February is American Heart Month. Did you know that some complementary health approaches have been studied to see whether they can help control heart disease risk factors, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels? Heres what the research shows:

• Some psychological or physical complementary health approaches, including meditation, tai chi, qigong, and yoga, may have small beneficial effects on blood pressure in people with hypertension.
  
  
• Some foods and dietary supplements, including cocoa, garlic, fish oil, and flaxseed, may also reduce blood pressure to a small extent in people with hypertension.
  
  
• Certain dietary supplements, including soy protein, flaxseed, garlic, and green tea, may have modest cholesterol-lowering effects. Others, including chromium, vitamin C, and coenzyme Q10, have not been found to be helpful.

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