By Dr. Maoshing Ni 

Chinese herbs for heart health: The big five

5:11 minutes (1.19 MB)
Cholesterol is vilified by the pharmaceutical industry, but it may not be as bad as we are led to believe. The Herbal Pharmacist discusses some natural solutions to this growing health concern.

What if fresh vegetables aren't the healthiest choice? What if a low-fat diet has virtually no impact on our hearts? What if what everything we know about eating well is just a myth?

Put your mug down.

Green tea -- that miracle beverage said to stave off heart disease, strokes and cancer -- probably isn't much of a miracle after all.

Chocoholics breathed a collective sigh of relief a couple of years ago, when studies appeared touting chocolate as being good for you . But have we gotten used yet to seeing chocolate bars in the health-food aisles?

Dark chocolate (that's chocolate without milk as an additive, and that contains more than 15 percent cocoa solids, according to U.S. standards) contains antioxidant flavonoids, which are plant compounds that prevent free radical damage and can help respond to allergens, viruses, inflammations and carcinogens.