Strange though it may seem, herbs can lower your cholesterol. I'm sure that you have heard about using herbs as a medicine as well as using them to flavour our foods. However, what is not so well known is that certain herbs can be valuable allies in our fight against high cholesterol levels.

Psyllium

When I first came across this herb, I thought what on earth is this? Seems it is from a plant called Plantago psyllium which is found in India and Iran. For us, the important thing about psyllium is that it can be used as a source of water soluble fibre. Soluble fibre has the ability to speed up the digestive process and helps to reduce the amount of saturated fat absorbed by the body. Oat bran is also a source of soluble fibre, but it cannot produce as much as psyllium. The numbers are 100 grams of psyllium produce 71 grams of soluble fibre whereas 100 grams of oat bran can only produce 5 grams of soluble fibre.

Garlic

Garlic is another helpful herb for those looking to lower their cholesterol. It contains something called allicin which garlic releases when it is crushed. The great thing about allicin is its ability to prevent the digestive system from absorbing cholesterol. Garlic is widely used in mediterranean cooking, and is an important ingredient in the well known Mediterranean Diet.

Cayenne

Cayenne pepper has many health giving properties. It can help to lower high blood pressure, help to improve blood circulation and best of all it can lower cholesterol levels. Apparently, it can speed up the digestive system and stops the body from absorbing fats. Aside from the benefits of lowering cholesterol, cayenne pepper can apparently reduce the severity of heart attacks.