Cholesterol Lowering Herbs

By Jean Helmet

A great way to keep cholesterol in control is to eat food that is low in fat. Still, if you have fallen pray to cholesterol, the best solution for you might just be prescription drugs. However, many people prefer taking natural supplements or herbs rather than taking drugs. This is because herbs hardly have any side effects. You can read more about cholesterol lowering herbs in this article. You will find here information about:

Herbs you should use in order to lower your cholesterol level
What are the benefits and the side effects of cholesterol lowering herbs
What herbs are best to lower your cholesterol

High cholesterol can be found in any person. Still, at more risk are people who lead stressful lives but also maintain unhealthy diets. In order to lower your cholesterol level, the best thing to do is eat foods that are low in fat content (especially one kind of fat – saturated fat) but also to increase the amount of physical activity. Cholesterol lowering herbs are generally available for people who do not start taking prescription drugs to lower cholesterol immediately. This article will also give you some examples of herbs that lower cholesterol.

Herbs used to lower cholesterol

Most of the herbs help lower the cholesterol level through the same process. Cholesterol lowering herbs create more bile and a more steady bile flow in the body. There are also some cholesterol lowering herbs (but also certain vegetables) that contain a certain compound that help the digestion and increase bile flow. This kind of compound is contained in artichoke for example. Soon after cholesterol enters the system, the increased bile flow will force fats and cholesterol to leave the body. Remember that it is very important that bile circulates through the body since if it remains in one place (especially the liver) it can have damaging effects on the body.

Benefits and side effects of cholesterol lowering herbs

The most noted side effect of certain herbs that help lower high cholesterol levels is that they may sometimes work as mild laxatives. Besides this, herbs to lower cholesterol have hardly any side effects. Other side effects of herbal remedies for cholesterol can be their taste – for example, for people who do not like spicy food, cayenne herb can be unpleasant. And sometimes, unpleasant breath can be another side effect, especially when using garlic as a remedy.
What is a �Normal Cholesterol Level�?

Researchers have found that people who had cholesterol within the target levels were much less likely to have heart-related health problems, such as heart disease, than people whose good cholesterol was outside the target levels. Controlling normal cholesterol level to target levels�whether through diet, exercise, natural supplements or all three�dramatically lowered patients� risk of cardiovascular problems.

�Normal� Cholesterol Levels:
Total Cholesterol
Less 200 Reasonable
200-239 Borderline Too High
240- and above Too High Level
LDL Cholesterol
Less 100 Excellent
100-129 Near Optimal
130- 159 Borderline Too High
160-199 High Level
190- and above Very High Level

HDL Cholesterol
Less than 40 (men) Low Level
Less than 50 (women) Low Level
60 and Above Optimal Level

Triglyceride Level
Less than 150 Normal Level
150-199 Borderline High
200-499 High Level
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