Natural Remedies & Herbs for Coronary Heart Disease

Many actions associated with herbal supplements may help prevent or potentially alleviate atherosclerosis. Herbs such as garlic andginkgo appear to directly affect the hardened arteries by multiple mechanisms. Herbs such as psyllium, guggul, and fenugreek reduce cholesterol and other lipid levels in the blood—known risk factors for hardened arteries. A related group of herbs, including green tea, prevents the oxidation of cholesterol, an important step in protecting against atherosclerosis. In a preliminary study of people living in Japan, drinking more green tea was associated with a lower death rate from cardiovascular disease. Finally, there are herbs such as ginger and turmeric that reduce excessive stickiness of platelets, thereby reducing atherosclerosis.

Garlic has been shown to prevent atherosclerosis in a four-year double-blind trial. The preparation used, standardized for 0.6% allicin content, provided 900 mg of garlic powder per day. The people in this trial were 50 to 80 years old, and the benefits were most notable in women. This trial points to the long-term benefits of garlic to both prevent and possibly slow the progression of atherosclerosis in people at risk.

Garlic has also lowered cholesterol levels in double-blind research, though more recently, some double-blind trials have not found garlic to be effective. Some of the negative trials have flaws in their design. Nonetheless, the relationship between garlic and cholesterol-lowering is somewhat unclear...