Traditional Chinese medicines could help prevent heart disease and the progression of pre-diabetes, according to research. Some herbal treatments proved as effective in lowering blood pressure as Western drugs and improved heart health by lowering cholesterol, scientists found. Certain alternative medicines could lower blood sugar and insulin levels, too.
Chinese medicines could be used alongside conventional treatments, say researchers from from Shandong University Qilu Hospital in China. Or they can be beneficial as an alternative for patients intolerant of Western drugs, they said in their review of medical studies over a ten-year period. Senior review author from the university's department of traditional Chinese medicine said: 'The pharmacological effects and the underlying mechanisms of some active ingredients of traditional Chinese medications have been elucidated. Thus, some traditional Chinese medicine for cardiovascular disease might be used as a complementary and alternative approach for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.' 

It's potentially good news for people living with diabetes, which is now a global epidemic and has proved a tricky condition to manage for many people. High blood pressure is very common too, affecting more than one in four adults in the UK,  although many won't show symptoms and realise it. If untreated, it increases your risk of serious problems including heart disease, the number one killer globally. The Chinese have used herbs for treating diseases for thousands of years and have become increasingly popular in Europe and North America, mainly as complement to Western medicine. But the researchers also warn that much of the research conducted have limitations and so their long-term effects are not proven.

1.Herbs for high blood pressure
The blood pressure-lowering effect of herb was found to be similar to that of oral anti-hypertension medication benazeprilm. Similarly, patients treated for eight weeks with herbal had a lower reading than those given a placebo. Herbal Jiangya tablets were found to 'significantly lower' systolic blood pressure, that is the amount of pressure in your arteries during contraction of your heart muscle compared to a fake treatment. The herb also had a significant effect compared to a placebo, but just at night. But overall, compared to the drug Nimodipine, a calcium channel blocker, it worked just as well.
2.Herbs for diabetes
The team report some Chinese medicines medications have a 'potent' effect on lowering blood sugar levels and b-cell function, which controls the release of insulin. Some remedies might prevent the progression of pre-diabetes to diabetes, they note.
3.Herbs for cholesterol 
The researchers looked at research on dyslipidemia, the term for unbalanced or unhealthy cholesterol levels. They found that jiangzhitongluo, salviamiltiorrhiza and pueraria lobata, and capsule all have a 'potent lipid-lowing effect'.