Herbal Medicine Man

Recently I was diagnosed with high cholesterol. Now I know this is genetic because everyone in my family gets high cholesterol eventually. We usually take care of this by boiling corn husks in water and drinking the water twice a day, but when I tried to explain this to my physician, he was adamantly against it and prescribed atorvastatin. Why are physicians so against alternative therapies?

Herbal Medicine Man

Dear Herbal Medicine Man,

I am sure your physician is not against herbal medicine or alternative therapies – he was just looking out for your health. As a matter of fact, the first line of treatment for high cholesterol is lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise. However, it may have been that you have additional risk factors, your cholesterol was extremely high, or your cholesterol has been elevated on more than one occasion, and so he decided to prescribe medication.

The difficulty with herbal medicine and alternative therapies is that very little research has been done to see if they are truly effective. Not only do we not know if the corn husk is actually lowering your cholesterol, but also why does it work and what is the correct dosage to successfully lower cholesterol. In your situation, is the corn husk actually improving your cholesterol or is it the fact that you are drinking two glasses of water a day which makes you feel full and eat less; perhaps the corn husks are releasing some amount of fiber into the boiling water which can lower your cholesterol, but wouldn’t it be easier to drink a glass of fiber instead?

Second of all, when herbal remedies are studied, often times the actual plant or root is used for testing purposes. However, a lot of beneficial properties may be lost when that herb is converted into a pill. Furthermore, a lot of herbal medications are not regulated. There are multiple studies that show medications marketed as melatonin, for example, only contain minute amounts of melatonin.

Lastly, as humans, it is hard for us to be disciplined, and the chore of making herbal remedies can be time consuming and not practiced consistently; often times cholesterol medication must be taken for life and it is much easier to take a pill once a day. However, I am sure your physician would not forbid you to try boiling corn husks and drinking the water along with the prescription medications he has prescribed.

Please continue to communicate openly with your doctor and let him know all the herbal medicine you are taking. Perhaps start your own study; document the amount of corn husks you boil and the frequency with which you do it and see if there is an improvement in your cholesterol level over time. Your doctor will probably recheck your cholesterol levels in 6 months. If you incorporate herbal medicine, lifestyle changes along with your medication, overtime you may be able to come off the atorvastatin. I look forward to hearing about your results in the future.

The Doctor

Herbal Medicine Man