An ancient herbal remedy may just be the best medicine for your heart. The news comes from Dr. Michael J. Wyss, lead researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

He’s published a study that shows that an all-natural herbal extract can manage blood pressure. And reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol in your blood.

But Dr. Wyss didn’t just stumble on this discovery by accident. People in China and Japan have used this herb as a medicine for almost 2,000 years.

Dr. Wyss received his PhD from the Washington University School of Medicine. He spent the next 40 years heading up study after study in this field. And he’s published over 170 peer-reviewed research papers.

Tackling Heart Health Head On

As long ago as 1986 the MRFIT study linked high LDL cholesterol levels to increased risk for heart disease. They estimated that 46 percent of heart deaths were due to high LDL levels.

And the CDC noted that people with high LDL have twice the risk of heart disease as people with healthy levels.

The pharmaceutical industry responded with a battery of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. By 2005 almost 30 million prescriptions were written each year for these drugs, according to the American Heart Association. That totals $20 billion in annual sales for the pharmaceutical industry.

But scientists like Dr. Wyss are convinced that statin drugs are not the answer. That’s because they pose so many serious side effects.

Dr. Gerald Gau – an M.D. at the Mayo Clinic – says that many of his patients taking statins suffer from myalgia, or muscle pain. Some have it so bad they can barely walk… and can’t even make it up the stairs anymore. There are plenty of other documented side effects including liver damage.

A Natural Alternative to Statins

Dr. Wyss set out to find an all-natural, totally safe alternative to statin drugs. And test that alternative in the lab.

He’s recently published the findings of that study. They show that a simple extract can reduce LDL by 50 percent in just two months. It can also lower blood pressure by 40 percent.

Those findings can be found in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Dr. Eric Yarnell leads research at Bastyr University. His team has studied all the literature on this plant. And he says Dr. Wyss’s study leads that literature.

Dr. Yarnell calls Dr. Wyss’s extract a “real solution.” And he’s convinced that this herb is indeed “a very valuable medicinal herb.”

So just what is this herb? How does it work? And how can you get it? Find out on Friday.

To your health,

Ian Robinson,
Managing Editor,
NHD “Health Watch”