There are a series of nutrients that decrease cholesterol and saturated fat in the blood and arteries. These are lecithin, vitamin E and vitamin C, and niacin. These nutrients function efficiently in cleaning the arteries when taken in whole food. Lecithin is found in most legumes, particularly in soybeans. Both soybeans and mung beans are recommended by numerous researches and mainly by Chinese medicine for cleansing arteries, although nearly all beans, peas, and lentils are helpful. This is partly because legumes are a good source of choline, a lipotrophic agent that controls fat metabolism; choline is also a main component of lecithin.
When heat symptoms occur with arterial problems, the cooling qualities of soy and mung bean sprouts are useful. These sprouts are usually found in grocery stores and markets with well-stocked produce. Sprouts are also an excellent source of vitamin C, as well as cabbage, parsley, bell peppers, and citrus. Eating the white insides of peppers, the core of cabbage, and a little of the pulp and inner peel of citrus provides bioflavonoids, which act synergetically with vitamin C to strengthen blood vessel walls.
Plant fiber, especially the one found in whole grains, helps to reduce fat in the blood and avoid hardening of the arteries. This is why many people have started to include extra fiber in the diet in the form of bran.
Too much isolated bran, however, can be unhealthy in other respects. Eating the whole grain with all of its fiber and other nutrients intact shows better results than eating the bran alone. Most useful for cleansing the arteries are the grains with a slightly bitter flavor: rye, quinoa, amaranth, and oats, but all other whole grains are useful for this purpose. Unprocessed grains are also an exceptional source of niacin, and they all hold the freshest type of vitamin E in their oils.
