Cholesterol and Triglycerides
1.What are Cholesterol and Triglycerides?
Triglycerides are a type of fat (lipid) found in your blood. They are the most common type of vegetable fat.
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that is found in all the cells in your body. Some amount of cholesterol is required by your body to synthesize hormones, vitamin D, etc. Therefore; cholesterol in the body is not always bad. But it’s important to know that your liver makes all the cholesterol you need and the cholesterol coming from foods is something which add on to the extra amounts which if not burnt (metabolized) leads to an increase in cholesterol levels in the blood.
2.Synthesis of Cholesterol and Triglycerides 
Both Cholesterol and Triglycerides are synthesized by the liver in enough amounts. Therefore, food adds on to the extra amount. Triglycerides mainly come from plant oils, nuts,
oil seeds and are commonly referred as vegetable fats, so the next time you come across an advertisement stating zero cholesterol oil you should know that no vegetable oil contain cholesterol but triglycerides.Other than oils you consume, triglycerides are also contributed by an excess amount of calories in the diet. If you regularly eat more calories than your body burn, especially from high-carbohydrate foods, they might lead to high triglycerides. Animal fats are rich sources of cholesterol, e.g.; meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, cheese, etc.
| Total Cholesterol |
< 200 mg/dl |
< 130 mg/dl |
| Triglycerides |
< 150 mg/dl |
< 100 mg/dl |
| High Density Lipoprotein(HDL) |
> 40 mg/dl |
25% of Total Cholesterol |
Prevention & Control: Keep Your Heart Healthy
5.Ideal levels of Cholesterol and Triglycerides
6.Healthy habits to naturally lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels
Maintaining a healthy heart requires a conscious approach towards yourself. Not only your diet but also your activity pattern, emotional well-being, stress management all play an integrated role in the prevention and management of coronary artery disease.
Here are a few healthy tips to follow in order to keep a check on your cholesterol and triglyceride levels-
a. Eat more fiber- Fiber helps in removing excess cholesterol from the body. Fruits, vegetables, whole cereals, pulses are rich in fiber, make sure to include them generously in your diet daily.
b. Maintain a healthy body weight- Being overweight/obese can affect lipid metabolism and poses a risk of metabolic syndrome. It’s important to maintain appropriate weight for your height to prevent obesity and its underlying complications.
c. Limit intake of extra calories- Extra calories in your body is converted into fat and contribute to the triglyceride pool. Try avoiding processed foods and foods rich in simple sugars.
d. Exercise regularly: Regular exercise improves lipid metabolism in the body and boosts the levels of HDL (good cholesterol) in the body.
e. Avoid visible fats: Restrict the intake of visible fats in your diet. The invisible fats present in whole cereals, pulses, spices, etc. are enough to fulfil the daily fat requirements of a cardiac patient.
f. To avoid cholesterol: No animal foods should be consumed as they are rich in cholesterol, one can have fat-free milk and its products but that too in restricted amounts (i.e. up to 200 ml od double-toned milk or up to 500 ml of skimmed milk).
g. Establish a regular meal pattern: A regular meal pattern decreases insulin resistance and leads to an improved lipid metabolism. Therefore; it is cumbersome to maintain a regular eating pattern.
h. Limit alcohol intake and quit smoking
Zero oil cooking
Most people perceive Zero oil cookings eating boiled foods and compromising on the taste. At SAAOL we understand that boiled and tasteless food can never be sustainable and we ensure that your health and taste both won’t be compromised.
The taste comes from the spices (masalas). Oil itself does not add taste. It is our mind-set, which was trained to believe all these years, which says that taste comes from oil. But when we ask to remove the oil, the masalas get removed automatically. This happens because one usually does not know how to put the spices, when no oil appears in the frying pan. This prompted SAAOL to develop the concept of “Zero Oil”. By “Zero Oil” we mean cooking without using a single drop of oil. SAAOL cooks the spices and food in water (termed as “SAAOL Oil”) and since the spices are there the colour, taste and flavour remains
The whole secret of taste is in spices itself. The aroma and flavour of each spice are distinct and well packed in them as their internal part in the form of oil and we just need to bring this out, to develop taste and aroma. For this, the SAAOL has developed its recipes of “Zero Oil Cooking” that will serve you with taste as well as variety. The recipes of SAAOL’s zero oil cooking are very simple and requires a few basic steps which are mentioned below:
You will need
1. Saaol oil (i.e. Water)
2. All the spices (Cumin seeds (jeera); turmeric (haldi); chili powder, coriander (dhaniya powder), salt, garam masala.
3. A paste of onion/ garlic tomato, ginger.
4. Vegetables /dal to be cooked.
Method of cooking spices without oil
1.First of all, put kadhai/pan on flame and let it warm.
2. Add cumin seeds to the pan, roast them, till they start crackling.
3. Add onion/garlic paste and roast on low heat for 5 min. as the paste starts sticking on the pan, add a spoon of SAAOL oil (plain water), to keep the temperature down and avoid sticking.
4. After 5 minutes, add tomato purée in it and roast in the same way with Saaol oil (i.e. water) for next 5 minutes till both are perfectly roasted.
5. Now add 2 spoons of Saaol oil (i.e. water) and put all the masalas in it, roast the whole for next 3-4 min with Saaol oil.
6. Once the spices are properly cooked, their aroma and flavour will be imbibed in the food well. Now add vegetables or dal in it & cook till tender.
We can use this zero oil recipe with any dal or vegetable. Sweet dishes like halwa can also be prepared with the help of this SAAOL oil. Thus, the secret behind the spices and taste is seasoning, not the oil.
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