Alternative medicine

[Campbell51]

What are some natual herbs that reduce cholesteral?

[Paxiled]

Actual, my understanding is recent research on garlic wasn't so good.  But the problem with these studies is they don't study natural therapies as they are actually used, which is to combine remedies, not just use one.  The first therapy for high cholesterol isn't to reduce cholesterol, it's to increase the good cholesterol to control the bad, that is, increase your intake of HDL fats such as flax seed oil, hemp seed oil, and fish oil.  You can pretty much eliminate triglycerides by not eating hydrogenated vegetable oil, which means avoiding processed foods in the supermarket and eating in fast food joints.  The third is to decrease your intake of LDL, which means cutting down on the bad fats.  Since this is a large category of foods and cooking methods, you need to research LDL.  As said above, antioxidant rich colored vegetables will help prevent oxidation of LDL, and it's absolutely true that if cholesterol doesn't oxidize it doesn't stick to the sides of the blood vessels.  Statin drugs were developed from foods that contain natural statins, in much lower concentration so as not to be harmful, such as certain Asian mushrooms and red yeast rice.  There are many combinations of supplements out there that might help a particular individual lower cholesterol, but I doubt any one substance such as garlic or Vitamin E complex will do it alone.  And nobody has studied these in combination except in long-term studies of food intake of nurses and doctors, who tend not to eat very well.  Good luck to you.

[caregiver222]

There are only two natural treatments that have passed the double-blind test.

(1) Pomegranate - J. Nutr. Biochem 2005 Sept; 16(9):57-6
(2) Garlic            - J. Clin. Pharm. Ther. 2009 April; 34(2) 13-45

The use of high dose vitamin C close to bowel tolerance has not been shown to reduce cholesterol, but it is a diuretic and will also cause rapid transit of food within the bowel, which may inhibit production of necessary substances by gut bacteria.

The use of statins is foolish, according to many, because they affect the brain and cause memory loss and degradation of cognition.

High cholesteral is not necessarily bad. It varies with genetics.

[gymdandee]

The antioxidants, especially flavonoids such as green tea extract, grape seed extract (OPCs),quercetin, luteolin and kaempferol (found in artichoke extract and ginkgo biloba), prevent cholesterol from oxidizing, which is the only reason cholesterol causes hardening of the arteries in the first place. Un-oxidized cholesterol is perfectly harmless even
when elevated. These flavonoids are all available as supplements and in a diet high in vegetables. Vitamin C, E (as mixed tocopherols — not artificial E), the carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, etc.), D, K and the mineral magnesium also strongly protect against arteriosclerosis an array of antioxidants and a healthy diet can provide even greater protection. These include A multivitamin/mineral supplement without iron.
Magnesium ascorbate (buffered vitamin C): 1000 mg three times a day on an empty stomach between meals Magnesium citramate: 500 mg twice a day with meals
L-carnitine: 500 mg twice a day on an empty stomach (improves heart strength)
CoQ10: 150 mg a day (in olive or rice brain oil) (alternative is Idebenone, 50 mg twice a day) Quercetin: 500 mg three times a day with meals Green tea extract (decaffeinated): 100 mg a day Grape seed extract: 100 mg a day Vitamin D3: 1,000 IU a day, Red Yeast Rice
If you are currently on statins, you should share
you concerns with your physician. You can discuss
the possibility of going off statins and trying policosanol
and the nutritional approach
You should have your cholesterol level rechecked
after three months and six months to see the results.