How to eat chicory to lower cholesterol? Clean the chicory making sure there are no soil residues. Separate the toughest, fibrous leaves from the shoots. Cut the sprouts in half and then into strips. Throw everything in ice water for at least an hour. In a bowl, squeeze the garlic clove and add pepper with the extra virgin olive oil. Emulsify. Drain the chicory sprouts and arrange them on a serving dish. Season everything with the emulsion. The chicory salad is ready to be served as a tasty side dish. With this simple grandmother’s trick chicory reduces the absorption of cholesterol thanks to the presence of non-digestible polysaccharides. These substances of chicory, in fact, seem to keep the presence of bad cholesterol in the norm.
What foods lower cholesterol? The Mediterranean diet is able to positively affect blood cholesterol levels. This is why on the table you have to bring vegetables, cereals and legumes that are friends of the heart. Cholesterol is also affected by the type of fat in the diet. Those saturated, of animal origin, cause an increase in bad cholesterol. The unsaturated ones, of vegetable origin, can lower it and raise the good one. Butter, lard, lard should be avoided and extra virgin olive oil is preferred. It is also necessary to limit the fats present in sausages, cheeses and eggs. Skim milk, low-fat yogurt and low-fat cheeses can be eaten with caution.
What foods to avoid when you have high bad cholesterol? Margarine must be avoided. The vegetable fats it brings are fats that are naturally liquid. To achieve solid consistency they are subjected to industrial processes such as hydrogenation and fractionation. Hydrogenation leads to the production of trans fatty acids. The fractionation, on the other hand, of vegetable fats recovers saturated fatty acids. Trans fatty acids and saturated fatty acids lend themselves to the production of cholesterol and also tend to promote the accumulation of cholesterol in the arteries. All of this causes atherosclerosis. Unfortunately, margarine is used in many industrial baked foods. We recommend that you pay close attention to labels and avoid using them in the kitchen.
What are the benefits of chicory? Chicory exerts beneficial activities on the intestine, reduces the risk of irritable bowel syndrome, regulates appetite, stimulates the immune system, raises the defenses against pathogenic microorganisms. Dry chicory extract and chicory seed extract possess antimicrobial activities. Chicory prevents diabetes because it appears to be able to lower blood glucose levels. The presence of different polyphenols and carotenoids gives chicory antioxidant properties capable of acting against free radicals. Chicory is a very light food. 100 grams of chicory provide our body with only 23 calories.
How to prepare good chicory water? Put 200 grams of chicory in a liter of water. boil for 6-7 minutes and serve not hot. This good water has anti-inflammatory properties. In fact, in folk medicine, it has always been used to treat pain resulting from arthritis. Used regularly for short periods of time, it also has diuretic properties that can help the body get rid of toxins with benefits for the liver and kidneys. A compress made with chicory decoction also helps in skin irritations. The presence of inulin in chicory makes this vegetable a very useful food to facilitate the digestive process.
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