As we discussed in the last post, the introduction of ancient Chinese medicine has made a tremendous impact on the modern medical landscape. So now let’s turn away from erectile dysfunction to another health topic: lowering high cholesterol. You can take modern medicine to treat high cholesterol, like Tricor Generic or Zetia, you can eat right, you can lose weight, and you can exercise (all things you should definitely do if the doctor says so), but there’s another option as well: turn to Eastern medicine.
I recently spoke with a Chinese medical practitioner who suggested two 
methods for lowering high cholesterol: herbs and acupuncture.
First, he said that there are certain herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine that have been proven effecting in treating high cholesterol. A Chinese medical doctor (or your local grocery store, for some) may be able to help you locate the following herbs: Shan Zha (hawthorn fruit), Da Suan (garlic), Mo Yao (myrrh), Monascus purpureus (red yeast rice), He Shou Wu (fleeceflower), or Jue Ming Zi (cassia seeds).
(Please note, the term “herbal” invokes an association to “safe.” This is sometimes true, but sometimes very incorrect. Just because a treatment is herbal does not mean that it does not have side effects. Some truly are safe, like red yeast rice, but others, like the hawthorn fruit, should only be used under the direction of a trained traditional Chinese medical doctor.)
Second, the people high blood cholesterol may benefit from the ancient practice of acupuncture. Sometimes people get high cholesterol because they smoke or don’t eat right, but sometimes the body is just off-balance, and it’s that that causes high cholesterol. For these people, routine acupuncture treatments may be exactly what they need to put their bodies back in balance and to lower high cholesterol. The acupuncturist will likely use acupuncture points in the stomach, spleen, liver, kidney, and bladder.