If you have high cholesterol, a healthy diet and certain supplements may help you to reduce your cholesterol levels naturally. The benefit of using supplements is that they may come with fewer side effects than the traditional cholesterol lowering drugs. Talk to your physician before starting any new supplement regimen; do not stop taking medications without consulting the doctor.
Red Yeast Extract Benefits
According to Mayo Clinic, red yeast is a type of yeast grown on rice; it contains several substances known to inhibit cholesterol synthesis. Mayo Clinic says studies have proven red yeast effective at lowering blood levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein "LDL" cholesterol, which is known as the bad cholesterol. It also says, however, that there is better evidence for using cholesterol-lowering medicines.
Red Yeast Extract Explanation
Elson Haas, M.D., says in his book "Staying Healthy With Nutrition" that red yeast contains "HMG-CoA reductase inhibiting compounds" very similar to the statin drugs commonly used to lower cholesterol. In fact, there is approximately 20 mg of statin type compounds in one 600-mg dose of red yeast, Haas says. Red yeast also contains plant sterols and isoflavones, both shown to reduce inflammation and cholesterol, Haas says. Haas recommends taking 600 to 1,200 mg of red yeast daily. He also recommends taking 50 to 100 mg of CoQ10 because, like statin drugs, red yeast seems to lower CoQ10 in the body, and CoQ10 is important for cardiovascular health.
Fish Oil
Fish oil is often recommended for reducing cholesterol. Medline Plus says scientific evidence has shown that fish oil can effectively lower triglycerides, unhealthy fats related to cholesterol. Fish oil can also lower total cholesterol by preventing it from being absorbed in the intestines. To achieve a cholesterol-lowering effect, Medline Plus recommends choosing a fish oil supplement that contains 1,800 to 2,100 mg of EPA and 1,200 to 1,400 mg of DHA. It also says to choose a supplement that contains a small amount of vitamin E, which will help to prevent spoilage of the active components of fish oil.
Combining Fish Oil wih Red Yeast
Medline Plus states that fish oil combined with statin drugs has been found particularly helpful. Since red yeast contains statin-like compounds, the effects of fish oil may be magnified by combining it with a red yeast supplement. Finally, Medline Plus recommends combining your fish oil with Vitamin B-12 for maximum cholesterol lowering effectiveness.
Garlic
Garlic is another well-known cholesterol lowering substance. Haas recommends taking a 10 mg dose of allicin, a garlic derivative, daily. He says studies have shown that supplementing with allicin for four to six weeks can lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides by 10 percent to 15 percent, and can raise the healthy HDL cholesterol by 5 percent to 10 percent.
Why Garlic is Effective
According to Tori Hudson in her book "Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Alternative Therapies and Integrative Medicine for Total Health and Wellness," garlic may be helpful because it stimulates the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids, and encourages the excretion of the cholesterol-containing bile from the body. She says that through this mechanism, it also reduces the overall absorption of cholesterol in the body. If you do not want to take garlic supplements, the website Naturalpedia states that chopping and crushing garlic activates the allicin, and eating crushed or chopped garlic daily may also be effective for lowering cholesterol. Finally, combining garlic with fish oil will maximize its effectiveness. Medline Plus says a combination of garlic and fish oil has been proven to reduce LDL and triglyceride levels, and to increase HDL levels.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Red Yeast Rice
- "Staying Healthy With Nutrition"; Elson M. Hass, MD; 2006
- "Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Alternative Therapies and Integrative Medicine for Total Health and Wellness"; Tori Hudson, N.D.; 2008.
- Naturalpedia: Allicin
- Medline Plus: Fish Oil
