Five minutes is all it takes to whip up this heart healthy concoction of ginger, lemons, and garlic—three ingredients proven to promote heart health.
Ginger, Lemons, and Garlic…Oh my!
Ginger isn’t just for gastrointestinal upset. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, numerous studies confirm that ginger may help lower cholesterol and prevent blood from clotting, two indicators of heart disease. When blood vessels become clogged, it’s a heart attack or stroke waiting to happen…and when too much cholesterol accumulates in the blood, it collects on the artery walls, causing atherosclerosis, another precursor of heart disease. Studies have also shown that ginger has the potential to lower high blood pressure, yet another heart disease marker.
Lemons have long been praised as an immune system booster due to their high concentration of vitamin C, but did you know that drinking lemon juice is a proven therapeutic for heart disease sufferers? Lemon helps normalize blood pressure and counteract dizziness and nausea.
According to the Journal of Nutrition, several in vitro studies show that garlic lowers total cholesterol and LDL “bad” cholesterol, helps prevent LDL oxidation, and decreases high blood pressure. Findings from a 2014 UCLA study showed that garlic may even reverse heart disease! Cardiologist Matthew Budoff, M.D. took cat scans of 72 heart patients with blockages of at least one primary cardiac artery. For one year after, half the patients took Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract pills twice daily, and the other half took a placebo pill. After a year’s time, Dr. Budoff repeated the cat scans. Results showed marked regression of arterial plaque in patients supplementing with garlic, while plaque buildup in the placebo patients got worse.
A 5-Minute Heart Health Blend
- Wash and cut two whole lemons into pieces.
- Peel two whole heads of garlic.
- Add the garlic and lemon to 2 centimeters of ginger root.
- Blend the ingredients in a blender.
- Add the blended ginger, lemons, and garlic to one liter of water in a pot.
- Heat until it reaches the boiling point.
- Let cool, and then strain in a mesh sieve or strainer.
- Drink one glass a day, preferably on an empty stomach.
