If your doctor has determined that you have heightened levels of bad cholesterol, he or she will likely make some suggestions about things you may do in order to improve your health.  Some of these suggestions will have to do with diet and lifestyle changes.  However, if your cholesterol is quite high or you require an aggressive approach to lowering cholesterol, you may be advised to take certain medications or treatments in order to lower your cholesterol.  It is important that you know something about the treatments and remedies that are available now to lower cholesterol, as this will help you to work with your health practitioner to develop a cholesterol treatment regimen that can work for you.

Healthy Cholesterol through Herbal and Natural Remedies

Research is providing good evidence that there several effective natural herbs and supplements to help lower LDL and raise HDL or "good" cholesterol. This research has been done in lab settings.  If you visit a naturopath or health care practitioner who specializes in alternative medicines, you may be advised to try some of these treatments.  If you are worried about the side effects of pharmaceutical cholesterol-lowering drugs or testaments, you may wish to speak with your doctor about drug-free ways to lower cholesterol or you may wish to ask for a recommendation for a natural health practitioner.

Considering alternative remedies gives those dealing with higher levels of cholesterol new options. It is especially good for those who do not react well to traditional pharmaceutical cholesterol-lowering medications.

Guggul gum resin from the mukul myrrh tree is used to treat obesity. This same remedy is used to help lower cholesterol and decrease blood pressure.  Guggul is also named Gugulipid and Gum guggulu. The botanical name is Commiphora mukul.  Guggul is used to lower elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. The active ingredients are resin, volatile oils, and gum.

Policosanol is considered to be a safe and effective treatment to lower LDL cholesterol. While preventing oxidation of LDL cholesterol it promotes normal blood flow.   It comes from sugar cane wax and has been studied in-depth for some 10 years. Human trials are published in North American and International medical journals.

Pantethine is also a very promising cholesterol-lowering substance. It has significantly reduced serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL_cholesterol or "bad cholesterol" levels. It increases HDL or “good cholesterol" levels in several clinical trials. Pantethine has the further advantage of not producing the undesirable side effects of synthetic lipid lowering drugs

Curcumin is also very promising. It is a very strong antioxidant with antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and cholesterol lowering properties.  Curcumin is an extract from the every day kitchen spice Turmeric and has a number of health benefits.

Garlic has been proven effective by a standard double-blind placebo controlled study. At 900 mg daily garlic will significantly slow the development of atherosclerosis (You can read about this study in the journal article: Koscielny J, Klussendorf D, Latza R, et al. The antiatherosclerotic effect of Allium sativum. Atherosclerosis. 1999;144:237–249).

As an added benefit, garlic has been proven beneficial in fighting off the common cold.  It can also add flavor to meals.  If you want to enjoy flavorful low-fat meals, using garlic rather than salt or fats will help you stay healthy.  Many health experts consider garlic to be a super-food that is generally beneficial for overall good health.

Omega 3/Fish Oil has been shown to be beneficial for heart health and brain function. Dr. Fran Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health has published studies that suggest that high consumption of fish (4_5 times a week) cuts the risk of women dying from heart disease by 45 percent compared to women who rarely ate fish.

Men with the highest levels of omega_3 fatty acids have an 81 percent lower risk of dying suddenly than men with the lowest levels.  The fat in fish lowers cholesterol, helps prevent blood clots that form in heart attacks and lessens the chances for the irregular heart beats that cause sudden deaths. One gram daily of an omega_3 fatty acid supplement will reduce risk of sudden cardiac death by 42 percent.

Beta_Sitosterol when taken at 300 mgs twice a day will help to lower blood serum cholesterol and triglycerides, even with few diet changes and little or no exercise.

Psyllium seeds are a common ingredient in bulk laxative products. Studies have shown that psyllium can lower LDL cholesterol. This study showed improvement for both children and adults.

Soy Protein benefits heart heath. To achieve the best results, eat at least four servings of 6.25 grams of soy protein or 25 grams per day. For those with high cholesterol levels of 260_300, soy protein will reduce cholesterol by 15_25%.  Countries that enjoy diets rich in soy proteins - and this includes countries such as Japan - have populations that suffer less from cancers, heart disease, and high cholesterol.

Women in countries that have soy-rich diets seem to be less affected by osteoporosis and other dangers of menopause. In fact, the countries that have traditional diets high in soy have populations that seem to enjoy longer and healthier lives.  This has lead many researchers to investigate the potential benefits of soy, and many research studies have found that soy proteins seem to contribute to good heart health and good overall health.

Other remedies believed to help reduce LDL cholesterol include:

• Vitamin E and C

• Green Tea

• Licorice Extract

• Aspirin (80 mg a couple of times per week)

• Extra Virgin Oil (1 tablespoon daily)

Herbs and other natural medicines and treatments are best recommend by natural or holistic specialists and many conventional doctors and specialists may not know a lot about herbal remedies. Some that do may not believe in their healing properties.  Your doctor may be able to recommend a natural health practitioner, as this field gains increasing credibility in the medical world.  However, you may need to seek out a natural or holistic specialist yourself.  This can be challenging, as there are fewer professional bodies regulating these experts.  To make sure that you find an expert who can really help you, try the following:

1) Ask for recommendations from friends and family, especially if they have had success with holistic experts in treating heart and cholesterol issues.

2) Look for holistic specialists that have some formal training and certification. Many holistic trainers now have medical degrees as well as some training in holistic medicine.  Some even do research work.  These sorts of holistic practitioners may be harder to find, but they are well worth finding, as their advanced training will help ensure that you get good healing treatment.

3) Always speak to holistic practitioners in a pre-interview before agreeing to accept their services.  During this pre-interview, make sure that the natural practitioners listen to you, have a good knowledge of medicine and seem to be qualified.  Ask for references.  Be wary of natural practitioners that make grandiose claims, seem to advertise one brand of products heavily, offer advice that contradicts basic knowledge about human health, or practitioners that are vague or unhelpful when answering your questions.

4) Even your doctor does not agree with natural medicine, make sure that he or she knows which natural treatments you are taking.  Natural and herbal products may still interact with your other medication or you may develop allergies to specific products or treatments.  Keeping your doctor informed will make it easer for your doctor to help you.

5) Always ask for detailed labels or ingredient lists for all natural or holistic medicines or treatments you take.  Read these carefully to make sure that you are not allergic to any of the ingredients.  Also be sure to check the non-medicinal ingredients in your natural medicines.

It is important to not self doctor as herbs are potent and some people will react negatively to some herbs. Herbs and plant-based substances can be allergens and can still produce side effects, reactions, and interactions with other medicines. Herbs are not recommended as alternatives to  conventional medicine without professional guidance. Always consult with a trained professional for best results.

Pharmaceutical Medicines and Treatments for Cholesterol

If your doctor has found that you have high cholesterol, you will likely be advised to follow a low_saturated_fat and low cholesterol diet.  You will also be told to exercise more and maintain a healthy body weight.  Many doctors will encourage you to try these diet and lifestyle changes first because they have been proven most effective in controlling cholesterol and because cholesterol-lowering medications are strong drugs that may have side effects.

If after a number of months these diet and lifestyle changes have not lowered your cholesterol sufficiently, though, your doctor may suggest more aggressive treatment, which may include cholesterol-lowering medication.

If you have been advised by your doctor to take cholesterol-lowering medication, you will certainly want to understand your medication and the other cholesterol mediation choices available to you.  This will allow you to make better informed choices about your treatment.  In general, the most popular cholesterol-lowering medications used today include:

• Statins

Satins are drugs that work by constraining the enzyme HMG_CoA reductase.  This enzyme regulates how quickly cholesterol is produced in the body. By slowing this enzyme, satins are able to lower  LDL_cholesterol levels more effectively than many other cholesterol drugs currently on the market.

In fact, some studies have suggested that these cholesterol-lowering drugs can lower bad cholesterol by up to 60%, which can be very good news for people with severely elevated LDL-cholesterol. Some studies have also shown that Statins may contribute to lowering triglyceride levels and even slightly increasing HDL_cholesterol levels.

All these benefits make statins among the most commonly used drugs for lowering cholesterol. The Statins most used today are pravastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, simvastatin, and atorvastatin.

If you take statins to lower your cholesterol, you can expect to see results in a few weeks. You will have to take your medications at night, with food.  Although statins have fewer side effects than many other cholesterol-lowering drugs, some patients experience cramps, gas, stomach upset, constipation and other digestive problems.

In many cases, these symptoms go away by themselves or at least become less severe as the body adjusts to the statins.  In some case, your doctor may suggest taking a lower dosage in order to control side effects. More serious complications from statins include the risks of muscle problems and liver problems.  These complications are quite rare in patients who take statins, but if you notice any pain or unusual symptoms while taking statins, you will want to seek medical help right away.

• Bile Acid Sequestrants

Bile acid sequestrants such as cholestyramine, colestipol, and colesevelam attach themselves to the bile acids in the intestine that contain cholesterol. The body then can get rid of the cholesterol in bowel movements rather than absorbing it.  These drugs, even in small doses, can lower LDL_cholesterol a moderate amount - by up to 20% in many patients. Since these drugs lower cholesterol only a modest amount, they are often combined with satins for more effective treatment of high cholesterol.

If you take these drugs to lower your cholesterol, you must take them with water or fruit juice and with food.  If you take other medication, you will have to be careful to take those medications one hour before or several hours after the acid bile sequestrants, as these cholesterol-lowering medications may affect how other drugs are absorbed by your body. Your doctor will have to advise you when to take your other medications to ensure that these cholesterol medications do not affect your treatment of other health conditions.

Usually, bile acid sequestrates are prescribed in doses meant to be taken once or twice a day.  If you take these cholesterol-lowering medications, you need to drink plenty of water, as many patients experience unpleasant symptoms such as gas, nausea, constipation, and feeling of bloating when taking bile acid sequestrants.

• Nicotinic Acid

Nicotinic acid is also called niacin. It is a vitamin that increases HDL-cholesterol while lowering triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, and total cholesterol when taken in large amounts.  In fact, thi9s medication can reduce bad cholesterol levels by up to 20%. In many cases, patients are started on small doses of nicotinic acid and have their dosage slowly raised to heighten the cholesterol-fighting power of this medication.

Patients who take this medication need to have careful doctor supervision, since nicotinic acid can have a number of serious side effects, including hot flashes, interactions with high blood pressure medicine, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, indigestion, gas, liver problems, gout, and high blood sugar.  If you have other medical conditions your doctor may decide that nicotinic acid is too risky because of these possible side effects

Nicotinic acid can be taken with meals to reduce side effects such as hot flashes and some doctor even suggest that patients combine the drug with aspirin or another drug for the same reason.

• Fibrates

Fibrates decrease triglyceride levels and raise HDL-cholesterol.  They are less effective in lowering LDL-cholesterol and for this reason are used more often by people who have heart disease rather than high cholesterol.  However, in some cases, they are given in conjunction with cholesterol-lowering drugs to keep a patient’s heart healthy while lowering cholesterol to acceptable levels.  Fibrates that are often prescribed to lower cholesterol include drugs such as Gemfibrozil.

Usually, Fibrates are taken in the morning and at night, about half an hour before eating. Among the most common side effects of these drugs are stomach ailments, a higher risk of gallstones, and an effect on medications being taken to thin the blood.  If you are taking medications intended to thin the blood, your doctor will want to take special precautions if you are also being prescribed fibrates.

• Hormone Replacement Therapy

Hormone replacement therapy is a hormone therapy meant to treat the symptoms and health effects caused by menopause in women.  It usually involves taking estrogen or a combination of estrogen and progestin.  This is meant to offset the risks that occur when women’s production of estrogen drops after menopause. Among the effects of hormone replacement therapy is a lowering of bad cholesterol levels, which often rise in post-menopausal women.  Among the other benefits of hormone therapy is a reduction in instances of hot flashes and a reduced risk of osteoporosis and heart disease - some of the most common risks to menopausal and post-menopausal women.

However, some experts disagree whether hormone replacement therapy is as effective as c cholesterol-lowering drugs in reducing bad cholesterol-levels in women. To make things even more complicated, hormone replacement therapy has also come under fire for adding to the risk of some cancers, as well as gallbladder disease and blood clots as well as other potential risks. Women should speak to their doctors about the risks and potential benefits of hormone replacement therapy in order to determine whether the treatment is appropriate for them.

• Other drugs

Some doctors may prescribe drugs meant to offset or treat heart disease as well as lower cholesterol.  Some doctors, for example, may suggest that patients take obesity medications instead of cholesterol-lowering medications because obesity may be perceived to be responsible for higher cholesterol.  In many cases, if any underlying condition may be causing the elevated cholesterol, that condition may be treated to improve cholesterol levels as well as overall health.

It is important to remember that cholesterol-lowering medications are not a complete solution in themselves.  Even if you are taking doctor-prescribed cholesterol medication, you will still need to:

• Control conditions such as diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, and other health aspects that may affect your cholesterol and heart health

• Follow a diet that is healthy, low in salt and saturated fats, and low in food cholesterol

• Follow a good exercise regimen

• Lose weight if you are not at your ideal weight

These heart-healthy choices may reduce or eliminate your need of cholesterol-lowering medications.  Eve if they do not, by following these simple steps you will help your medication work more effectively, ensuring that your cholesterol is under control more quickly and effectively.  Cholesterol medication alone does not usually work to reduce bad cholesterol levels and increase good cholesterol levels.  Your best plan for that is to follow a lifestyle that is healthy.

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