Resource post for October: Alternative supplements to lower your cholesterol levels

There are mainstream pharmacological products and there are alternative natural products. There was a time when these two types of products don’t mix. Nowadays, many health experts not only believe but even recommend the use of alternative or adjunctive therapies in the form of acupuncture, yoga, etc. as well as nutritional supplements, nutraceuticals, and herbal medicine.

However, it is always prudent to use these products with caution. While many have been proven to be beneficial to our health and highly effective against certain diseases, there are also many which are suspect and can even have harmful effects.

In this post, I will try to review what the experts say about cholesterol-lowering supplements and alternative products.

Only a few natural products have been proved to be effective in reducing cholesterol levels. The table below from the MayoClinic site gives us a comprehensive overview of the most common alternative cholesterol-lowering drugs.

 Other products not on the list are the following oriental herbal medicine (Sources: Mayo Clinic; Cleveland Clinic)

• Guggulipid comes from the gum resin of the mukul myrrh tree (Commiphora whighitii).
• The root extract from Costus speciosus is said to be antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipemic and antioxidative effects
• Bofutsushosan which is a Japanese herbal medicine seems to have a similar effect.
• Cinnamon
• Noni juice is an extract from the fruit of Morinda citrifolia which grows in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Red yeast rice, an extract of Monascus purpureus has been reported to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health (see previous post). However, the US FDA has issued a warning concerning three brands of red yeast rice because they were found to contain unknown quantities of lovastatin. High doses of lovastatin is associated with muscle and kidney problems.

The following plant extracts are said to be rich in flavonoids which inhibit LDL oxidation:

• Cranberry extracts
• Pomegranate juice
• Grape antioxidant dietary fiber (GADF) has been shown to improve lipid profiles and blood pressure levels.

Supplements and herbal medicine are available without prescription. However, before we embark on a certain therapy or start on a new drug, we must keep several things in mind.

•  It is absolutely necessary that you discuss with your doctor before starting on an alternative drug or therapy. Different kinds of medicine, alternative or mainstream, may interact with one another to produce undesirable and sometimes dangerous effects. For example, garlic can lead to prolonged bleeding and longer blood clotting time, so that garlic and garlic supplements should not be taken with blood-thinning drugs such as warfarin.
• We should be cautious of using supplements that are not certified by health authorities. Some imported traditional medicine may turn out to be contaminated, much worse – counterfeits.
• Remember – it is also important that any therapy should be complemented by a healthy lifestyle and diet.

You can also check out this highly informative podcast by a health expert at MayoClinic:

Podcast: Cholesterol-lowering supplements – Which work and which don’t?

Photo credit at stock.xchng:

• herbs by si00b00l
• artichoke by beesnail
• garlic by Rbut
• herbs by sloopjohnb