Your journey from high blood cholesterol to health doesn't necessarily have to involve expensive prescription medicine with scary side effects. With your doctor's advisement, you may be able to add daily supplements to your daily regimen that can have a significant impact on your blood lipid profile. From plant extracts to herbs, nature has provided some helpful health aids that can improve your cholesterol. As with prescription medications, however, lifestyle changes such as lowering your intake of saturated fats and refined carbohydrates and getting more exercise will boost the effectiveness of any cholesterol-lowering therapy.
Artichoke Leaf Extract
An extract created from the dried leaf of this thistle plant helped people with moderately elevated blood cholesterol. In a September 2008 "Phytomedicine" study, University of Reading researchers demonstrated that 1,280 mg of artichoke leaf extract could lower total cholesterol by about 4 percent in a sample of 131 adults. The extract, lead researcher Rafe Bundy told "ScienceDaily.com," "may provide another option which people could try over and above a healthy diet in order to help lower plasma cholesterol."
Fenugreek
Native to Europe and western Asia, fenugreek is a clover-like legume with aromatic seeds that are used in foods and in dietary supplements. In a 2009 Canadian study using mice, the plant produced rather striking reductions in circulating blood cholesterol and that amount of cholesterol produced by their livers --- 31 percent and 64 percent respectively. The report was published in the "Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology". CNN reported that some health authorities have questioned the validity of studies on fenugreek because of their design. However, the Cleveland Clinic said studies are ongoing, and even in the absence of cholesterol-lowering actions, "These herbs can add extra flavor and nutritional value to plant-based diets that should be at the center of efforts to reduce blood cholesterol levels and decrease the risk of coronary heart disease."
Guggulipid
Guggulipid is the tacky resin that oozes from the mukul myrrh tree. Guggul, as it's sometimes called, received regulatory approval as a cholesterol treatment in India in 1987 after achieving highly effective results in clinical trials, lowering bad cholesterol and triglycerides by about 12 percent and raising good cholesterol 11 percent over 24 weeks. Although guggulipid is only sold as a dietary supplement in the United States and sells quite well, the substance failed to impress in studies using American participants consuming a typical Western diet. An American study reported in the August 13, 2003 "Journal of the American Medical Association" did not reduce cholesterol, but showed modest improvements in cholesterol in a group of 103 adults with high cholesterol.
Fiber
Soluble fiber can help to lower cholesterol significantly, according to a report by Harvard Medical School. Both Harvard and the Cleveland Clinic say the psyllium form of fiber is particularly effective. You can find it in over-the-counter supplements like the Perdiem Fiber or Metamucil brands. Harvard says you can expect 3 tsp daily to lower cholesterol by 15 percent within four months. Fiber, of course, is a healthy part of your diet and you may also consume it as food if you don't like it as a supplement. Apples and citrus fruits, oat bran, Brussels sprouts, barley, beans and apricots are good sources of this fiber.
References
- Cleveland Clinic; Complementary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) Therapies for Cholesterol Reduction
- "Phytomedicine"; Artichoke leaf extract (Cynara scolymus) reduces plasma cholesterol in otherwise healthy hypercholesterolemic adults: A randomized, double blind placebo controlled trial; Rafe Bundy et al.; September 2008
- "Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology"; Fenugreek seeds reduce atherogenic diet-induced cholesterol gallstone formation in experimental mice; R.L.R. Reddy and K. Srinivasana; November 2009
- CNN.com; Cholesterol-lowering supplements: What works, what doesn't; Ray Hainer; August 20, 2009
- "Journal of the American Medical Association"; Guggulipid for the Treatment of Hypercholesterolemia; Philippe O. Szapary et al.; August 13, 2003
- Harvard Health Publications; Help for your cholesterol when the statins won't do;
