Best supplements for cholesterol: Natural extracts that can help reduce cholesterol
High cholesterol refers to there being an imbalance of good and bad cholesterol, with the scales weighed down by the latter. Here’s how to address that.
Good cholesterol
The Centres for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) pointed out good cholesterol is known as high-density lipoprotein (HDL).
HDL cholesterol absorbs excess cholesterol in the bloodstream and carries it back to the liver.
From that point forward, the liver does a superb job of flushing the excess cholesterol out of the body.
Bad cholesterol
Bad cholesterol, on the other hand, can build up on the walls of the blood vessels.
This build-up of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is called “plaque”, which hardens over time, making the insides of the vessels narrow.
As a result, the blood flow to the heart can be restricted, which can lead to heart disease.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to help lower bad (LDL) cholesterol.
The Mayo Clinic has put forward a couple of cholesterol-lowering supplements you may want to consider.
With your doctor’s approval, the first natural extract you might want to try is ground flaxseed.
The Department of Food and Nutrition at Government Kamla Raja Girls PG Autonomous College, in India, investigated the effects of flaxseed.
For their experiment, they enrolled 50 subjects who had high cholesterol levels.
The subjects were then randomly split into two groups – control or experimental.
Those in the control group received a placebo, whereas the experimental group received 30g of roasted flaxseed powder for three months.
Throughout the study, groups were prescribed similar dietary guidelines.
The results revealed the experimental group showed “remarkable improvement” in their LDL cholesterol levels and an increase in their HDL cholesterol.
In other words, the consumption of ground flaxseed lowered “bad” cholesterol and increased the number of “good” cholesterol.
Another natural extract supplementation you may want to consider taking is artichoke extract.
Researchers from Novartis Consumer Health, in Germany, looked at the effects artichoke extract has on cholesterol levels.
They recruited 143 adults who had an initial total cholesterol level of more than 7.3mmol/l.
People were randomly selected to take either 1,800mg of artichoke dry extract per day, or a placebo, for six weeks.
The results revealed that the people who had taken artichoke extract had showed “statistically significant” improvements in their cholesterol levels compared to the placebo group.
LDL cholesterol, specifically, decreased by 22.9 percent in the artichoke group.
The researchers concluded that they’d recommend artichoke dry extract for treating people with high cholesterol.
Source: Read Full Article