2019 Sep 29
Over the past few decades, the risk of heart disease has been steadily on the rise in Sri Lanka. We all know someone who is going through something related to their heart (and I don’t mean a “broken heart”), and the age of heart patients are getting younger by the day.
Looking after our hearts is obviously very important but it doesn’t have to be difficult. Since food can have a big impact on our health there are quite a few things that you can do to your daily diet that can make the path to a healthy heart easier.
We thought of looking into a few simple things that we can do in the kitchen to improve our health and here’s what we found out.
Some of these are remedies and others are habits that you need to form but all of these work so you have to give these a try.
Goraka
Those little sour black things our mums put into fish curries pack an amazing punch where health is concerned.
Goraka has been used for a long time both as an ingredient in cooking and Ayurveda medicine. Goraka is known to impact cholesterol and high blood pressure so incorporating it into your diet is an easy way to take some precaution.
Its natural sour flavour makes it a good alternative to lime and other ingredients and although it’s traditionally used mainly in fish dishes the possibilities are endless.
Curry Leaves (Karapincha)
Just like the previous mention, curry leaves are a huge part of Sri Lankan cooking for its subtle savoury flavour.
Apart from being, tasty curry leaves are packed with antioxidants which stop cholesterol from being oxidized and over time this can do a lot to minimize any heart-related risks.
The karapincha sambol is one of those things that most people swear by and this easy-to-make side dish is a great way to incorporate the full benefits of karapincha to your diet.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil has gained a lot of popularity over the past years and rightly so. If you are someone who is concerned about your health incorporating coconut oil to your daily diet can do you a lot of good.
However, in order to get the complete benefits of coconut oil, you need to substitute all other cooking oils that you use especially “vegetable” oil.
In fact, coconut oil has a multitude of benefits and uses which you can read all about here
Cinnamon
Sri Lanka is known all over the world for our cinnamon and this amazing spice being good for our heart is a point for team cinnamon.
Studies have shown that cinnamon may cut the risk of heart disease. This is mostly due to the fact that it has many antioxidants and it also reduces ‘bad cholesterol’
Buut….
You might have noticed that most options we discussed here reduce cholesterol but in order to be truly healthy, your heart needs to be strong.
In order for your heart to be healthy and strong, cardiovascular exercise is something you have to incorporate into your life. This doesn’t mean you have to go to a gym or spend hours jogging. Be as active as you can (using the stairs at work, walking to the shop at the top of the road are some simple things) and you will see a big improvement in your life.
Being healthy doesn’t have to be hard because certain simple things you do regularly can add up to have a big impact. Whether you are going through heart issues or want to keep these issues at bay try out these simple remedies a try.
Let us know if you have any wisdom like this that you would like to pass on!
