Life has changed, and so has our lifestyle. Long sitting hours, faulty eating habits, lack of physical activity and no personal time today makes us prone to various chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes and high blood cholesterol levels.

Lets target the most common and underestimated problem of high cholesterol. When a person has high cholesterol, he may develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels. Eventually, these deposits make it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. Your heart may not get as much oxygen-rich blood as it needs, which increases the risk of a heart attack and decreased blood flow to your brain can cause a stroke!

High cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) can be inherited, but is often preventable and treatable. A healthy diet, regular exercise and sometimes medication can go a long way toward reducing high cholesterol.

Here are a few cholesterol lowering items for your kitchen that we identified at Spencer’s, Mumbai:

Saffola/Pillsbury Multigrain Atta , a perfect blend of whole wheat flour, soya, oats, husk powder, maize flour & Bengal gram flour which is a good source of fiber

Dawaat Brown Rice gives goodness of fiber and nourishment. Best for pulao and biryani

Quaker Oats, 1.5 cups cooked oats= 4.5 g fiber— regular consumption helps lower your cholesterol.

Hudson canola/ Ricella rice bran oils, rich in MUFA. 1 liter sufficient for 2 adults per month

Nutrella Soya Chunks contains Isoflavones helps to reduce the bad fats

Garlic, an allicin containing compound which is Heart Friendly

Isabghul (Fabolite/ Fybogel): soluble fibre -provides satiety, aids in weight loss and also helps in lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Kidney beans, rich in fiber, help to reduce post meal blood sugars as well

Walnuts and flax seeds (Alsi) rich in omega 3 & 6 fatty acids which provide cardio protection.

Salmon/ John West Tuna rich source of Omega 3 fatty acids and proteins. The American Heart Association recommends at least 2 servings of fish/week.

Buy Sofit’s tofu/ low fat paneer instead of whole milk paneer to meet your protein requirements.

Godrej’s lean cuts of chicken over red and organ meats to cut down on the cholesterol consumption