Garlic is one of the most used herb throughout the world.
Dietary supplement is a product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special labeling requirements for dietary supplements and treats them as foods, not drugs.
To use an herbal product as safely as possible:
Consult your doctor first
Do not take a bigger dose than the label recommends
Take it under the guidance of a trained medical professional
Be especially cautious if you are pregnant or nursing
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
List of Herbs at a glance
Cholesterol - Also called: HDL (high-density lipoprotein), LDL
(Low-density lipoprotein), Hypercholesterolemia, Hyperlipidemia, Hyperlipoproteinemia, Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that occurs naturally in all parts
of the body. It's normal to have cholesterol. Cholesterol is an important part
of a healthy body because it's used for producing cell membranes and some
hormones, and serves other needed bodily functions. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. But if you have
too much in your blood, it can stick to the walls of your arteries. This is
called plaque. Plaque can narrow your arteries or even block them. High levels of cholesterol in the blood can increase your risk of heart disease.
Your cholesterol levels tend to rise as you get older. There are usually no
signs or symptoms that you have high blood cholesterol, but it can be detected
with a blood test. You are likely to have high cholesterol if members of your
family have it, if you are overweight or if you eat a lot of fatty foods.
Hypercholesterolemia is the medical term for high levels of blood cholesterol. You can lower your cholesterol by exercising more and eating more fruits and
vegetables. You also may need to take medicine to lower your cholesterol. Cholesterol can’t dissolve in the blood. It has to be transported to and from
the cells by carriers called lipoproteins. Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is
known as “bad” cholesterol. High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is known as “good”
cholesterol. These two types of lipids, along with triglycerides and Lp(a)
cholesterol, make up your total cholesterol count, which can be determined
through a blood test. LDL (Bad) Cholesterol HDL (good) Cholesterol Triglycerides Lp(a) Cholesterol
Why should I use herbal products? The decision to use herbs to improve your
health is, as with all health decisions, a personal one. There are, however,
many good reasons to consider herbal products to complement your own
health care methods. One of the best reason, however, may be the fact that
herbs and herbal products, continue to provide real health benefits while
maintaining a remarkable safety profile. Readily available natural
substances were the first medicines used by humans. Primitive and ancient
civilizations as well as contemporary cultures throughout the world have
always relied on herbs to provide the benefits that have been observed with
their use. In fact, the World Health Organization has estimated that 80
percent of the world's population continues to use traditional therapies, a
major part of which are derived from plants, as their primary health care
tools. In our own time and culture, most herbs are available in the form of
"herbal supplements." These products are found in the form of teas, tablets,
capsules, liquid extracts, and others. We now have ready access to products
that bring the herbal traditions from all over the world in a variety of
convenient forms. In addition, scientific inquiries continue to develop our
knowledge of the benefits of plants, and often validate the observations
made over the past centuries. Are herbs safe? Plants that enjoy broad culinary and
therapeutic usage are generally safe. We can flavor our food with any number
of herbs to make a meal more flavorful. We can appreciate a delicious cup of
peppermint leaf or ginger root tea, or benefit from the soothing properties
of marshmallow root or the bark of slippery elm. We can take an herbal
supplement containing dandelion root or saw palmetto berries, or any number
of the other herbs. Although allergies and reactions have been recorded for
a few herbs that are widely used in foods and supplements, such individual
concerns are also seen with many foods, and do not diminish the safety
profile of the many herbs that are generally recognized as safe. On the
other hand, and as everyone knows, there are any number of plants that are
highly toxic, even deadly. view
When too much LDL (bad) cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly
build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and
brain. Together with other substances, it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit
that can narrow the arteries and make them less flexible. This condition is
known as atherosclerosis. If a clot forms and blocks a narrowed artery, heart
attack or stroke can result.
About one-fourth to one-third of blood cholesterol is carried by
high-density lipoprotein (HDL). HDL cholesterol is known as “good” cholesterol,
because high levels of HDL seem to protect against heart attack. Low levels of
HDL (less than 40 mg/dL) also increase the risk of heart disease. Medical
experts think that HDL tends to carry cholesterol away from the arteries and
back to the liver, where it's passed from the body. Some experts believe that
HDL removes excess cholesterol from arterial plaque, slowing its buildup.
Triglyceride is a form of fat made in the body. Elevated
triglycerides can be due to overweight/obesity, physical inactivity, cigarette
smoking, excess alcohol consumption and a diet very high in carbohydrates (60
percent of total calories or more). People with high triglycerides often have a
high total cholesterol level, including a high LDL (bad) level and a low HDL
(good) level. Many people with heart disease and/or diabetes also have high
triglyceride levels.
Lp(a) is a genetic variation of LDL (bad) cholesterol. A high level of Lp(a)
is a significant risk factor for the premature development of fatty deposits in
arteries. Lp(a) isn’t fully understood, but it may interact with substances
found in artery walls and contribute to the buildup of fatty deposits.
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