One of the most prominent health problems in the United States today is high cholesterol. High cholesterol and high triglycerides are understood by much of the public to be a cardiovascular disorder or a health problem due to disorders of the heart and blood vessels. In fact, this is actually a disorder of the body’s ability to properly break down and digest or metabolize lipoproteins (chains of fat and protein molecules).
These lipoproteins in the form of cholesterol and/or triglycerides accumulate in the blood and this considerably increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Western medicine focuses on treating the symptoms of high cholesterol to prevent cardiovascular disorders from occurring, but rarely focuses on the root causes that allow cholesterol to build up in the first place: weak metabolic functioning of the body, poor diet, and unhealthy lifestyle of the patient. Rather, it relies on statin drugs that have a very high propensity for serious side effects, while acupuncture and Chinese medicine offer the same benefit without the influence of statin drugs, and therefore without the potent side effects .
Lifestyle and nutritional/dietary changes can greatly lower cholesterol, as they can increase how the body breaks down cholesterol and limit your intake of cholesterol-inducing foods.
If one suffers from high cholesterol or high triglycerides, you can: Increase consumption of low cholesterol foods, such as fresh cold water fish, apples, bananas, carrots, garlic (this is excellent to increase because it is very beneficial for this purpose), olive oil, grapefruit (don’t take if you’re taking statin drugs), and oatmeal and bran. Also, increasing your intake of niacin alone can lower cholesterol levels (ask your supplement practitioner before starting this), Co-Q10, quality EPA-DHA omega-3 fish oils, vitamins B5, C, E , along with chromium picolinate and lecithin are excellent additions to the diet.
Bad cholesterol that influences foods such as tobacco products, sugar, fatty/fried foods, wine, beer, cheese, and red meat should also be lowered. Along with these suggestions, the National Institutes of Health recommends taking 2 grams of plant sterols (phytosterols) daily to combat cholesterol. Plant sterols help the body reabsorb cholesterol in the large intestine to remove it from the body.
As far as lifestyle advice goes, exercise regularly to lower cholesterol in your blood vessels. Instead of having a high-sugar beverage, such as a soda; drink oolong, black, or green tea instead, as they help the body metabolize consumed fats. This is especially effective when drinking the tea after a meal.
Also, acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulations are used in the treatment of high cholesterol and triglycerides because these medicines target the underlying weaknesses of the patient along with the symptom of high cholesterol and its influences of high blood pressure, etc. Acupuncture targets the underlying weakness in particular, while Chinese herbal formulations have been shown to be effective in combating high cholesterol levels. Within 2 to 3 months of treatment with acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulations, patients should begin to see their cholesterol levels drop.
With a change in diet and lifestyle, along with the proper application of acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulations, one will have at their disposal beneficial health tools to lower cholesterol and triglycerides and prevent cardiovascular complications. that result from such conditions.
Author:
Jon Hagenburg, MD
Acupuncture and Complementary Health Center of Rhode Island.com
