Complementary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) Therapies for Cholesterol Reduction


Herbal/nutritional supplements that may help lower cholesterol:

  1. Garlic - prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, may prevent the liver from producing excess fat and cholesterol. A 10-month study found that eating three cloves of garlic a day keeps the cholesterol down for extended periods. And because it contains ajoene and other substances, garlic also helps to keep the blood "thin" and free of potentially deadly blood clots In its raw form it also protects the stomach from ulcers and other disease by killing off the bacteria such as helibacter pilori.

  2. Hawthorn (Crataegus) contains a combination of flavonoids that can protect the heart against oxygen deprivation and the development of abnormal rhythms. It dilates coronary blood vessels, improving the flow of blood to the heart. It strengthens the heart muscle and works to help the body rid itself of excess salt and water. It reduces blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, and brings down high blood pressure. Your supplement should contain about 1.8 percent vitexin-2 rhamnosides.

  3. Ginger - Ginger is an important herb for a healthy heart. Ayurvedic physicians suggest that eating a little bit of ginger every day will help to prevent heart attack. It reduces cholesterol. It also reduces blood pressure and prevents blood clots.

  4. Turmeric lowers blood cholesterol levels by stimulating the production of bile. It also prevents the formation of dangerous blood clots that can lead to heart attack.

  5. Onions: Onions contain adenosine and other "blood thinners" that help to prevent the formation of blood clots. In addition to thinning the blood, onions can help keep the coronary arteries open and clear by increasing the HDL. Eating half a raw onion every day can increase HDL by up to 20%.

  6. Brewer's Yeast: Brewer's yeast can lower the total cholesterol and LDL while raising the helpful HDL. (Brewer's yeast is not the same as the yeast we use in the kitchen.)

  7. Alfalfa: Alfalfa leaves and sprouts help reduce the blood cholesterol levels and plaque deposits on artery walls.

Anti-inflamatory herbs: Chronic inflammation has been recently recognized as an important factor in the development and progression of coronary heart disease and cancer.

Green Tea - Popular in Asia for centuries, green tea helps to keep blood pressure under control. It also may help keep cholesterol from clogging arteries. The tea contains Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) and other substances that protect the body against the dangers of oxidation, while helping to keep the harmful LDL cholesterol down and the helpful HDL cholesterol up. They also assist in keeping blood pressure under control if not used to excess.

Dietary elements that aid in lowering cholesterol:

Increased consumption of dietary fiber, soy foods, and plant compounds similar to cholesterol (plant stanols and sterols) can significantly reduce blood levels of LDL-C, or "bad" cholesterol.

  1. Fiber - Only plant foods (vegetables, fruits, legumes, unrefined grains) contain dietary fiber. The soluble fiber found in foods such as flax seeds, oat bran, psyllium seeds, apples, and citrus fruits are particularly effective in reducing increased cholesterol.
  2. Soybeans - Soybeans have been shown to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease development by acting on LDL-C in three ways: decreasing LDL-C blood levels, increasing the size of LDL-C particles, and preventing the particles’ oxidation (the process whereby LDL particles are chemically changed by oxygen and more likely to damage blood vessels). Dietary soybean proteins decrease blood levels of not only LDL-C, but also of triglycerides, another type of fat that can increase the risk of heart disease. Soy protein is present in tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy yogurt, and many other food products made from soybeans. Excessive soy bean consumption also may prevent mineral absorption via phytates common in soy. The fermented form, tempeh, is much less likely to do this. There is also some evidence that soy may affect thyroid function causing weight gain particularly in women.
  3. Phytosterols - Phytosterols (plant sterol and stanol esters) are compounds found in whole grains as well as in many vegetables, fruits, and some cold pressed vegetable oils (extra vrigin olive oil). They decrease blood LDL-C, mostly by interfering with the intestinal absorption of cholesterol. Excessive consumption of fruits can raise your blood sugar levels and counteract the benefits of the fiber, stanol and sterols they contain. Excessive grains can also raise blood sugar with similar negative effects. Finding your body type will help you decide how to balance these foods in your diet. Consider researching your body typing via sites such as http://www.Mercola.com or http://www.dadamo.com/ This will help you choose what balance of foods is best for your inheritance.

The benefits of these dietary elements:

Dietary fiber, soybeans, and phytosterols decrease blood cholesterol levels by different mechanisms. Therefore, it is not surprising that the combined dietary intake of these foods and other plant substances, along with a low intake of saturated fats, is more effective at reducing cholesterol levels than each individual substance alone.

In addition, the reasonable consumption of grass fed beef, wild caught fish, and organic free range chicken (on a natural diet) can actually lower cholesterol. You will see that supermarkets are now frequently selling eggs that are high in Omega-3 oils. These eggs come from chickens are fed Flax Seed which increases the omega 3 content of their eggs and may help lower cholesterol when consumed. Ideally eggs should be consumed raw or minimally cooked, but this is only safest in fresh, organically grown cage free chicken eggs. Factory farmed chicken eggs are well known to be contaminated with live dangerous bacteria. If you choose to consume raw organic eggs please learn how to identify fresh eggs and where to buy them safely first.

If a plant-based diet alone is not effective at reducing cholesterol levels to truly effective levels, the traditional pharmaceutical - medical complex is recommending that a diet should be combined with cholesterol-lowering medicines. It is likely that this approach has as many risks as it has POSSIBLE benefits as any literate person can easily see all the side effects listed on the package insert. There is also conflicting evidence that these medicines actually extend life. They may lower cholesterol but the real question is do people taking them live longer? Note that this statement is lacking from their promotional literature!

The better choice is therefore to reduce Carbohydrate intake and add at least an hour of Aerobic exercise to your daily routine. Aerobics can be bicycle riding, walking, elliptical trainers, to name just a few of the commonly used machines now available. We recommend that you place these home machines in front of a TV and watch your favorite movies etc. Make it a rule that you NEVER sit to watch TV and what has been making you sick will soon make you healthy. Aerobic exercise helps you loose weight, increase your good HDL cholesterol, and strengthen your heart muscle, to just name a few benefits!

Weight loss, is also vital. Obese people have MUCH more disease than thin normal people.

Think about this, what would you rather choose considering your busy lifestyle that you may view as keeping you from exercise? Would you prefer one hour ad day of exercise or 24 hours a day of being dead?

Dr Joseph A Ross