Want to Lower Your Cholesterol? Try these 5 Herbs

High cholesterol is a condition that is not limited by race or credo. It affects 60 million Americans and many more millions around the world. Consequently, people find the topic of using herbs to lower cholesterol a highly interesting and important matter.

Here are 5 cholesterol lowering herbs that are being used in some degree, in various parts of the world. Any of these - and especially in combination - can be taken regularly to reach, and maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

1. Guggulipid or Commiphora Mukul - The herb is better known as Guggul, because it comes from the Guggul tree. The Gugul resin extract produces a substance known as Guggulipid, which came into popularity in the 1980s. This substance has the ability to decrease your bad cholesterol (or LDL cholesterol) levels as well as the triglycerides in your body. Guggul can also be used to lower your blood pressure, insulin and fasting blood sugar levels. The herb also contains gugglsterone, which is recognized for its ability to help your body rid itself of cholesterol.

2. Cayenne pepper - Put some zest into your dishes and some power to lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels using cayenne pepper. The hot, hot, hot cayenne pepper comes from Capsicum frutescens and Capsicum baccatum. The fruits of these plants are dried and pulped to produce cayenne pepper powder. Cayenne has many uses that have benefited people for thousands of years. It is a diuretic, antiseptic, analgesic and expectorant. Not only that, it also considerably lowers your cholesterol levels by helping your body process fat and quickly excrete it from the body. You can find cayenne pepper in many forms. You can purchase it in capsule form, as an ointment, oil, cream or dried powder. Aside from treating high cholesterol levels, it is also useful in dealing with toothache, chronic pain and heart disease.

3. Artichoke Leaf or Cynara scolymnus - The cholesterol lowering effect of artichoke leaf has been confirmed by research. The same study showed that a person can lower his cholesterol level by up to 18.5% by taking in 1,800 mg of this herb extract every day for no less than six weeks. The cybarin content of artichoke leaf is responsible for hastening the production of bile in the liver as well as in hastening the excretion of cholesterol through the feces. This herb also contains the antioxidant luteolin which is said to be responsible for lowering the bad cholesterol levels in the bdy. Doctors have been using medications containing cynarin since the early 1950s to help lower cholesterol levels in their patients.

4. Garlic - This herb provides a lot of medicinal applications, one of which is the lowering of bad (LDL levels) in the body. You can decrease your bad cholesterol level by as much as 15% if you take one clove of garlic daily. Garlic also has the ability to increase good (HDL) cholesterol levels while reducing blood pressure and triglyceride levels. In most parts of Europe, this herb has gained recognition and approval as a cure for high cholesterol.

5. Alfalfa - Alfalfa is a double-edged sword when it comes to its fight against cholesterol. One, it directly decreases blood cholesterol and two, it keeps the gut from absorbing cholesterol. It increases the "good" cholesterol (HDL) even as it attacks "bad" cholesterol (LDL). Alfalfa is rich in saponin, a substance that effectively prevents the digestion of cholesterol by combining with it. As a result, the body does not absorb the cholesterol. The alfalfa sprout is more effective as its saponin content is over 50% more as compared to other plants. Take note that for alfalfa extracts, it is the alfalfa sprout that you want, not the alfalfa root, as the sprout has more saponin.

Herbs are an excellent way of lowering cholesterol, as they may be safer than medications used for the same purpose. But of course, you should always ask your doctor before taking any herb as this may result in complications from other medications you are currently taking.