This Morning's Dr Chris discusses the signs of high cholesterol
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Claiming more than 160,000 lives each year in the UK alone, heart disease is the leading cause of death globally. Health conditions like high cholesterol can lay the groundwork for this serious condition, with poor dietary choices often being the trigger. While many sweat treats like biscuits and cakes can be the very cause of high cholesterol, certain ingredients found in some cookies might be an exception.
When the afternoon slump calls, the usual answer is standing up from your computer and brewing a cup of coffee or tea.
Many people also like to pair this afternoon energy boost with a small sweet snack.
While cookies sound more like a naughty treat than a healthy food, founder of Doughlicious Kathryn Bricken has shared that choosing cookies with certain ingredients might offer some hidden benefits.
It’s no secret that fruit is packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants but these powers could also translate to cookies with fruits.
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Bricken explained that blueberries – a staple ingredient in Doughlicious’ Dough-Chi range – offers the “highest level of antioxidants” of any fruit.
She said: “So much so, that one cup of blueberries is also a quarter of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C, which promotes cardiovascular health.”
Another beneficial cookie flavour that is world-renowned for its benefits is Matcha.
Traditionally consumed in East Asia, Matcha is a finely ground powder of specially grown green tea leaves.
What’s more, the green powder can lower your cholesterol and blood pressure levels – two precursors of heart disease.
Another cholesterol-lowering ingredient often found in cookies is fibre-packed oats.
The grain is rich in soluble fibre, known as beta glucan, which is especially important for lowering your “bad” cholesterol.
Heart UK explains that once you eat the fibre in oats, it forms a gel which binds to cholesterol-rich bile acids in your intestines, helping to limit the amount of cholesterol that is absorbed from your gut into your bloodstream.
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“Studies show that oats and oatmeal have many health benefits including lower blood sugar levels, and a reduced risk of heart disease,” Bricken added.
While these healthy ingredients could boost your heart health, it’s still important to keep cholesterol-raising saturated fats, found in the likes of butter which is often used in cookies, to a minimum.
Another tricky ingredient is sugar as carbohydrates may raise your risk of heart disease, according to the Harvard Medical School.
One solution could be baking your own cookies and including plenty of the good ingredients while keeping the problematic ones at bay.
Apart from their ability to keep your heart healthy as long as you opt for the right ingredients, cookies could also reduce stress in “minutes”.
Food anthropologist Caroline Hobkinson noticed that biting into your favourite food, such as a cookie, can increase happiness and reduce more stress than modern relievers, such as CBD oil or a cup of tea.
Hobkinson said: “The easily digestible carbohydrates in some of our favourite foods causes the L-tryptophan (an essential amino acid that part creates serotonin and helps regulate a person’s level of happiness) to be elevated and improve the mood within five to 10 minutes.”
This claim is even supported by research conducted by scientists who discovered that by changing your diet to include more L-tryptophan, you can create a positive mood change and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.
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