Eat Black Gram to Lower Cholesterol, Strengthen Heart

Has this ever happened to you? You make your annual trip to the doctor’s office and get a checkup. No big deal, right? A week later, your results arrive. Your cholesterol numbers are way too high! Now you need to find a way to change those numbers. Black Gram can help reduce cholesterol and boost your cardiovascular health (1).

What’s the Matter With a Few Numbers?

What’s the big deal about high cholesterol anyway? It’s just a few high numbers on a piece of paper, right?  You don’t feel sick or debilitated in any way, after all.

And besides, 95 million other Americans over the age of 20 have high cholesterol numbers (2). So how bad can it be?

Not all experts agree on medical advice and specific guidelines regarding cholesterol. However, leading doctors and researchers do agree that the higher your cholesterol, the higher the chance that you’ll suffer a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular events. And you definitely don’t want that.

The CDC says that every single year, about 735,000 Americans have a heart attack, another 795,000 have a stroke, and 650,000 die from either stroke or heart disease. Remember, that’s in a single year (3,4).

Of course, experiencing a heart attack or stroke is devastating physically and emotionally, but the huge financial burden that accompanies it? Doctor visits, chronic medication costs, emergency hospital expenses, and lost wages from missed work can bankrupt you. In 2011, heart disease and stroke collectively cost Americans an estimated $316.6 billion in health care and lost productivity (5).

Diet matters

Your doctor will tell you how you can reduce your cholesterol levels, but diet can help. There are foods that lower cholesterol levels and reduce your cardiovascular risk factors. The American Heart Association touts the health benefits of adding more cholesterol-lowering legumes to your diet (6).

Black Gram packs a plethora of positive phytochemicals into a versatile and delectable bean. Adding it to your gastronomic repertoire can boost your health and reduce your total cholesterol level (7).

The Crown Jewel of Legumes

Black Gram is a powerhouse of cholesterol-lowering nutrition. Here’s how:

1. Stop Right There!

Fiber reduces cholesterol levels by blocking its absorption, and just 1 cup of Black Gram delivers a whopping 38 grams of fiber to your intestines (8). Black Gram’s soluble fiber blocks absorption of cholesterol in your small intestine so that it can’t travel through your bloodstream and clog your arteries (9). Additionally, the fiber helps you feel full longer, as well, which can help you lose weight. We’ve all heard how being overweight can increase the risk of getting cardiovascular disease, right?

Bacteria living in your large intestine also work hard to ferment the fiber that Black Gram provides. When that happens, they make short-chain fatty acids, and that process also helps reduce your circulating cholesterol levels (10).

Did you know that simply eating a cup of beans a day can lower your total cholesterol by as much as 10% in just 6 weeks (11)?

2. Folate Protects Your Arteries

Just 1 cup of Black gram supplies your body with an astonishing 447 micrograms of folate, or Vitamin B9, and helps lower your chance of having a stroke or getting heart disease. While the Recommended Daily Allowance of folate is 400 mcg, a study of over 20,000 people demonstrated that supplementing with 800 mcg (0.8 mg) of folic acid – the supplement form of folate – reduced the occurrence of strokes and cardiovascular incidents (12,13).

Folate breaks down the amino acid homocysteine. Homocysteine can damage the inner lining of your blood vessels which, in turn, increases your risk of having a stroke or a heart attack (14).

3. Hold the Fat, Please!

It’s common to think we must get our protein needs met with meat.

A typical hamburger provides about 20 g of protein, but it also comes with an average of 56 grams of cholesterol (15). Yet, a cup of Black Gram gives you 52 grams of protein without the saturated fat that comes with eating that juicy hamburger (16).

Since cholesterol from food only comes from animal sources, you get an artery-pleasing zero grams of cholesterol if you swap your burger for a cup of Black Gram beans.

4. Micronutrients Abound

Black Gram beans house a horde of helpful micronutrients that work together to lower your cholesterol and protect your blood vessels. Black Gram delivers plant sterols, flavonols, and antioxidants to help your heart and vessels stay pliable and plaque-free (17).

Flavanols are plant compounds that eliminate destructive free radicals, reduce inflammation, and boost your immune system. Several studies show that eating more flavanols lowers both the chance of you getting cardiovascular disease as well as dying from it (18). Inflammation plays a contributing role in cardiovascular disease, so stock up on your flavanols (19)!

Black Gram also contains sterols. Sterols block the absorption of cholesterol in your intestines, and Black Gram has plenty of them. Plant sterols can potentially lower the bad “LDL” cholesterol in your bloodstream by 5-15% (20).

When cholesterol oxidizes, it becomes more dangerous for your arteries (21). The natural antioxidants found in Black Gram can help prevent the cholesterol molecules in your body from becoming a bigger threat to your arteries.

5. The Secret Warriors that Inhibit Cholesterol Production

Black Gram packs another powerful punch when it comes to lowering cholesterol. Phenolic acids are lesser-known but mighty compounds that keep your heart and arteries healthy, and Black Gram has at least 7 types (22).

Your intestines readily absorb these health-boosting molecules. They work hard throughout your body to lower inflammation, eliminate those nasty free radicals, and – you guessed it – lower your bad “LDL” cholesterol while elevating your good “HDL” cholesterol.

One cup (200 grams) of Black Gram delivers approximately 50 mg of these health-boosting phenolic acids (23). One is called ferulic acid, and this phenolic acid can lower LDL cholesterol levels while simultaneously boosting HDL cholesterol levels (24). It works its magic by inhibiting an enzyme in the liver, where cholesterol is made (25).

If you’ve been handed the news by your doctor that your cholesterol is a bit too high, add Black Gram to your diet (26). Flood your body with natural and healthy fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, and micronutrients without adding extra cholesterol.