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A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CHOLESTEROL ISSUE
Nita Bishop, Clinical Herbalist
As an adjunctive to diet therapy, psyllium (Plantago psyllium) should be an important component of any cholesterol-lowering campaign. A study was conducted this year on 125 patients, average age 57 years, with Type II diabetes. Patients were evaluated for the effects of psyllium on glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and HDL/LDL serum values. Patients were randomly assigned 5 grams of psyllium seed powder. In addition to showing a reduction in mean plasma glucose levels from 175 mg/dL to 140 mg/dL, there was a reduction in total cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL values. In addition, HDL values increased. The side effects of psyllium were negligible, with only one report of discomfort, gas and colic pain.
In another randomized, double blind controlled study conducted in 1998, no significant differences were observed in HDL cholesterol or triglycerols in 450 subjects. However, there was a modest LDL cholesterol response, 5% difference in the control group versus the high dose psyllium group. In the high dose psyllium group, the LDL levels remained lower throughout the 14-week treatment period, indicating the potential for long-term benefit. The results of the study suggest that consumption of foods containing psyllium in conjunction with other dietary changes results in the maintenance of reduced LDL cholesterol concentrations. East Indian Herbal Contributions: Guggulipid, Myrrh, Tumeric , Curcumin and Fenugreek
Gugulipid (Commiphora mukul) or myrrh gum is a highly valued and well-known plant. Throughout history it has been used as an invaluable antimicrobial disinfectant herb. It is used extensively in Ayurvedic medicine and actually comes from a tree in India. It has long been used for mouth infections such as mouth ulcers and gingivitis as well as respiratory catarrhal problems in pharyngitis and sinusitis. Numerous studies in humans and animals have shown that the medicinal oleoresin or gum guggul has lipid-lowering activity as well. The active guggulsterones in the plant increase the uptake of LDL cholesterol from the blood by the liver.
The effect of gugulipids on cholesterol and triglyceride levels is comparable to lipid lowering drugs, but does not have the toxicity and side effects of drugs. Dosage should be based on the guggulsterone content. Turmeric (Curcuma longa), synonymous with curcumin, is a native East Indian and Southeast Asian herb and one of the medicinal plants listed in an Assyrian herbal text dating from about 600 B.C. In addition to outstanding clinical activities in HIV and cancer, the anti-platelet activity is equal to that of aspirin, but unlike aspirin did not increase prostacyclin synthesis. An interesting side note is that Tumeric is comparable in potency to the drug phenylbutazone and is nearly as potent as cortisone.
The cholesterol-lowering effects of curcumin span all levels of lipid lowering mechanisms, including lowering total and LDL cholesterol (by 11% normally), increasing HDL cholesterol (by 29% normally), and reducing lipid peroxidation, thereby limiting the oxidation of LDL cholesterol.
The seeds of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum), a condiment in India, are high in fiber and are reported to have antidiabetic and hypocholesterolemic properties in both animal models and humans.
A long-term study was undertaken to determine the hypolipidemic effect of fenugreek seeds. Sixty non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus patients underwent a metabolic period of one week as a control, and then an experimental period lasting 24 weeks. During the experimental period, each subject consumed 25 g of powdered fenugreek seed divided into two meal servings. There was a steady decrease of serum cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL during the 24-week study and Fenugreek demonstrated the potential to prevent atherosclerosis by selectively reducing LDL and VLDL levels.
Red Yeast Rice
Hypercholesterolemia is treated aggressively with statin drugs, very potent inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase, and the rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis at the mevalonate level. Lovostatin©ös action is its conversion to mevinolin in the body.
Mevinolin is the active principle found in red yeast rice, which enzymatically inhibits mevalonate, thus lowering cholesterol. It also has antioxidant properties. Numerous clinical trials suggest that red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus) has comparable therapeutic effects without the side effects of the statin drugs. 4
It is a yeast grown on rice so that the crimson organism permeates the rice; then it is ground to a powder. It has been used traditionally in China as a food and medicine since at least 800 A.D. One of the most significant aspects of red yeast rice is its nine HMG-CoA Reductase inhibitors, as well as the isoflavones, unsaturated fatty acids, and trace elements such as selenium.
Over two dozen clinical studies demonstrate its effectiveness. For example, a total cholesterol decrease of 17% and a 22.4% decrease in LDLs was demonstrated in a clinical trial conducted at UCLA. |