How To Lower Cholesterol: Which Supplements Work? (PHOTOS)

If you're looking for a natural way to lower your cholesterol -- in addition to watching what you eat and exercising -- there are plenty of dietary supplements on the market that claim to do the trick.

These claims aren't always backed up by research, however. Though not always perfect, scientific studies are the best way to determine if an alternative remedy really works. Below, we break down what the research does -- and doesn't -- say about the benefits of the most popular supplements for lowering cholesterol.

1 of 10

Artichoke Leaf Extract

1 of 11

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

What it is: The dried extract of the leaf of the artichoke plant (also known as Cynara scolymus). The evidence: Very few quality studies on artichoke leaf extract and cholesterol exist, and the results have been mixed. In a rigorous 2000 study, people with total cholesterol in the high-risk range who took an artichoke supplement for six weeks lowered their low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or bad cholesterol) levels by 23 percent, on average. But a more recent trial of similar design found no measurable impact on either LDL or high-density lipoprotein (HDL, also known as good cholesterol). The bottom line: More evidence is needed to confirm the effect of artichoke on cholesterol (or lack thereof). Don’t expect your LDL to plummet if you take artichoke supplements. More From Health.com: 10 Surprising Facts About Cholesterol A Sample Menu for a Low-Fat Diet The Top 5 Cholesterol Myths

Rush Limbaugh Advertiser Tax Resolution Services Co. Is Ninth Company To Pull Content From Radio Program

Ides Of March 2011: March 15 History, Importance & Facts (PHOTOS)

Opryland Hotel Flood PHOTOS: Evacuation, Closure Prompted After Flooding At Luxurious Nashville Hotel

Andrew Joseph Stack's Suicide Attack: Austin Plane Attack Victims Saved By Iraq War Vet

Marisa Miller Splits From Victoria's Secret: Report (PHOTOS)

TCU Uniforms: See The Special Nike Pro Combat Jerseys (PHOTOS)

What it is: The dried extract of the leaf of the artichoke plant (also known as Cynara scolymus).

The evidence: Very few quality studies on artichoke leaf extract and cholesterol exist, and the results have been mixed. In a rigorous 2000 study, people with total cholesterol in the high-risk range who took an artichoke supplement for six weeks lowered their low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or bad cholesterol) levels by 23 percent, on average. But a more recent trial of similar design found no measurable impact on either LDL or high-density lipoprotein (HDL, also known as good cholesterol).

The bottom line: More evidence is needed to confirm the effect of artichoke on cholesterol (or lack thereof). Don’t expect your LDL to plummet if you take artichoke supplements.

More From Health.com:
10 Surprising Facts About Cholesterol
A Sample Menu for a Low-Fat Diet
The Top 5 Cholesterol Myths

comments(127)

Total comments: 127 | Post a Comment

1 of 11

This Supplement

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

I'll Pass I'll try that

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Top 5 Supplements

loading...

Top 5 Supplements

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

Comments

[IgnoranceKills]

03:21 AM on 01/13/2011

People with high cholesterol live the longest.

This is a fact that is easily verified.

Happy Googling...

[jdtownsend]

01:47 PM on 01/12/2011

You mentioned fish oil, but missed krill oil, which is being shown to be highly efficient at lowering cholesterol. There's a nonprofit site with a lot of info about this and other nutrients, called wellwise.org.

[rjaxone]

11:07 PM on 01/11/2011

Given the choice of eating these foods on a daily basis, lowering my cholesterol, and living an extra two weeks > well, please pass the steak and potatoes...

[eLucida]

09:35 AM on 01/12/2011

Keep the steak, lose the potatoes, and forget the overhyped supplements.

[Phytoresearcher]

10:59 AM on 01/11/2011

These are all ok but the list is dated. There are more effective supplements which are not listed. Probably the most interesting one is transmax resveratrol, the red wine extract which has been the subject of study by over 1100 institutions since 2005. In the Harvard Dr Sinclair study it not only lowered cholesterol but extended the life span of the subjects by over 30%.

[vincealy]

08:35 PM on 01/10/2011

Is butter a better choice than margarine . Recent studies have linked trans fat to heart disease but not saturated fat. So which would be healthier? I think butter.

[eLucida]

09:35 AM on 01/12/2011

Butter.

[dnb310]

04:41 PM on 01/10/2011

If you need to lower your cholesterol, eat less cholesterol. More fiber and plants. Period, thats it, the rest is BS designed to separate people from their money. Most of the billions spent on this nonsense would be as well spent by flushing it down the toilet.

[JSDKoeln]

02:11 AM on 01/12/2011

Wow, you really need to exercise your Google muscle. Most people with high cholesterol have a genetic predisposition and other physiological reasons for high cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol reduction doesn't have that great of an impact.

[dnb310]

02:56 PM on 01/12/2011

If thats the case, as it is for a small percentage of the population, those people should be on meds, not messing around with artichoke leaf extract.

[HerrMonk]

11:54 AM on 01/12/2011

Your intuition will only get you so far.

Heat cholesterol: it's healthy, very healthy.

[H P]

09:06 AM on 01/10/2011

Interesting, but not complete. Tumeric.
Dr. James Duke a ethno-botanist, wild food/herb enthusiast:
http://www.greenpharmacy.com/?q=story/herbistatins%E2%84%A2-vs-lipitor
http://www.greenpharmacy.com/

great information, stuff the FDA doesn't want you to know because Big Pharma doesn't make any money..

[Ziona Etzion]

08:46 AM on 01/10/2011

There is one Whole food product Mila by Lifemax. It is Chia with a patented delivery system that enhances bio-availibility. http://www.dor.lifemax.net It has both Omega3 and fibre which is known to balance this challenge. Also minerals that aid upgraded digestion in the body. It is a food with essential fatty acids that the body does not produce itself so all people need it.

[jsanti7]

03:18 AM on 01/10/2011

the four s diet seafood sex steak and salad ...the order ...your preference ..lol just please dont post or play with your food

[rbryanh]

03:13 AM on 01/10/2011

Butter is the ideal nutritional supplement, as it increases the odds that one will have only one heart attack.

The alternative is discovering that our extended lives largely consist of prolonged senility.

[Phytoresearcher]

03:11 AM on 01/10/2011

Resveratrol, specifically transmax, the research grade one use in most of the human clinical trials was shown to reduce bad cholesterol while raising good cholesterol in a study of 212 subjects at Brigham Young University in September 2010. The compound was also shown to enhance mitochondrial function in a study done on pre diabetics at Albert Einstein Med Ctr and presented to the American Diabetes Association science meeting in Orlando in September.

[AG creative]

02:55 AM on 01/10/2011

Any placebo data?

[nancyly]

02:36 AM on 01/10/2011

Maybe the better way is by a combination of diet and exercise.

www.welcomeget.com

[Trittydi]

02:21 AM on 01/10/2011

They left out walnuts. Walnuts are very good for your heart and help lower cholesterol. You have to keep them in the refrigerator though or they turn rancid and are actually bad for you.
*

[Trittydi]

02:10 AM on 01/10/2011

I recommend following award-winning blogger William Davis, a cardiologist out of Milwaukee. His blog is very informative and I subscribe to his free newsletter - he's prolific.

He doesn't believe in taking statins or alpha blockers or beta blockers or any of it - unless all else fails. He wants his patients off all the pharmaceutical options (with the exception of warfarin.)

He advocates cutting back on carbohydrates and eliminating wheat from your diet (or cut way back) ... he is also a huge proponent of adding Vitamin D3 supplementation in appropriate amounts. This varies, but will usually be at least 8,000 IU a day - I take 10,000. He indicates that in about a year to a year and a half after upping your VD3 - HDL cholesterol dramatically increases by between 20-30 points.

Here's one very informative post - "Slash Carbs ... What Happens?"
http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/slash-carbs-what-happens.html

Another post with facts about wheat - which spikes your blood sugar more than a Snickers bar and he believes is responsible for the diabetes epidemic in this country:
http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/search?q=wheat+one+liners
*

[Sydracer]

09:08 AM on 01/10/2011

Thanks fot the link. I like him already.
Dr. Davis' delivery of info is both informative and funny.
From just what little I've read of his blog I'm already saying "Aha!"... not to mention laughing at some of his posts. (The eat wheat boob job)
Definately worth checking out.

[Trittydi]

06:21 PM on 01/12/2011

He has a free newsletter and he's prolific. I often access his past posts looking for information I need - for instance bio-available forms of magnesium is a concern - I went to see what types (not brands) of magnesium he recommended - and found it.
*

[H P]

09:46 AM on 01/10/2011

Thanks for the like to the heartscan blog.. read some and bookmarked. a great reference..

fanned too!

[Trittydi]

06:25 PM on 01/12/2011

You might consider subscribing to his free newsletter - sometimes quite technical - sometimes just funny or informative - always interesting ... but then - I'm a heart patient and the information helps me.
*