Wherever you go these days, people are crazy about the word cholesterol. Even those who do not completely understand the word, they join the bandwagon of lowering their cholesterol. In fact, even malnourished individuals wanted to lower, if not wipe-out the cholesterol from their body. This sound utterly hilarious for cholesterol is actually an important and crucial substance in our body. We cannot live with zero cholesterol in our system.

Cholesterol is a type of fat that is being produced by the liver. It has several functions in our body. It helps in maintaining  our cell membrane. Cholesterol helps in determining which substance enters the cell through the cell membrane. It is also an important substance in the production of sex hormones and other hormones produced by the adrenal glands. If you ever wonder how sunshine is beneficial to our body, you have cholesterol which converts sunshine into vitamin D. Lastly, cholesterol functions as an insulator of our nerve fibers.

In the blood vessels, cholesterol is traveling with lipoproteins. There is high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and there are triglycerides. HDL carries cholesterol from the cells back to the liver, LDL, on the other hand, does the opposite.. LDL carries cholesterol from the liver to the cells for functioning. These activities of cholesterol are all necessary. The problem however lies on the attachment of cholesterol to lipoprotein. Cholesterol strongly attaches to the lipoprotein, while LDL loosely appends. If it loosely appends some of the cholesterol drops at the blood vessels and accumulates causing plaques and clogging of the blood vessels, which will eventually result to cardiovascular diseases and other types of illnesses. An average person must have a cholesterol level less than 200 mg/dL. If the blood cholesterol is beyond what is desirable, symptoms of diseases are inevitable. Lowering blood cholesterol may be done through proper nutrition of low-saturated fats, exercises, smoking and alcohol elimination. But there is another way, using the herb enumerated below, lowering cholesterol levels can be supported.

1. Cinnamon

   Cinnamon may be in quill form - dried and rolled bark, or ground powder form. Cinnamon has long been used as food spices because of its fragrant and sweet taste. About 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon can provide 45.5 percent of the body’s daily need of manganese. Cinnamon also contains fiber and calcium. There are new studies conducted showing that cinnamon may be helpful in lowering the cholesterol levels of the body. In a research made at Penn State, researchers were able to identify cinnamon as one of the spices that can help lower the body’s triglyceride levels by up to 30 percent. Triglycerides come from conversion of calories when calories are not in use. Eating too much calories will also increase triglyceride levels. When 2 teaspoon cinnamon that contains 12 calories only is added to any food, cholesterol level is expected to decrease.

2. Coriander

   In Indian cuisine, Coriandum sativum, or coriander, is a popular mainstay in food recipes. Coriander may be spices or herbs. The fresh leaf of coriander is called cilantro. The seeds of coriander may be used in whole form or in grounded form. These herb/spices are used traditionally as an antidiabetic agent, anti-inflammatory and recently, it has shown to have a cholesterol-lowering effect in the human body. Still tested in animals but has potential to be effective in humans, coriander, when consumed by the rats, has lowered their LDL levels and increased their HDL levels. It is desirable to increase the body’s HDL because it can decrease cholesterol as it transports it back to the liver to be stored.

3. Garlic

   Garlic has long been used as antiseptic. Garlic’s pungent smell is due to its sulfur compound called allicin, which has been studied to be an effective antioxidant. As a cholesterol-lowering agent, a study made at Penn State by Dr. Yu Yan Yah, a professor in nutrition, has shown that the allyl compounds in garlic can actually inhibit the biosynthesis of cholesterol. When rats were fed with garlic, the cholesterol produced in the livers cells of the rat has reduced to 40 to 60 percent. The causes of the reduction are the constituents of garlic: S-ethyl cysteine, S-allyl cysteine and S-propyl cysteine. Eating garlic in human has therefore a potential to lower the cholesterol levels in the blood.

4. Basil

   When pesto became popular, basil leaves became popular too. For the horticulturists, basil is Ocimum basilicum. There are several varieties of basil and all have strong fragrance that made it a popular choice in many cuisine. Just 2 teaspoon of basil will already yield 60 percent of the required daily value of vitamin K. Vitamin A, iron, calcium and manganese can also be found in basil. Basil has proven to have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect. It is also an effective antioxidant because of vitamins A and K. Through vitamin A, beta-carotene can actually prevent the free radicals from oxidizing the cholesterol accumulating at the blood vessels. If cholesterol is oxidized, there will be build-up of cholesterol which will eventually cause clogging and the complicated cardiovascular diseases. By its mechanism of action, of preventing oxidation of cholesterol, cholesterol is therefore lowered in the blood.

5. Fenugreek Seeds

   In an article published in Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, fenugreek seeds have the potential to lower cholesterol levels as evidenced by the results of the test in lab mice, which has lowered the levels of cholesterol in the blood, as well as, slowed the synthesis of cholesterol in the liver.

6. Licorice

   In a study made by Technion Researcher more than ten years ago, they have discovered that the substance glabridin in licorice can actually lower the build-up of arterial cholesterol. Glabridin is able to delay the LDL oxidation; LDL being cholesterol that accumulates at the arterial walls. When the licorice tablets were tested by humans, the result showed that LDL became resistant to the process of oxidation. This therefore shows that Glycyrrhiza glabra, or licorice, is an effective cholesterol-lowering agent for humans.

Sources
healthy-ojas.com
medicalnewstoday.com
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
sciencedaily.com