By Kyle J. Norton
Scientists may have a functional herb in reducing the risk and treatment of abnormal blood cholesterol in the bloodstream with no side effects, some studies suggested.
Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in all cells in our body.
The waxy substance produced by the liver and or intake from dietary sources plays a critical role in the production of sex hormones, the building block for the tissue, and assistance of bile production in the liver for digestion.
There are 2 main types of cholesterol;
* The good cholesterol or high-density lipoproteins (HDL) process the unique function in the transportation of cholesterol from the cells and tissue back to the liver. The good cholesterol also inhibits bad cholesterol over-accumulated in the cells.
* The Bad cholesterol or low-density lipoproteins (LDL) which process the function to deliver cholesterol to cells to build membranes, to the synthesis of steroid hormones.
An unhealthy diet with high in saturated and trans fats, red meat, processed foods and less in fruits and vegetables and lifestyle can cause high levels of LDL, leading to the development of serious health problems including clogged arteries, heart disease, and stroke.
In "YOUR GUIDE TO Lowering Your Cholesterol With TLC" published by the US. Department of Health and Human Services, the author wrote, "Studies have proven that lowering LDL can prevent heart attacks and reduce deaths from heart disease in both men and women". and "It can slow, stop, or even reverse the buildup of plaque. It also can lower the cholesterol content in unstable plaques, making them more stable and less likely to burst and cause a heart attack. Lowering LDL is especially important for those who already have heart disease or have had a heart attack—it will reduce the risk of another heart attack and can actually prolong life. The level to which your LDL must be lowered depends on the risk for heart disease or having a heart attack that you are found to have at the start of treatment".
These results suggested that by following a healthy diet pattern and lifestyle high levels of bad cholesterol can be reversed regardless of other factors.
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the genus Medicago, belonging to the family Fabaceae, It has been cultivated all over the world as hay for cattle feeding.
The leaves, sprouts, and seeds make medicine that has been used in traditional medicine over thousands of years to treat high cholesterol, asthma, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, enhance the digestive system, bleeding disorders, kidney, and urinary tract infections, etc.
North America Aboriginals have used Alfalfa seed as food, such as making bread and mush.
In the study of Fifteen patients with hyperlipoproteinemia (HLP), types IIA (n = 8), IIB (n = 3), and IV (n = 4) given 40 g of heat-prepared alfalfa seeds 3 times daily at mealtimes for 8 weeks with otherwise unchanged diet, researchers found that
* In patients with type II HLP alfalfa treatment caused after 8 weeks a maximal lowering of pretreatment median values of total plasma cholesterol from 9.58 to 8.00 mmol/l (P less than 0.001) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol from 7.69 to 6.33 mmol/l (P less than 0.01), which corresponds to decreases of 17% and 18%, respectively.
* Maximal decrease in these patients was 26% in total cholesterol and 30% in LDL cholesterol.
* Apolipoprotein B decreased in the same period from 2.17 to 1.43 g/l (P less than 0.05) in type II HLP, corresponding to a 34% decrease, whereas apolipoprotein A-I did not change.
These results suggested alfalfa seeds can be added to the diet to help normalize serum cholesterol concentrations in patients with type II HLP.
Furthermore, in the evaluation of the effect of an aqueous alfalfa extract (AAE) on production, performance, egg quality, and lipid metabolism of laying hens between 28 and 36 weeks of age randomly assigned to Four groups, fed with diets containing 0, 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.15% AAE, researchers showed that
* In relation to the control group, cholesterol and triglycerides in yolk, liver, and serum and serum very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were lower in 0.15% AAE-treated birds at day 42 and day 56.
* It also significantly decreased activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) which has the function of regulating the fatty acid synthesis and degradation, β-hydroxy-β-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG CoA) reductase which has a function in controlling the metabolic pathway that produces cholesterol and other isoprenoids and fatty acid synthetase (FAS) at day 56.
These results indicated dietary AAE could be applied to improve eggshell quality and modify the lipid status of laying hens and eggs.
Interestingly, Dr. Yu CH, the lead author, in the study "[Study on the chemical constituents from the aerial parts of Medicago sativa and their hypolipidemic activity]" to isolate some chemical constituents from the aerial parts of Medicago sativa suggested the 2 new compounds soy saponinisolate I (I), azukisaponin V (II) also process antihyperlipidemic activity.
Taken altogether, Herbal Alfalfa may be considered a functional herb for the prevention and treatment of high blood cholesterol.
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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.
References
(1) Alfalfa seeds lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein B concentrations in patients with type II hyperlipoproteinemia. by Mölgaard J, von Schenck H, Olsson AG. (PubMed)
(2) [Study on the chemical constituents from the aerial parts of Medicago sativa and their hypolipidemic activity].[Article in Chinese] by Yu CH, Liang DL, Guo JN, Mei QX, Yang DP. (PubMed)
(3) Effects of an aqueous alfalfa extract on production performance, egg quality and lipid metabolism of laying hens by Deng W, Dong XF, Tong JM, Xie TH, Zhang Q.(PubMed)
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