High cholesterol can lead to cardiovascular diseases, the most deadly worldwide, so it is necessary to keep their levels under control to avoid complications.
The mixture of ginger, garlic, and honey is said to be a good remedy for high cholesterol. Therefore, many people have been encouraged to prepare it and include it in the diet.
Below we will discuss in more detail everything you need to know about the ingredients of this remedy and its potential to improve your health, according to scientific evidence.
Table of Contents
What should you do if you have high cholesterol?
If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, it is important that you improve your life habits as soon as possible. The perfect combination comes to being healthy eating and exercise. Along with this, you must quit tobacco and minimize (or eliminate) the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Some proposals that can inspire you when it comes to improving your eating habits are the Harvard dish and the Mediterranean diet. However, the most important thing is that you follow the recommendations of your treating doctor.
The experts of the Spanish Heart Foundation make some recommendations:
- Substitute whole milk for skimmed milk; butter for olive oil and fatty meats for lean meats with little fat.
- Saturated fat should be reduced. It is recommended that it be less than 10% of the diet.
- Increase the consumption of bluefish.
- Ingest less than 7% polyunsaturated fat.
- Limit monounsaturated fat to 15-20% of the diet.
- Consume less than 300 mg of cholesterol, 50-55% of carbohydrates, and 15% of protein.
- Take 20-30 g of fiber and enough calories to maintain a proper weight.
Ginger, garlic, and honey remedy to regulate cholesterol
According to beliefs, the combination of ginger, garlic, and honey can help regulate cholesterol since antioxidant properties are attributed to all three ingredients.
According to experts from the Nutrition Foundation (FEN):
- Honey is a food that provides sugars, amino acids, tannins, glucose, and alkaloids. It has been a highly valued food for its many therapeutic applications.
- Garlic provides protein, iodine, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin B6, and sulfur compounds. For a long time, various properties were attributed to it, however, studies showed that there were many myths surrounding this food.
- Ginger provides protein, vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C), magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, phosphorous, and sodium. Although it has beneficial properties for health, you must be aware of its contraindications.
- Therefore, although they are healthy ingredients that can help complement the diet, there is no evidence that their combination is 100% effective in treating cholesterol.
Ingredients
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 cup of honey (100 g)
- 8 cups of water (2 liters)
- 3 centimeters of ginger root
- ½ cup of lemon juice (125 ml)
Preparation
- Peel the garlic very well and add it to a food processor together with the pieces of ginger root.
- Blend for a few minutes until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.
- Extract the juice of the lemon until reaching half a cup and add it to the mixture together with the 2 liters of water.
- Finally, add the cup of honey and blend.
- Strain the drink if necessary and pour it into a glass jar.
- Let it rest for at least 5 days in a cool and shady place.
- You can also refrigerate it if you prefer.
Consumption mode
- Take a tablespoon on an empty stomach.
- You can also dilute the tablespoon in a glass with warm water and consume along with breakfast.
- Avoid consuming more than 1 tablespoon a day, since honey is a food with a large amount of calories.
- Ginger is contraindicated in some cases, so it is essential to be well informed before starting to consume it.
Final note
Although the liver is a producer of cholesterol, the one that comes from food is the one that most affects our body. So watch what you eat!
Remember to attend an annual check-up with your GP to check your cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar levels. If you are part of the risk group for cardiovascular disease, you should visit your doctor more often.