Tips To Prevent Cholesterol Rises During Eid

Eid Meal (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - After fasting for a whole month, the momentum of Eid al-Fitr or Eid is often celebrated by Indonesian people with various delicious dishes typical of various regions. Unfortunately, some of these special dishes can actually make cholesterol soar if we make a mistake and are less vigilant about maintaining our intake.

In fact, if cholesterol spikes, of course, the moment that is usually used for this relationship will also be disrupted, even at risk of causing a heart attack or stroke.

Currently, many ways can be done to prevent cholesterol spikes on this triumphant holiday. Starting from adjusting your diet during Eid, drinking more water, taking the time to exercise, to quitting smoking.

Quoted from ANTARA on Tuesday, April 26, a clinical nutrition specialist at Siloam Hospital, Kebon Jeruk, dr. Sheena R. Angelia, M.Gizi, SpGK admits that a number of dishes that are usually served on the day of Eid can trigger a cholesterol spike.

"Consumption of foods high in cholesterol, for example, fatty meats, offal, and foods high in saturated fat, such as pastries, cakes, coconut milk, and fried dishes can indeed trigger a cholesterol spike," said Sheena.

Especially if during fasting, we also tend to break the fast with a menu that is low in nutritional value, high in sugar and fat, followed by a decrease in physical activity. Sheena said things like this can cause dyslipidemia, which supports the occurrence of various diseases, such as heart disease and stroke.

"Prevention of this cholesterol spike can be helped by consuming plant stanol esters on a regular basis," explained Sheena.

Plant stanol esters are functional foods from food sources, especially vegetable sources such as vegetable oils, wheat, seeds, nuts, vegetables, and fruits.

The National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) recommends that 2 grams of plant stanol ester per day should be included in the daily diet in order to achieve the target of dyslipidemia therapy, namely lowering LDL levels. Some studies say plant stanol esters can reduce LDL levels by up to 11%.

The cholesterol-lowering effect of plant stanol esters is generally explained as a decrease in cholesterol absorption from the small intestine. Plant stanol ester molecules which are similar to cholesterol will compete and replace cholesterol in the intestine so that less cholesterol is absorbed, increasing the concentration of plant stanol in enterocytes also activates the disposal of cholesterol back into the intestinal lumen.

"Although plant stanols are naturally found in most plant food sources, the amounts in normal foods are very small and may not have a therapeutic effect," Sheena said.

In essence, it is quite difficult to meet the needs of 2 grams per day of plant stanol, if it only relies on natural food sources. With the development of the concept of functional food, new hope in plant stanols appears when the esterification of these compounds can be fortified into several food products.

"Therefore, plant stanol ester supplementation can be given to meet daily needs, if it is not fulfilled from food sources," explained Sheena.

In line with dr. Sheena, Dessyana, Brand Manager of Nutrive Benecol admits that it is difficult to determine the amount of plant stanol intake if only from food sources, even though there are special conditions that make a person need to consume it in the right dose every day.

"For this reason, the innovation of Nutrive Benecol as the only nutritional product in Indonesia that contains plant stanol esters is present as a solution so that people can control cholesterol absorption every day, because as we know, high accumulation of bad cholesterol can trigger plaque buildup in blood vessels. thus triggering coronary heart disease and stroke, which are the number 1 and 2 deadly diseases in Indonesia and the world," said Dessyana.

"Plant stanol esters are also relatively safe and effective for the elderly to consume. There is a study on giving milk drinks enriched with plant stanol esters, showing that the condition of the gastrointestinal tract of the elderly functions optimally in absorbing plant stanol esters, because the availability of these substances after reaching the intestines is quite high, so is expected to provide benefits in lowering cholesterol for the elderly," said Sheena.

It may be difficult to control and sort out the intake of which dishes contain cholesterol and which are free from cholesterol at the moment of Eid. But of course, we don't want what we consume at this special moment to bring regret.

"Therefore, it is better to consume Nutrive Benecol which contains plant stanol esters to make up for mistakes after eating well, so that cholesterol does not interfere with the Eid atmosphere and we do not experience unexpected risks," said Dessyana. Hopefully on this Eid we all stay healthy and can stay in touch with family and relatives.