Honey is a well-known fighter against the high cholesterol numbers which can lead to different heart diseases. Do you know how honey can help? What is its weapon?
I did not know too much. Beside facts that honey is healthy, my knowledge about it was pretty poor.
One day I was visiting my granny and we were talking about some books my grandfather wrote ( they were not really published in some big numbers, they were more for the family, as my grandfather wanted to leave us some nice but useful memory). My grandfather was a passionate herb collector and even though he was not beekeeper, he knew a lot about the bees and everything related to them.
One of his books was about natural and homemade remedies for different conditions and honey was the main ingredient in the majority of them.
I became very interested in recipes for how to reduce cholesterol as there are several cousins of mine-affected by high cholesterol.
First, let’s meet the enemy!
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a type of fat, produced by the liver. It is profoundly important as cholesterol builds cell walls and bile salts ( they are important as they help us to digest fat), helps in the production of some hormones and vitamin D. Daily production of this substance is about 1000 milligrams so we have it just enough.
It seems cholesterol is a good thing, where is the problem?
Many foods we consume daily contain cholesterol. If we know that our body produces the exact quantities of cholesterol we need, but to much of it that we bring in with food can become a problem. Meat, eggs, whole-fat dairy products carry a big percentage of this substance but on the other hand, the fruits, grains, and vegetables contain none. Another essential thing you have to know so you can understand problems connected with cholesterol. Cholesterol cannot travel by itself through the bloodstream. It needs special proteins that will carry it . When cholesterol meets the protein – the lipoprotein is born! There are two different types of it – LDL and HDL
What is LDL?
Low-density lipoprotein – the bad one! Unfortunately, most of the cholesterol is LDL. This is the one we can blame for many health issues. High level of LDL can narrow the arteries and block the blood vessels that supply the vital organs such as heart, brain, lungs, kidneys. That is why we have to detect any increased value of cholesterol ( especially LDL ) in order to prevent problems. The best way is low-fat diet and physical activity of course
What is HDL ?
High-density lipoprotein – the good one! Very useful as cleans out the arterial walls from bad’ cholesterol carrying it through the bloodstream back to our liver so the liver can remove it from our body.
How can honey be helpful ?
- Honey is natural, healthy and the most important non-drug option for reducing the cholesterol numbers
- Honey is cholesterol free food
- Honey contains minerals (potassium, calcium) and vitamin B complex
- Honey is rich in antioxidants that can prevent good cholesterol to be moved out from the bloodstream
We all know how honey is made or at least by whom is made so we can be sure that this food is natural. Anyhow please make a special effort and buy the honey from the local beekeeping farm or verified manufacturer to prevent consuming industrial version of it which is not so healthy.
Honey is free of cholesterol, fat, and sodium but pay attention – it is not sugar-free so be careful if you have blood sugar or excess of weight problems.
Honey contains several, very important minerals but also rich in antioxidants which prevent deposition of cholesterol in the walls of the arteries.
There is a case study which says that if you are satisfied with your cholesterol and you would like to maintain the level you should eat small amounts of honey on a daily basis. But what can you do if you are not satisfied with your cholesterol numbers? Of course, you can take medicine but if the numbers are not so high and you prefer a more natural way to put cholesterol back on the right track then honey can be a great choice.
How to make homemade a remedy for decreasing the cholesterol numbers?
Home remedy idea number 1:
Ingredients :
- One clove of garlic
- 7 Oz of honey
- 1 piece of ginger
- 1 tablespoon of natural apple vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions :
Put all the ingredients in the food processor and mix them for 30sec. Take the mass and put it in the refrigerator, let it rest for 5 days. After that period you can take one teaspoon before every meal.
Why each ingredient is good for your body :
Lemon – contains vitamin C, flavonoids and dietary fibers which are able to decrease cholesterol numbers
Garlic – raw garlic reduce triglyceride, cholesterol and sugar level in your blood.
Apple vinegar – helps in reducing total cholesterol and triglyceride. Apart from that apple vinegar can help in healing many health issues su as high blood pressure, respiratory infections, reflux etc .
Honey – protects arteries from the bad cholesterol
Ginger – decreases the level of triglyceride
Home remedy idea number 2:
Ingredients :
- Herbal tea of your choice
- 2 teaspoons of honey
- 3 teaspoons of cinnamon powder
Instructions:
Make the herbal tea and put the honey and cinnamon in it . Drink this mix regularly in order to decrease your cholesterol
Home remedy idea number 3:
Instead of jam or marmalade, you can put honey with cinnamon on the bread and eat for breakfast. This kind of food for breakfast will help you decrease the possibility of having a heart attack and high cholesterol numbers.