build-up of cholesterol in the arteries. There has been other studies that show that turmeric actually reverses the heart disease process.
Research shows you should take between 500-10,000mg a day. However, taking large doses over an extended period of time is not recommended.
You can take turmeric by supplement form or there are ways to cook with it in your kitchen.
7. Basil Leaves
Basil leaves are delicious when blended into other ingredients to make pesto! Throw the pesto over some noodles, add in some broccoli or peas (other good vegetables to help lower cholesterol), along with a salad topped with other vegetables and seeds…and you have a great lunch or dinner to help you on your way to lower your cholesterol!
But back to the Basil leaves…they are rich in xenoyl which helps to decrease cholesterol levels. There are different kinds of basil plants. The best one to help with cholesterol levels is the Tulsi Basil leaves. They have anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties to help detox your body from toxins. You can make a basil leaf tea that you could drink every day to help.
Conclusion
Being diagnosed with high cholesterol can be a scary experience. Doctors will most likely place you on sometime of medication to help control your cholesterol. While this might be necessary, you can also take other methods to becoming healthier. After reading this post, you will have a plethora of different ways you can lower your cholesterol by using herbal remedies/more holistic methods.
This post was all about herbal remedies for cholesterol.
If you are looking for more herbal remedies to help you become more healthy, take a look at some of our other blog posts: herbal remedies for headaches, herbal remedies for anxiety, home remedies for back pain, and more!
