Atherosclerosis is derived from two Greek words namely athero (means gruel or paste) and sclerosis (means hardness). It is a name of the process in which there are deposits of fatty substance, cholesterols, cellular waste product, calcium and many other material building up in the inner line of an artery. The sticky substance that builds up in the blood vessels is called as a plaque. It generally affects large and midsized arteries. Some hardening of arteries is quite considered as a normal physiological process as in people who are aged.
Plaques can grow large enough up to an extent that then it can significantly reduce the blood flow in an artery. However, most of the damage occurs when they become delicate and then rupture. Plaques those rupture cause blood clots to form, which can block blood flow or can break off traveling to another part of the body. If either occurs and blocks any blood vessel that supplies the heart, it causes a heart attack or a myocardial infarction. If it blocks a blood vessel that supplies the brain, it results into brain stroke. In case if blood supply to the arms or legs is being blocked or reduced, it can result into difficulty walking and eventually lead to worst condition called as gangrene.
Causes of Arteriosclerosis or Atherosclerosis
- High blood cholesterol
- Cigarette or tobacco smoking in any form
- High triglycerides
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Physical inactivity or sedentary lifestyle
- Hereditary
- Obesity or overweight
- Gender (men are more affected)
- Age (old aged people are more affected)
- Diabetes mellitus
- Dietary changes (overeating of high fat and calorie diet)
- Fatty liver
Home remedies for Arteriosclerosis or Atherosclerosis
Lifestyle changes such as giving up junk and oily food packed and canned food, doing exercises etc. work good for treating atherosclerosis.
Eating a few cloves of garlic daily has been proven to be best home remedy for atherosclerosis. It clears arteries, the circulatory system, and collects and cast out toxic waste present in the bloodstream.
Another good home remedy is taking two cloves minced and put them in a half glass of orange juice or water and consume it at a time.
Garlic cloves are time tested and trusted vegetable treating atherosclerosis. You can consume garlic in any form including pills available in the market. In addition with a sensible diet, garlic also helps bringing down cholesterol levels in the bloodstream.
Rutin is one of the elements of the bioflavonoids, substances from plants that help in maintaining cellular health. This is necessary for the proper absorption of vitamin C. Therefore, it is a good home remedy for atherosclerosis to take 500 mg of rutin daily, with an equal quantity of vitamin C. It is considered to increase the strength of capillaries, strengthening the artery walls, helping to prevent hemorrhaging and above all help treating atherosclerosis.
According to the French folklore, eating rye bread prepared with baker's yeast is supposed to prevents clogging of the arteries.
It is described that some Russians eat mature and boiled potatoes at every meal to avoid atherosclerosis making it great home remedy for arteriosclerosis.
Having a combination of apple cider boiled with garlic one time a day is a Slavic folk and home remedy for atherosclerosis.
Another great home remedy for atherosclerosis is eating one Papaya on an empty stomach daily for a month. One should not eat anything after that for about two hours.
In some ancient science like Ayurveda, it is said that honey is best home remedy for treating arteriosclerosis. It is easily digested and assimilated in the body. One should take a glass of lukewarm water with one tsp each of honey and lemon juice in it, before retiring to bed.
Grate one lemon peel and then saturate in warm water overnight. Take 1 tsp thrice a day with meal. One can also eat this added to food.
Another good home remedy is drinking carrot juice daily to help with arteriosclerosis.
One should mix equal amount of honey and lemon juice and then swallow one tsp before going to bed.
One of the best remedy for arteriosclerosis is taking blanch parsley in a cup of water.
Some naturopaths suggest squeezing an onion and drinking one tsp of the juice daily to treat arteriosclerosis condition.
Eating spinach everyday is also good thought to get rid of atherosclerosis.