Dr. Kevin Barrows, MD, an expert in Integrative Medicine, discusses effective natural treatments for hypertension and high cholesterol. He highlights the role of biofeedback, dietary supplements like fish oil and Coenzyme Q10, and the benefits of cocoa and artichoke leaf extract. Dr. Barrows also explains the use of red yeast rice, a natural source of statins, in lowering cholesterol levels. He emphasizes the importance of a medical second opinion to ensure accurate diagnosis and optimal treatment strategies for heart disease prevention and management.
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Natural Approaches to Hypertension and High Cholesterol Treatment
Jump To Section
- Natural Treatments for Hypertension
- Biofeedback for Blood Pressure Control
- Dietary Supplements for Cholesterol Management
- Cocoa for Heart Health
- Red Yeast Rice and Cholesterol Reduction
- Artichoke Leaf Extract for Cholesterol
- Full Transcript
Natural Treatments for Hypertension
Dr. Kevin Barrows, MD, emphasizes the effectiveness of natural treatments for hypertension. He notes that these methods can be as effective as medications. Integrative Medicine offers various options, including lifestyle changes and natural supplements, to manage high blood pressure effectively.
Biofeedback for Blood Pressure Control
Biofeedback is a powerful tool in managing hypertension, according to Dr. Barrows. Studies show that biofeedback can reduce systolic blood pressure by 3 to 6 mm Hg and diastolic pressure by 2 to 4 mm Hg. This reduction significantly lowers cardiovascular risk, making biofeedback a valuable non-pharmacological treatment option.
Dietary Supplements for Cholesterol Management
Dr. Kevin Barrows, MD, highlights the role of dietary supplements like high-dose fish oil and Coenzyme Q10 in managing cholesterol levels. These supplements can effectively lower blood pressure and improve heart health, offering a natural alternative to traditional medications.
Cocoa for Heart Health
Cocoa, rich in polyphenols, is Dr. Barrows' favorite food for lowering blood pressure and improving heart health. Research supports cocoa's effectiveness in reducing hypertension, making it a delicious and beneficial addition to a heart-healthy diet.
Red Yeast Rice and Cholesterol Reduction
Red yeast rice, a natural source of statins, is effective in lowering cholesterol levels. Dr. Kevin Barrows, MD, explains that it contains naturally occurring lovastatin, which helps reduce LDL cholesterol. However, its use is controversial in the United States due to patent issues.
Artichoke Leaf Extract for Cholesterol
Artichoke leaf extract is another natural option for managing cholesterol, as noted by Dr. Barrows. It has been used long before the advent of statins and continues to be a viable treatment for hyperlipidemia, helping to lower LDL cholesterol levels effectively.
Full Transcript
Dr. Anton Titov, MD: Natural treatments for high blood pressure and cholesterol are often equally effective to medications. Leading expert in Integrative Medicine from California explains which natural hypertension and high cholesterol therapies work best.
Dr. Anton Titov, MD: How to treat hypertension naturally? What are natural treatments for high blood pressure and cholesterol? Is red yeast rice a natural source of statin? Use artichoke leaf extract to lower cholesterol. Can you use biofeedback to lower blood pressure without medications? Integrative Medicine treatments in heart disease. Use cocoa to increase your HDL good cholesterol levels.
Medical second opinion ensures that high cholesterol diagnosis is correct and complete. Medical second opinion also helps to choose the best holistic natural treatment strategy for high cholesterol. Seek medical second opinion on natural treatment of high cholesterol and be confident that your treatment is the best.
Dr. Anton Titov, MD: Natural treatments for high blood pressure and cholesterol. Red yeast rice. Heart disease and Integrative Medicine. There are many effective medical treatments for heart disease. There are also heart surgery interventions. But there is also strong evidence for benefits of Integrative Medicine in heart disease. Please discuss Integrative Medicine methods to prevent and treat heart disease.
Dr. Kevin Barrows, MD: Heart disease is a good example because modern medicine has really done well in treating heart disease. Perhaps modern medicine is less successful in preventing heart disease. Modern medicine has succeeded in some risk factor reduction for heart disease. For example, controlling high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia. But Integrative Medicine is also useful in those areas.
Let's look at hypertension. Biofeedback is useful to treat hypertension. Many studies and meta-analyses showed that biofeedback lowers systolic blood pressure by 3 to 6 mm. Biofeedback lowers diastolic blood pressure by 2 to 4 mm. That is a statistically significant reduction in arterial blood pressure. So biofeedback lowers blood pressure. We know that every millimeter of arterial blood pressure reduction translates into cardiovascular risk reduction.
There are food supplements that also lower blood pressure: high-dose fish oil and Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Cocoa is my favorite food to lower blood pressure and treat hypertension. You can eat cocoa in addition to drinking cocoa. Cocoa contains polyphenols. They actively lower blood pressure and can treat hypertension. There is good research evidence for the effectiveness of cocoa in lowering blood pressure.
Research also shows the benefit of some garlic extracts in lowering cholesterol and treatment of hyperlipidemia. Statins are very potent medications to lower cholesterol. Statins are effective in secondary prevention of heart disease. Sometimes patients can tolerate statin treatment. Statins are useful in hyperlipidemia therapy. Some patients do not tolerate statins. Other patients simply choose not to take these medications.
There are other natural treatments that lower cholesterol. For example: dietary fiber, oat bran, natural psyllium fiber. These high fiber products will lower cholesterol. Artichoke leaf extract can lower cholesterol. Artichoke leaf extract was used for a long time before statins became available. Artichoke leaf extract is still being used to help treat hyperlipidemia.
Red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus) lowers cholesterol. The active ingredient in red yeast rice is a fungus. It grows on this red rice. Extract from that fungal growth will lower cholesterol. There are some nuances in using red yeast rice. Red yeast rice was declared illegal in the United States. Red yeast rice contains some lovastatin. A pharmaceutical company has a patent on lovastatin. It argued that use of red yeast rice is against their patent.
Dr. Anton Titov, MD: Red yeast rice has naturally produced lovastatin?
Dr. Kevin Barrows, MD: Yes, exactly. There are also other substances in the red yeast rice that lower cholesterol. But there is some naturally-made lovastatin in red yeast rice.
Dr. Anton Titov, MD: Natural treatments for high blood pressure and cholesterol. Cocoa increases HDL cholesterol. Artichoke leaf extract, red yeast rice lowers LDL cholesterol.