How to use pumpkin seeds to lower cholesterol naturally

Enjoy pumpkin seeds while keeping cholesterol in check

Pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, are tiny but packed with essential nutrients that support heart health. They are rich in fibre, healthy fats, and plant sterols, which help manage cholesterol levels naturally. Whether eaten raw, blended into meals, or used as a topping, these seeds offer an easy and delicious way to improve heart health. Here’s how you can incorporate them into your diet.

 

Why are pumpkin seeds good for cholesterol?

Pumpkin seeds are a powerhouse of heart-healthy nutrients. They contain unsaturated fats, fibre, and antioxidants that work together to reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and boost good cholesterol (HDL). The presence of magnesium also helps regulate blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart disease. Additionally, pumpkin seeds have plant sterols, which block cholesterol absorption in the body, making them an excellent choice for maintaining 

Eat them raw or roasted

One of the simplest ways to enjoy pumpkin seeds is to eat them raw or lightly roasted. While raw seeds retain all their nutrients, roasting enhances their flavour, making them a crunchy and delicious snack. To keep them heart-healthy, avoid adding too much salt or oil. You can also sprinkle them over soups, stir them into rice dishes, or eat them as a quick snack between meals.

Mix with oatmeal or yoghurt

Pumpkin seeds add a delightful crunch to your breakfast. Sprinkle them over oatmeal or yoghurt to increase your intake of healthy fats and fibre. The combination of oats and pumpkin seeds is especially effective for reducing bad cholesterol levels, as both contain beta-glucans, which help remove excess cholesterol from the body. You can also mix them with dried fruits and nuts for a homemade granola blend.

 

Toss into salads

A simple way to make salads more heart-friendly is by adding pumpkin seeds. They complement leafy greens, avocados, and olive oil, which are all great for heart health. The seeds not only enhance the flavour but also provide a satisfying crunch. For an extra cholesterol-lowering boost, try a dressing made with lemon juice, olive oil, and a dash of pumpkin seed oil.

 

Make a nutritious trail mix

Create a heart-healthy snack by mixing pumpkin seeds with almonds, walnuts, and dried fruits. This combination provides a mix of healthy fats, fibre, and antioxidants, all of which help lower cholesterol and promote overall heart health. Keep a small pack with you for a nutritious on-the-go snack.

 

Bake into healthy snacks

Pumpkin seeds can be used in homemade baked goods to make them healthier. Add them to whole-grain muffins, energy bars, or seed crackers for an extra dose of fibre and good fats. Baking with pumpkin seeds ensures you get their cholesterol-lowering benefits in a tasty and convenient way.

Blend into smoothies

For a nutritious start to your day, try blending a handful of pumpkin seeds into your morning smoothie. Their mild, nutty flavour pairs well with fruits, yoghurt, and plant-based milk. The fibre in the seeds helps slow down digestion, reducing cholesterol absorption and keeping you full for longer. Adding a teaspoon of flaxseeds or chia seeds can further enhance the heart-protective benefits.

 

 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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Obesity In Children Becoming The Rising Trend ; Here's How To Keep Your Child's Weight In Check

Childhood Obesity On A Rise

COVID-19 upended our lives in more ways than one. While it affected some people directly, people were either infected with the sickness or became collateral harm. While children are still a vulnerable age group in the second wave of the pandemic, new research shows that children in India are overweight, lead a sedentary lifestyle, and have poor health and fitness. According to a poll of Delhi children conducted by Sportz Village Schools, over 51% of the children had an unhealthy BMI, implying that one out of every two children have poor lifestyle habits and may be overweight.

Childhood Obesity Is Concerning

According to statistics, 6-8 percent of Indian schoolchildren are obese, which is a major public health concern. Obesity in children can be caused by a variety of factors, including lifestyle, genetics, and hormones. Children who are obese have a higher chance of developing serious health problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, bone, and joint problems, etc.

Ways To Control Obesity

Since children with obesity are at a higher risk of immediate and future health risks, it is important to maintain a healthy weight by helping them develop good lifestyle habits. Here are some changes you can make to your regimen.

Develop Healthy Eating Habits

The best to maintain a healthy weight is to develop healthy eating habits including eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, low-fat or non-fat dairy products, making them drink lots of water, eat more protein-rich foods, limit carbonated drinks and lower their consumption of sugar and saturated fat.

Promote Portion Control

When cooking, make just enough for everyone to have a single serving at each meal. If you have leftovers, put them in the fridge or freezer before sitting down to eat to avoid overeating during meals.

Get Your Children Moving

Regular physical activity is important for adults as well as children. With the digital age and COVID pandemic, kids have become lazy. Experts suggest that children aged 6-17 should exercise at least 60 minutes a day. It will help strengthen bones, decrease blood pressure, increase self-esteem, help with weight management, reduce stress and anxiety.

Get Adequate Sleep

Sleep deprivation is linked to obesity, in part because lack of sleep causes us to consume more and be less active. Children require more sleep than adults, and the amount required varies according to age. Kids aged 6-12 should get at least 9-12 hours of sleep in a day and (13-18) should sleep for 8-10 hours per 24 hours.

Don’t Use Food As A Punishment Or Reward

Choose non-food incentives, rewards, and penalties for regulating your children's behaviour.

Feed Them Healthy Snacks

Work with your children to prepare snack bags ahead of time so that fresh fruits and veggies are available to eat when they return home from school.

Parents set an example for the kids, and you can do that by making simple changes to your family’s daily routine. Taking the stairs, parking in the farthest spot, or getting off the bus a stop early and walking the rest of the way are all options.

 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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Curb A Salt Craving With These 12 Healthy Snacks!

There are many health problems caused by excess sodium in the blood, such as high blood pressure, jaundice disease and other illnesses with far-reaching effects on the body. People who suffer from high levels of sodium should reduce the intake of foods containing large amounts of salt, which often causes them to have to fight off "salty cravings”. Fortunately, these cravings can be beat with the following 12 healthy snacks and foods that will help calm the desire for something salty without being harmful to our bodies.

1. Peanut butter with apple

There are wonderful peanut butters on the market made from unsalted nuts, and when you combine them with apple you get a very tasty and crunchy snack that helps curb the craving for salty foods. Peanut butter has only 3 mg of sodium and a medium apple contains 2 mg of the mineral making it a healthy snack with only 5 mg of sodium. The apple contains dietary fiber that helps digestion and water that helps quench thirst, and peanut butter contains proteins that contribute to a sense of satiety, so that both together bring a sense of fullness in addition to a decrease in desire for salt. 

 

2. Natural nuts

Nuts have a natural salinity that helps curb the craving for over-salted foods, so the next time you want a salty snack, try going for all natural nuts without the artificial addition of sodium. In a cup of natural roasted almonds, there is only 1 mg of sodium and aside from their favorite flavor, these nuts and other types contain healthy fats that help strengthen the heart and contribute to the overall health of the body. 

 

3. Edamame

Edamame, or Soybeans, have become a favorite snack, especially in recent years after we discovered their unique flavor and the fact that they are especially healthy for the body. One cup of Edamame contains only 9 mg of sodium and if you want to add some salt to these beans, opt for Celtic or Himalayan salt, which surprisingly helps reduce the levels of sodium in the blood, so you will get a delicious snack containing essential proteins for the body, iron which is essential in creating red blood cells and for oxygen transfer in the body, as well as vitamin C which strengthens the immune system and helps fight various infections.

4. Popcorn

In addition to the fact that corn grains are used as raw materials in the preparation of many healthy foods, they can also be used as a snack to curb your salt cravings. Home-popped popcorn is a particularly tasty snack that contributes to a sense of satiety and helps overcome the craving for more salty snacks, such as chips. In addition, it is an excellent diet snack with a cup of popped-popcorn containing only 31 calories and 1 mg of sodium. Popcorn is also an excellent source of protein which is needed to build and maintain muscle mass and maintain a healthy immune system. You can add nutritional yeast, which can be bought in health food stores, to your popcorn giving it a salty taste with a small amount of sodium, or alternatively coating your popcorn in dried herbs will give it a special taste.

5. Fresh fruits

There are few things that can compete with the rich taste of fresh fruit, such as banana or strawberries containing only 1 mg of sodium. Eating these fruits and many others will contribute to the feeling of satiety and also curb the desire for salty foods that can harm you. Furthermore, they help to fight high blood pressure, which is a symptom of those whose diets are rich in sodium. 

 

6. Fruit and Veggie Shakes

Fruit alone is wonderful for curbing cravings for salty foods, but when you add vegetables, you have a double weapon in your hands. Drinking fruit and vegetable shakes is a great way to fill the stomach, to feel full, to curb the urge for salts because of their natural salt content, and to fill the body with the vitamins and minerals it needs. To prepare the perfect shake, mix vegetables with green leaves, natural peanut butter, strawberries, bananas and avocados and get a super healthy drink with less than 20 mg of sodium per glass.

 

7. Hummus Spread

The chickpeas used to make hummus are filled with essential proteins for the body, and thanks to their delicate natural salinity they help create a food that fights salt cravings. Make a hummus spread sandwich or eat it as a dip and enjoy a tasty snack that isn’t costing you health wise. If you buy readymade hummus, check the labels to make sure the sodium levels aren’t too high.   

 

8. Roasted chickpeas

Apart from eating them as a spread, chickpeas can serve as a delicious snack in their own right. Instead of buying roasted and seasoned chickpeas filled with salt, prepare them easily at home as follows: roast canned chickpeas with no added salt in the oven, and add avocado or coconut oil with spices such as paprika, curry, and cumin that add a particularly rich flavor. Half a cup of chickpeas contains only 24 mg of sodium and will provide you with dietary fiber that helps digestion. Additionally, you’ll get a dose of antioxidants that repair cellular damage and maintain a strong immune system. 

 

9. Sunflower seeds

Sunflower seeds definitely don’t need to be advertised! In order for you to enjoy particularly healthy sunflower seeds, buy those that are peeled and not roasted with salt, add them to salads or roast them in the oven with spices, like chickpeas. These seeds are rich in amino acids that build up cells in the body and also contain a high vitamin E content that helps maintain liver health. A handful of sunflower seeds will calm your craving for salty foods, but it is recommended that you don’t overdo them because they contain fat which should also only be consumed in moderation. 

 

10. Kale Chips

Kale has captured the vegetable market in recent years, and many people have put it into their daily diet because of its many benefits. Kale contains large amounts of vitamin K that improves the absorption of calcium in the bones and strengthens them, preventing diseases such as osteoporosis and physical injuries. A cup of Kale contains 25 mg of sodium, and in order to enjoy the vegetable in a unique way, you can turn them into chips like so: line a baking sheet, place kale leaves on top in one layer, drizzle with oil and season with the spices you like. Bake at 250 degrees for 10-12 minutes, take out, let them cool and start snacking. Dying the leaves out in the oven helps to emphasize their naturally salty taste and with the addition of spices, you get a crispy and delicious snack that’s perfect for curbing cravings. 

 

11. Celery sticks and carrots with a Greek yogurt dip

When you are in the midst of a sodium-free diet, eating vegetables alone can be a little boring and make us reach for saltier snacks. To deal with the cravings successfully, try a natural Greek yogurt with a little paprika and crushed garlic as a dip for carrots and celery sticks, or any vegetable you’d like. You‘ll get a tingling of saltiness that will reduce your desire for salt considerably and will also allow you to benefit from all the ingredients in the snack you made. Carrots are filled with beta-carotene which contributes to your vision and celery quenches thirst and will provide you with dietary fiber for normal bowel movements. The protein-rich yogurt will contribute to your overall health and the garlic that acts as a natural antibiotic will greatly complement this small health punch. 

 

12. Artichoke hearts with lemon juice

Artichoke is a popular ingredient in many dishes, but it can also be eaten without prior preparation by just adding lemon juice. You can purchase canned artichoke hearts with no added salt in the various supermarkets. Cut them and add a little lemon juice to upgrade this unusual snack. Artichoke helps lower blood pressure, what is important for people who consume too much sodium, helps with constipation and also balances the body's sugar levels. In addition to these benefits, you will also get a delicious snack which is naturally salty.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
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