A friend recently shared that her husband had been advised by his doctor to start eating a plant based diet because tests had shown high cholesterol levels. I was especially pleased that the medical profession (OK so only one but it’s a start) are starting to appreciate how eating meat can affect our health and by cutting it out we can reverse conditions.
High cholesterol comes from animal products and not from plant based food so removing meat from his diet was intended to steadily reduce the levels. So my friends set about their plant based adventure. I was intrigued to learn if there were any foods that actively reverse this condition and hey presto there is. When reading the individual ingredients, all I could think was flapjack so here it is! Its kicking cholesterol where it hurts but also happens to be sweet, sticky and super healthy too.
INGREDIENTS
200g medjool dates
1 bramley apple
½ lemon
20g pumpkin seeds
100g oats
75g chopped mixed nuts
20g hickory nuts (optional)
20g desiccated coconut
- Peel and chop the apple and simmer very gently with the lemon juice for 5 minutes until it has broken down
- Pit the dates and add to the blender with the cooled apple
- Add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and combine
- Transfer to a baking tray and cook at 180 for 15 minutes
- Cut to your preferred size and allow to cool
Cholesterol is a fatty substance known as a lipid and is vital for the normal functioning of the body. It’s mainly made by the liver, but can also be found in some foods.
Having an excessively high level of lipids in your blood (hyperlipidemia) can have an effect on your health.
High cholesterol itself doesn’t usually cause any symptoms, but it increases your risk of serious health conditions such as heart disease and strokes.
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