Traditional way to reduce cholesterol

Below is a recipe someone shared with me a traditional way on reducing cholesterol. I heard from a friend that someone managed to avoid a bypass surgery after he drank this soup every morning for 25 days!
For the normal person, just drink it once in a while..

RECIPE FOR REDUCING CHOLESTEROL Ingredients:
1) black fungus (80g)
2) old ginger (80g)
3) red dates (10)

Method:
1) Soak the black fungus in water until it is soft and then wash it clean.
2) Cut the ginger (without removing the skin) into roughly 8 slices.
3) Remove the seeds from the red dates.
4) Put all the ingredients into a slow cooker.
5) Add in 8 cups of water into the cooker.
6) Cook the mixture for 6 hours using low heat.

Note: It is best to prepare this in the evening and start cooking before you
go to bed. If you start cooking at say 9 pm, the soup should be ready for drinking by 6 am. This was how I tried it few years back for my hubby n it sound applicable which helped to lower his cholesterol.