How to Lower Cholesterol Naturally in 4 Steps | Dr. Josh Axe

Hey guys, Dr. Josh Axe here, doctor of natural medicine and founder of draxe.com. Hey, today I'm going to be going in-depth on how to naturally lower your cholesterol levels using herbs, essential oils, supplements, diet tips, and lifestyle tips. And I'm telling you, these things absolutely work.

You know, I've worked with thousands of patients helping them lower or balance out those LDL and HDL cholesterols all naturally. And so again, I've really collected all the latest medical research to show you in this video. Exactly how to lower your cholesterol naturally.

Well, first I want to really dive into what is cholesterol, why it's important here, and then we'll dive into these remedies and tips. But here are some things you need to know. Number 1, cholesterol is really sort of your body's waxy repair substance. It's what your body uses to heal itself.

Now, cholesterol is actually produced by the liver and your liver actually sends it to your arteries in different areas to heal and repair damaged tissues. So think about this, if you've got a lot of inflammation in your body and inflammation in your arteries, That can sort of damage and eat a hole into your artery.

Well, your liver then produces cholesterol to go through the bloodstream and then repair that damaged area. But what happens over time is that that can continue to build up causing scarring of the arteries as well and can actually over time then narrow the artery increasing your risk of heart disease.

But here's the thing you got to know, cholesterol isn't bad, it's inflammation Or too much inflammation in the body. So what we need to do is follow an anti-inflammatory diet and do things that reduce inflammation, not try and get rid of cholesterol. Because here's the truth, it's not that— because think about this, your brain and your nerves are made up of nearly 25% cholesterol.

So when you take medications that block cholesterol, you're actually damaging your brain and your spinal cord and your nerves. When you're doing that and actually damaging your hormones because most of your hormones are types of steroids that have a cholesterol component. So LDL versus HDL, if you really want to know the truth, high cholesterol isn't bad.

It's an imbalanced ratio of having too much LDL and not enough HDL cholesterol. That's what's bad. It's all about your cholesterol ratio there. That's really what's important. Now, the typical Western diet really upsets this balance because many of the foods we consume today cause lots of inflammation and that's what actually is going to cause heart disease there to start.

And listen, inflammation, it's the main driver of unhealthy cholesterol levels, so you got to treat inflammation. And listen, here's another big point, not all high cholesterol foods negatively impact cholesterol levels.

In fact, did you know That egg yolks, if it's from a pasture-raised chicken, it can actually keep cholesterol levels exactly balanced and help naturally raise your HDL cholesterol, your good cholesterol that can help balance your hormones and improve your brain and neurological health there as well.

And here's the big thing, statin drugs and cholesterol-lowering medications actually cause liver damage, brain— they actually damage your brain and nervous system over time and can throw off your hormones both in men and women. In men, will cause low testosterone levels there as well, zapping your strength and your energy there as well and your libido.

So again, cholesterol-lowering drugs, statin drugs, some of the most dangerous drugs on the market that really should be banned in my opinion. So let's talk about foods to eat and what to avoid. Here are the actual foods that you want to be consuming on a daily basis that help lower the LDL cholesterol. Number 1, lots of vegetables, okay?

Especially lots of green leafy vegetables on a regular basis. Nuts and seeds, chia and flaxseeds being 2 of the best for naturally balancing out cholesterol levels. Ancient grains such as sprouted oats and rice and quinoa are good options. Green tea.

Now, green tea contains a component called EGCG, that's epigallocatechin, which is a type of polyphenol which has been shown to lower inflammation, increase your antioxidant protection, bouncing out cholesterol levels. Beans and legumes, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, herbs like turmeric.

In fact, most herbs are going to be beneficial whether it be oregano and rosemary and cinnamon and garlic, all fantastic, turmeric, wild-caught salmon. Because of the high levels of omega-3s that reduce inflammation in the body. Avocados and even things like yams and sweet potatoes are good options as well.

But remember this, you want to do lots of herbs, vegetables, berries, okay, along with nuts and seeds and wild-caught meat and then whole grains. Those are really the ideal foods for lowering cholesterol levels. Here are the big foods you want to avoid. Any food that promotes inflammation, so any processed or packaged food should be out.

Alcohol, added sugar, caffeine, canola and vegetable oils, these are in everything. If you're eating outer packaged foods, you're going to find these things in there. Low-quality animal products, if an animal product isn't organic and wild, it's going to cause inflammation. Processed meats, refined grains, these are really what's going to drive inflammation in those LDL cholesterol levels.

Up in your body. So let's talk about some natural remedies now and some things you can do as well. Move. So there are actually studies showing just walking, the more you move, the more those LDL cholesterol levels drop. But overall, the best way to lower LDL and HDL cholesterol is do a type of exercise called burst training or HIIT. That's high-intensity interval training. So what is that?

So simply even— now listen, you don't have to go an hour, exercise an hour a day. You can exercise an hour a week and still see results. Burst training is exercising like a sprinter.

So getting on a spin bike and going hard for 30 seconds, then going really light for 30 seconds and on and off for 20 minutes, whether it be on a treadmill, an elliptical, a StairMaster, whatever it is, just out walking. Maybe you walk really fast and then walk easy, whatever it is. But doing intervals helps with your cholesterol levels to a higher degree.

Now, let's talk about the best essential oils and supplements for helping naturally lower your cholesterol levels. Number 1 here is cinnamon. Cinnamon contains some compounds called cinnamaldehyde and cinnamate which actually target the same enzymes as statin drugs but in a natural way, lowering cholesterol. So you can do about 1 to 2 drops of a cinnamon oil.

Cinnamon bark CO2 extract is ideal or an oil and just add that to a smoothie on a daily basis can actually help there as well. Clary sage oil can help by lowering inflammation and balancing hormones. This is a good one for women who have high cholesterol levels. Now, coriander actually works by supporting the liver and blood sugar levels, so coriander oil, especially the CO2 extract, is good.

1 Drop internally as needed. Also, lemongrass oil here can be great as well for lowering cholesterol levels. Spikenard relieves inflammation. A few safety notes here with clary sage, lemongrass, and spikenard. These oils shouldn't be used when you're pregnant. Again, apply 3 to 5 drops topically of spikenard on your neck. There is one really for essential oils to work.

90% Of the time, they should be used topically on the body. So just by actually smelling in these therapeutic compounds, it can have a positive effect on the body. Lavender oil is another example of that. Just using lavender oil topically has been shown in medical studies to support healthy blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure levels, all of them.

So you just typically want to do about 3 drops topically, 2 to 3 times daily of lavender oil. And you can see some results there with cholesterol. And overall, my number one essential oil to help with cholesterol levels is rosemary essential oil. And you can do this as a blend. Take 1 drop of lemongrass, 1 drop of rosemary oil, and a teaspoon of honey and take that daily.

So this is a great home remedy mixing especially number one, again, rosemary oil, essential oils, the best essential oil. You can do a single drop internally or use it topically.

In fact, it's also great to naturally thicken your hair, so you could kill 2 birds with one stone with using it topically in your hair and you'll be bringing in as well those vapors from rosemary oil, which is really great there as well. So you just use about 3 to 5 drops of the oil, just put it in your hands and rub it into your scalp and hair.

Now, let's talk about the best supplements for helping you naturally lower your cholesterol levels. Coenzyme Q10. And by the way, if you have ever taken a statin medication, a cholesterol drug, you absolutely should be taking coenzyme Q10.

What happens when you take a statin drug, it actually leaches CoQ10 from your body, which is an important antioxidant for actually the functioning of your heart and cardiovascular system. So you want to be taking about 200 milligrams a day of coenzyme Q10 every day. If you've ever in the past taken a statin or you're currently taking one.

Red yeast rice is good for naturally lowering cholesterol levels, but in general, only should be taken if they're really, really high. And the other 2 of my favorites are omega-3 fats, doing 1,000 milligrams once to twice daily, and garlic there as well. But if you've got, you know, major cholesterol levels, 200 milligrams a day, 2,000 milligrams a day.

And about 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams a day of garlic. And you can do that as a food or supplement. But again, these are the most effective supplements for naturally treating those cholesterol levels. So remember this, some of the best essential oils for naturally lowering cholesterol levels are rosemary oil along with cinnamon bark, coriander oil, and lavender are probably my favorites.

And in terms of supplements that I talked about, again, also using coenzyme Q10, omega-3s, and garlic are all wonderful to use on a regular basis. And hey, if you've enjoyed this live training video, hey, make sure to subscribe here to my YouTube channel. And also, hey, I've got 2 more articles that go through even more depth on the top foods, herbs, and supplements to lower cholesterol.

And if you do a Google search for Dr. Axe cholesterol on Google, you'll find the articles I've put out, or go to my website, draxe.com. And also have more videos here on YouTube, so you can search Dr. Axe cholesterol on YouTube and find more information there as well. I want to say, hey, thanks for watching this video on how to naturally lower cholesterol levels. Hi, Dr. Axe here.

I want to say thanks so much for checking out this YouTube video and also don't forget to subscribe if you want to get more great content on things like herbs, essential oils, natural remedies, and how to use food as medicine. Also, check out more of our content on my YouTube channel. Thanks for watching.