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         Educational information Heart Disease and Nutraceuticals. B-12, Niacin, B-6, Folic Acid.   

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IMPROVE YOUR HEART STATISTICS

A Complementary Approach

Numerous studies have yielded positive data regarding the clinical efficacy of nutraceuticals, especially for cardiovascular health. A significant benefit of these substances is their safety and the fact they are often used in conjunction with traditional medical approaches. Leading complementary nutraceuticals with strong supportive research for cardiovascular health include*:

• Vitamin B12 • Vitamin B6•  Vitamin C • Folic Acid • Niacin • L-carnitine

• Coenzyme Q10 • D-ribose • Multiple Antioxidants• Minerals Such as Magnesium• Potassium• Selenium• Copper and Zinc.

The Homocysteine Connection

How do homocysteine levels increase in my body?

What are Healthy Homocysteine levels?

Most quick acting single nutrient deficiency diseases like  scurvy, beriberi and others were wiped out by vitamin & minerals fortification in our food.  This leaves the long-term multiple nutrient deficiencies.  Processed foods, low in many nutrients, like B6, B9 (folic acid) and B12 and vitamin c and folic acid, are firmly linked to the 'Long-Latency Deficiency Diseases', such as heart disease, cancer, bone loss and Alzheimer's and much nutritionally can be done to help prevent these conditions. And not maintaining proper levels of  B vitamins, homocysteine becomes toxic and damages your artery walls, practically inviting fats and cholesterol to stick around.

Increased doses of Vitamins B12, Vitamin B6, and Folic Acid have been shown in clinical studies to significantly promote healthy levels of homocysteine in the body.3

Coenzyme Q10 Vital heart protection

Deficiencies of Co-Q10, with respect to cardiovascular function, have been documented since the 1970s. It is easy to grasp the concept of altered heart function as a consequence of chronic Co-Q10 deficiency. The heart muscle is in constant need of an energy supply to pump blood throughout the body. Muscle tissue, abundant in mitochondria, is extremely vulnerable to Co-Q10 concentration. It cannot perform without the energy-producing machinery intact. Multiple double-blind clinical trials using Co-Q10 for cardiovascular function have been performed. In a recent double blind, placebo controlled study researchers gave subjects who recently suffered a heart attack either 120 mg of CoQ10 or a placebo B-Vitamin. At the start of the study both groups were very similar in their characteristics and approximately 50% of the subjects in each group were on a Statin drug. After one year the study reported some astounding results! The group that was given the CoQ10 had 42% less sudden cardiac death, 47% less fatal heart attacks, 46% less non-fatal heart attacks, 69% less angioplasty or bypasses, 54% less stroke and 45% less cardiac deaths. In addition, only 6.8% off the group who was given the Coq10 suffered from fatigue versus over 40% of the group give the B-vitamin placebo.

Although this study was small (144 subjects) it gives us some astounding preliminary results that warrant further study. On top of this study there are myriads of clinical trials that have been done over the years which demonstrate unprecedented safety and efficacy in various conditions including Parkinson’s Disease, heart failure, kidney disease, etc. For the average person looking to prevent disease a usual dose is 50-100 mg in a gel-cap form. This insure optimal absorption. For those on a statin drug or those diagnosed with heart disease, an appropriate dose would be 200-400 mg daily.
Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry 246: 75-82, 2003

Magnesium and Potassium Deficiencies and your heart.

Magnesium is critical to the proper functioning of many physiologic reactions, including those that are critical to the cardiovascular system.¹ There is growing evidence that magnesium status is important in pathogenesis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.^2-5 Magnesium activates adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), which is essential for normal cell membrane function and is the energy source for Na-K pump.⁶ Intracellular magnesium deficiency may cause an increase in intracellular Na and Ca and a loss of K.⁶ Despite the importance of this cation, physicians frequently fail to consider magnesium status when managing a patient. In a recent study of hospitalized patients, 5.7% of the patients were hypermagnesemic and 42.2% were hypomagnesemic.⁷ Physicians initiated requests for magnesium measurements for 7.4% of these patients.⁷

Serum magnesium, like serum potassium, is often normal despite depletion of total body magnesium.⁸ Retention of an oral or intravenous magnesium load is a good estimate of the total body magnesium, but usually requires urine collection of 24 hours.^9,10 Intracellular levels of magnesium are more accurate measures¹¹ but there is often poor correlation of intracellular red blood cell and intracellular mononuclear cell magnesium,^12,13 and these may correlate poorly with the magnesium content of muscle in different disease states.^14,15 Of the two, intracellular mononuclear cell magnesium is a better indicator of the magnesium status of the heart. For example, in a recent study of coronary care unit patients, only 7.7% were hypomagnesemic, but 53% showed low levels of mononuclear cell magnesium.⁸

Yet, neither serum nor intracellular levels of magnesium may give as accurate a picture of physiologic activity as the level of free magnesium,^16,17 which may best be determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.^9,16-18 Obviously, except for serum magnesium, it is impractical for clinicians to determine magnesium status. However, magnesium abnormalities may be important in pathogenesis and magnesium replacement may be necessary for treatment of ischemic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, and some arrhythmias.

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