Preventing Heart Disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. Like most illness, it is strongly related to diet and
lifestyle and is highly preventable.
Everybody knows that cholesterol is related to heart disease, but the connection is complex. While high
cholesterol increases heart disease risk in younger people, many people who die from it have normal cholesterol, and many with high cholesterol don't get heart disease. Cholesterol can deposit on artery walls to cause blockage, but in order for this to occur, there needs to be inflammation of the artery wall and the cholesterol must be oxidized.
Lowering cholesterol may reduce coronary risk in younger people. Most doctors don't know that in people 65 and older high cholesterol is correlated with increased lifespan and that low cholesterol in the
elderly is associated with risk of death.
Doctors are increasingly relying on a group of prescription drugs called statins to lower cholesterol, but they commonly cause many side effects including muscle pain and weakness, neuropathy, impaired
memory and congnitive function, depression and congestive heart failure. Statins interfere with the body's production of coenzyme Q10, which is essential for good cardiac and overall health. Animal
studies show statins can increase cancer risk, and there is evidence that they increase breast cancer risk in humans.
A good diet and exercise can significantly lower cholesterol and improve the ratio of good HDL
to damaging LDL forms of cholesterol. A variety of herbs and nutritional supplements such as policosanol, plant sterols, garlic and essential fatty acids can improve cholesterol levels.
Antioxidants such as vitamin E, selenium and anthocyans prevent cholesterol from being oxidized.
There are many other risk factors for heart disease besides high cholesterol, including family history, obesity, lack of exercise, smoking, stress and high blood pressure. Doctors usually assess all of these factors but often end their evaluations there. However, there are other tests that can give a more thorough assessment of cardiac risk such as homocysteine, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and lipoprotein (a).
Many people have difficulty breaking down homocysteine, a toxic
metabolite of the amino acid methionine. Elevated homocysteine levels
cause damage to the arterial walls, leading to atherosclerosis even in
people with normal cholesterol. Vitamins including folic acid, B6 and B12
can effectively lower homocysteine levels.
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a marker for systemic inflammation, with
elevated levels being a better predictor of heart disease and stroke than
cholesterol. Elevated CRP often indicates chronic low-grade infections such as periodontitis or imbalances of intestingal flora that are associated with heart disease.
Fibrinogen assesses our tendency for blood to clot and platelets to
aggregate and is associated with heart attacks and stroke. Natural therapies can thin blood and lower fibrinogen.
Liproprotein (a) is another useful predictor of coronary artery disease
risk and may reveal risk not found with standard cholesterol tests.
Supplements including high doses of Vitamin C and the amino acids Lysine and Proline can lower lipoprotein (a).
There is evidence that high doses of vitamin C may help protect against coroary artery disease by stabilizing the collagen matrix (also called ground substance) that anchors the endothelial cells.
Other important risk factors for heart disease include dietary intake
of hydrogenated oils and sugars. Hydrogenated oils
(trans fatty acids) found in many baked goods and fried foods cause oxidative stress and damage the lining of the arteries. Sugars riase insulin levels,
which in turn causes elevated cholesterol and increases inflammation. Thus, diabetics are at especially high risk for heart disease.
Heavy metal toxicity is also a major, yet usually overlooked, risk factor
for heart disease. Lead and cadmium are causes of hypertension, and lead may play a key role in damaging artery walls and initiating atherosclerosis. Hearts
with cardiomyopathy, a form of congestive heart failure, have been found to
have tremendously elevated concentrations of mercury compared to healthy hearts.
While physiologic factors play a crucial role in heart disease risk,
research suggests that the best predictors of whether someone develops heart
disease are happiness in work and family life. Major risk factors include
depression, anxiety, anger and lack of social support. In other words,
living a loving life with an open heart may be our best defense against
heart disease.
While heart disease is easier to prevent than to treat, there are
many effective options. Western medicine focuses on medication and surgery.
While these are effective options for many, alternative therapies such as
chelation therapy can be very effective. I will explore this more next
month.
For those who want to learn more about prevention of heart disease, an intersting place to start is
http://www.thincs.org.
http://www.drcranton.com is a good place to start learning about chelation therapy.
more info:
http://www.dreddyclinic.com/integrated_med/chelation.htm
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