Alternative medicine practitioners believe that natural treatment may support conventional high cholesterol treatment by stimulating intestinal organs responsible for the illness.
How you might respond to alternative medicine treatment depends on many things, including your state of health, how you use it, or your belief in it.
3 Types of CAM Treatment
What is CAM? Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) refers to therapies other than conventional medicine. Complementary refers to therapies used in conjunction with conventional medicine that complements the treatment.
What is Alternative medicine? Alternative medicine refers to therapies used in place of conventional medicine.
CAM use among adults is greater among women and those with higher levels of education and higher incomes.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a federal scientific agency categorizes CAM into three broad groups that include:
- Natural products – This include dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, probiotics, special diets, and functional foods.
- Manipulative practices - massage, chiropractic, osteopathy, and reflexology.
- Mind-body medicine - include yoga, meditation, hypnosis, Tai Qi, and qigong.
Reference: NCCAM Special Report.
In the United States, approximately 38 % of adults (about 4 in 10) and approximately 12 % of children (about 1 in 9) are using CAM.
According to a report from the Fraser Institute, 50% to 79% of Canadians had used at least 1 CAM sometime in their lives, based on surveys from 1997, 2006 and 2016.
68.9% of those interviewed used at least one form of CAM and 44.1% visited a CAM practitioner. CAM users were: age 18-34; female; employed; well-educated; private health insurance coverage; and higher-than-average incomes.
Most commonly used CAM in 2016 were massage (44%), chiropractic (42%), yoga (27%), relaxation techniques (25%), and acupuncture (22%).
4 Effective Cholesterol Alternative Treatments
Here we have provided you a few cholesterol natural treatments considered to be useful in high cholesterol treatment. The proper combination of these medicinal systems called complementary or integrative therapy may be more helpful.
Co-administration of conventional drug and herbal medicine may cause potential interactions that lead to adverse events. So get doctor’s consent before starting herbal treatment.
Cholesterol Herbs - also called botanical medicine that utilizes plants parts such as seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark, or flowers to lower blood cholesterol and to help dissolve block.
Herbal medicine has its origins in ancient cultures including those of the Egyptians, American Indians, and Chinese.
Herbal medicine contains phytochemical nutrients evoke responses in our body to balance, heal and restore health. Additionally, it nourishes small intestine, liver, heart, and kidney; organs responsible for the illness or under risk towards cholesterol complications.
Yoga should be learned under the guidance of a qualified yoga professional. And you should not push yourselves beyond your physical capacity.
Cholesterol Yoga - Yoga refers to be the traditional physical and mental disciplines with healing power originated in India some 5000 years ago.
Yoga poses can balance body, mind, and spirit. Yoga helps to regulate the nervous system, increase vagal tone, and the body’s ability to successfully respond to stress. The vagal tone starts at the base of the skull and travels throughout the body, touching the respiratory, digestive, and nervous systems.
Yoga was the most commonly used complementary health approach among U.S. adults in 2012 (9.5%) and 2017 (14.3%).
Mostly, inflammation (allergy), digestion problems or liver functional problem is the most likely cause for high-cholesterol levels. Yoga supports cholesterol treatment by correcting these problems. For more detailed information on yoga, visit cholesterol yoga.
Acupressure is proved to be safe. But if you are interested in acupuncture then contact a qualified acupuncture expert, because improper acupuncture treatment might hurt you.
Cholesterol Acupressure - According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, a block in the flow of chi (vital energy) results in disease. To release this blockage or to restore normal energy flow, specific acupressure points should be stimulated.
According to Chinese medical theory, there are four patterns of high-cholesterol. They are damp phlegm lungs/spleen, blood stasis, spleen/stomach deficiency, liver/kidney deficiency.
By putting firm pressure on the right acupressure points, you can better manage various diseases including high cholesterol. To learn more about acupoints for high cholesterol treatment, visit acupressure cholesterol healing.
Reflexology is generally considered safe. Aged people with neuropathy need to massage with correct gentle pressure, otherwise weak blood vessels might get damaged.
Cholesterol Reflexology Massage - The body organs have reflex points on the foot and hands. By manipulating these points with gentle firm massage, you can stimulate the reflex organ to work to its full efficiency.
By massaging organs associated with high cholesterol to help manage blood cholesterol, additionally bring back wellness and prevent/heal cholesterol complications such as heart attack. To learn more about reflex points for high cholesterol treatment, visit reflexology cholesterol massage.
How can you implement cholesterol natural treatment?
Always don’t give-up your conventional treatment while trying natural alternative medicine.
Stopping convention treatment (medicine) to try alternative medicine is a dangerous idea in case of familial hypercholesterolemia and it might lead to very high blood cholesterol and increased risk towards a heart attack. You must consult your health care professional before trying any of these alternative medicines.
An alternative therapy effective for your friend or relative may be ineffective for you.
While you are on the conventional treatment, you can try alternative medicine to better manage your blood cholesterol level.
For example, you can first add yoga along with your conventional treatment. Once you are satisfied with the cholesterol-lowering result, you can add more natural treatment such as acupressure and reflexology until your blood cholesterol reaches your target range.
In the case of high cholesterol, you can add more natural treatments (herb, yoga, acupressure & then reflexology) until you reach the target cholesterol number, then you can reduce medication dosage and even eliminate them.
However, if your high cholesterol is due to familial hypercholesterolemia, then you must be more vigilant and accordingly, you need to take corrective measures.
Alternative medicine & Cholesterol complications
Alternative treatments not only help to manage cholesterol level; furthermore, it is useful for cholesterol complications such as Atherosclerosis, Angina, Coronary heart disease, Heart attack, Heart failure, and Stroke or Brain attack. Also, it can strengthen the heart, stimulate liver function, improves digestion, and detoxify your system. That is it improves your overall wellness – you feel healthy, energetic, and young.