The effectiveness of homeopathic food according to the Thai traditional medicine combined with the therapeutic lifestyle changes diet intervention in people with dyslipidemia

Abstract

Thai traditional medicine (TTM) has the homeopathic food suggestion focusing on food taste derived from local herbs and vegetables used as food ingredients to encourage the health condition of each of 4 main elements; earth, aqua, wind, and heat. Dyslipidemia is one of the huge public health problems in Thailand that can be relieved by medical nutrition therapy (MNT) based on the therapeutic lifestyle changes diet (TLC diet) guideline. This study aimed to integrate homeopathic food according to TTM and MNT based on the TLC diet in people with dyslipidemia. Totally 192 participants were recruited and further sampled into 4 main element groups. In each group, participants were sampled into 2 subgroups (24 in each intervention group and 24 in each controlled group). Participants in the intervention groups received MNT based on the TLC diet by the dietitian and intake of the provided homeopathic foods according to their main element for 12 weeks, while control group received MNT based on TLC diet only. Results revealed that participants in the intervention groups were significantly lower on triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and total cholesterol than control group in almost all main element groups at the endpoint (p<0.05). In addition, participants in the intervention group of the wind element group were significantly higher on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) than controlled group at endpoint (p<0.05). The findings from this study concluded that integration between homeopathic food according to TTM and MNT based on TLC diet intervention is effective to improve blood lipid profiles in people with dyslipidemia.