Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that plays a critical role in building healthy cells in our body. While your body needs some cholesterol to perform certain functions, high levels of it can be harmful in the long run. If you’ve too much of it in your bloodstream, fatty deposits develop in the blood vessels. This build-up of fats hinders blood flow through arteries, thereby causing various heart diseases.

In this blog post, we have shared how you can prevent this condition and which potent herbs and Ayurveda therapies can be used for high cholesterol treatment. But before that let’s understand what causes cholesterol levels to increase in your bloodstream.

There are two main types of cholesterol in the human body.

• High-density lipoprotein (HDL), a type of cholesterol that takes cholesterol back to the liver. It is also called “good” cholesterol as it lowers your risk of heart disease.

• Low-density lipoprotein (LDL). This is also called “bad” cholesterol as high levels of it can create a build-up in the walls of your blood vessels, which can increase your heart disease risk.

With our lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits, the abnormal increase in bad cholesterol can really harm the blood vessels and overall heart health, making it critical to take control of this situation as soon as possible.

If you have undergone a test related to your lipid profile and find your bad cholesterol levels way beyond the stated limits, then your doctor might prescribe you medications. Also, there would be instructions from him/her to follow a heart-friendly diet and adopt a form of physical activity.

Adopting the necessary lifestyle changes will certainly help you. But do you know there are certain herbs and formulations in Ayurveda that can also help in lowering cholesterol in the most natural way possible? These herbs have minimum side effects. So they are safe for use.

Few tips and home remedies that you can follow to lower your cholesterol levels

Diet Changes

You need to avoid fried and greasy foods and increase the intake of dietary fibers. These can be taken in the form of fruits, beans, fruit, flax, oats, etc. Eating more plant-based foods will also help in lowering LDL levels. You should also stay clear of saturated fats such as lard, butter, hard cheeses, cream, ice cream, beef, pork, poultry with skin, palm oil, and coconut oil. These steps help you manage LDL cholesterol levels and if you’re trying to find how to increase HDL cholesterol with Indian food these tips may work

• Try to consume at least five different vegetables in a day. Include leafy greens as this helps balance HDL and LDL levels

• Beans are legumes are excellent food choices to increase your HDL levels and help control LDL levels in your bloodstream.

• Pulses like Rajma (kidney beans), Chickpeas, soybeans, and lentils can be included in the diet. Include legumes in at least two meals of your day like lentils, chickpeas, etc.

Switching to mustard oil, olive oil, and other healthy oils also helps manage cholesterol.

Manage Body Weight

It is seen that overweight people are much more likely to store bad cholesterol in their bodies. Shedding even a few pounds, i.e., 5-10% of the weight will improve the condition considerably. The levels of LDL levels will decrease in the blood with the loss of weight.

Increase in physical activity levels

Exercise or any form of physical activity will help reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol, as well as increase HDL (good) cholesterol levels in the blood.

Eliminate processed foods and added sugar

Consuming processed foods, junk foods, and added sugar is linked to a greater risk of heart disease and related risk factors like high LDL (bad) cholesterol. You will have to make the necessary changes in your diet and consume freshly made home food with less processed oils.

Ayurveda’s take on High Cholesterol

Let’s understand what causes cholesterol problems as per Ayurveda. Ayurveda says that cholesterol imbalance is caused due to the imbalance in digestion, assimilation, and elimination processes. The production of cholesterol does not necessarily need to be lowered, but it needs to be balanced. It is said that when the process of digestion is balanced, then the body produces the optimum amount of cholesterol that is needed in the body.

The imbalances in the Meda Dhatu result in the accumulation of bad cholesterol in the body. So, meda dhatu needs to be in balance.

Also, we cannot ignore the role of the liver in the management of cholesterol as the liver not only produces cholesterol, but it is also part of the digestive system.

The liver does the main screening of the toxins before they can enter the bloodstream. It must be noted that if the liver is overloaded with Toxins (Ama), then the 13 types of digestive fires (Agni) are also disturbed.

To conclude, the mixing of Ama with fat tissue is the main reason behind imbalanced cholesterol levels and the imbalance in the liver function compromises the quality and purity of fat tissue.

Some herbs are potentially powerful in bringing the Medha Dhatu in balance. The commonly used herbs are garlic, guggul (Commiphora mukul), and arjuna (Terminalia arjuna).

Other herbs that are effective in high cholesterol treatment include turmeric, ginger, shilajit, licorice, Pushkarmool (Inula racemosa), Cyperus rotundus, Tribulus terrestris, punarnava (Boerhaavia diffusa), Nigella sativa, garcinia, triphala and, Terminalia chebula (haritaki), Emblica Officinalis (amalaki), shilajit (silajatu-suddha), Terminalia bellerica (Bibhitaki) and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera).

One of the best Ayurvedic medicines for cholesterol in India is Lipomap.

Maharishi Ayurveda Lipomap is an effective Ayurvedic formulation for high cholesterol treatment. It helps maintain cholesterol levels, lowers triglycerides, increases HDL (High-Density Lipids), and reduces VLDL (Very Low-Density Lipids) and LDL (Low-Density Lipids).

To Sum up

Managing your cholesterol levels can be quite difficult at times, but it can be accomplished easily with diet and lifestyle modifications. Regular monitoring and check-ups are also important. We have also explained the Ayurvedic herbs that can help you in the management of LDL levels. These herbs have minimal or no side effects, but it is recommended to talk to your Vaidya or Physician for maximum health benefits.