Natural Eradication of Cardiovascular Disease

Natural Eradication of Cardiovascular Disease

Every second man and woman in the industrialized world dies from the consequences of atherosclerotic deposits in the coronary arteries (leading to heart attack) or in the arteries supplying blood to the brain (leading to stroke). The epidemic spread of these cardiovascular diseases is largely due to the fact that, until now, the true nature of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease has been insufficiently understood.



Conventional medicine is largely confined to treating the symptoms of this disease. Calcium antagonists, beta-blockers, nitrates and other drugs are prescribed to alleviate angina pain. Surgical procedures (angioplasty and bypass surgery) are applied to improve blood flow mechanically. Rarely does conventional medicine target the underlying problem: the instability of the vascular wall, which triggers the development of atherosclerotic deposits.

Cellular Medicine provides a breakthrough in our understanding of the underlying causes of these conditions and leads to the effective prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease. The primary cause of coronary heart disease and other forms of atherosclerotic disease is a chronic deficiency of vitamins and other essential nutrients in millions of vascular wall cells. This leads to the instability of the vascular walls, lesions and cracks, atherosclerotic deposits and, eventually, heart attacks or strokes. Since the primary cause of cardiovascular disease is a deficiency of essential nutrients in the vascular wall, the daily optimum intake of these essential nutrients is the primary measure to prevent atherosclerosis and help repair artery wall damage.

Scientific research and clinical studies have already documented the particular value of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, lysine, proline and other ingredients in Dr. Rath’s Cellular Health recommendations for preventing cardiovascular disease and improving the health of patients with existing cardiovascular disease.

Vitamins and Other Nutrients Can Halt and Reverse Coronary Heart Disease

Millions of people die every year from heart attacks because no effective treatment to halt or reverse coronary heart disease has been available. Therefore, we decided to test the efficacy of Dr. Rath’s Cellular Health recommendations for the number one health problem of our time: coronary atherosclerosis, the cause of heart attacks. If these Cellular Health recommendations were able to stop further progression of coronary atherosclerosis, the fight against heart attacks could be won and the goal of eradicating heart disease would become a reality.

To measure the success of this program, we did not primarily look at risk factors circulating in the bloodstream. We focused directly on the key problem, the atherosclerotic deposits inside the walls of the coronary arteries. A fascinating new diagnostic technique had just become available that allowed us to measure the size of the coronary deposits non-invasively: Ultrafast Computed Tomography (Ultrafast CT).

Ultrafast CT measures the area and density of calcium deposits without the use of needles or radioactive dye. The computer automatically calculates their size by determining the Coronary Artery Scan (CAS) score. The higher the CAS score, the more calcium has accumulated, which indicates more advanced coronary heart disease.

Compared to angiography and treadmill tests, Ultrafast CT is the most precise diagnostic technique available today to detect coronary heart disease already in its early stages. This diagnostic test allows the detection of deposits in the coronary arteries long before a patient notices angina pectoris or other symptoms. Moreover, since it directly measures the deposits in the artery walls, Ultrafast CT is a much better indicator of a person’s cardiovascular risk than measurements of cholesterol or other risk factors in the bloodstream.


Before following Dr. Rath’s Cellular Health recommendations, the patient had developed atherosclerotic deposits in the walls of his left coronary artery (white circled area in the left picture). The scans below are magnifications of the heart scan taken with Ultrafast CT.

We studied 55 patients with various degrees of coronary heart disease. Changes in the size of the coronary artery calcifications in each patient were measured over an average period of one year without vitamin supplementation, followed by one year with Dr. Rath’s Cellular Health recommendations. In this way, the heart scans of the same person could be compared before and after the vitamin program. This study design had the advantage of patients serving as their own controls.

The results of this study were published in the Journal of Applied Nutrition. The full text of this landmark study is documented at the end of this book. The most important findings can be summarized as follows: This study measured, for the first time, how aggressive coronary heart disease progresses until eventually a heart attack occurs. Without the use of Cellular Health recommendations, the coronary calcifications increased at an exponential rate (very fast) with an average growth of 44% every year. Thus, without vitamin protection, coronary deposits increased approximately half their size every year.

When patients followed the Cellular Health recommendations, this trend was reversed and the average growth rate of coronary calcifications actually slowed down. Most significantly, in patients with early stages of the disease, this essential nutrient program stopped further progression of coronary heart disease within one year. This study also gives us valuable information about the time it takes for the Cellular Health recommendations to show a repair effect on the artery wall.

While for the first six months the deposits in these patients continued to grow, albeit at a decreased pace, the growth essentially stopped during the second six months with the vitamin program. Of course, any therapy that stops coronary heart disease in its early stages prevents heart attacks later on.

It is not surprising that there is a delay of several months until the healing effect of these Cellular Health recommendations on the artery wall becomes noticeable. Atherosclerotic deposits develop over many years or decades, and it takes several months to control this aggressive disease and start the healing process. More advanced stages of coronary heart disease may take still longer before the vascular healing process is measurable. To determine this, we are continuing our study.

Can already existing coronary deposits be reversed in a natural way? The answer is yes. In individual patients, we documented the natural reversal and complete disappearance of early coronary artery deposits approximately within one year. The ongoing study will tell us how long the natural reversal takes in patients with advanced coronary artery disease.

The complete natural disappearance of atherosclerotic deposits with Dr. Rath’s Cellular Health recommendations confirms that this vitamin program contains the essential ingredients needed to start the natural healing process of the artery wall.

In patients with early coronary heart disease, this healing of the artery wall can lead to the complete, natural disapearance of atherosclerotic deposits.

In patients with advanced coronary artery disease, these Cellular Health recommendations can stabilize the artery walls, halt the further growth of coronary deposits, reverse them, at least in part, and contribute to the prevention of heart attacks.

Scientific Publications on Nutrients and Cardiovascular Disease
Learn more about Cellular Health
Abstract from Dr Rath Health Foundation

Rebuttal to the Recent FLAWED Report that Antioxidants Shorten Lifespan

Here we go again. It was predicted and expected ....more "bad news" for those taking supplements in the form of a recent "study" indicating that vitamins (antioxidants) may decrease your lifespan. ....Well, not so fast! I have included an article from Life Extension Foundation (see below) addressing the flawed analysis of this study ...and more importantly the lack of "cause and effect" between antioxidants and premature death. (What is so absurd about all this is that the opposite truly exists, ... that is, an association between antioxidants and the reduced risk of premature death.) Before I get to that, I have my own editorial.

Believe it or not, there is a war of information regarding the supplement industry and the pharmaceutical industry. This was not the first, and it will not be the last that some "study" comes out telling us that we, who take supplements, are going to die, or in this case not live as long due to taking antioxidant supplements. Our alternative is not to take any supplements, and therefore become eligible to take prescription drugs (which course, have side effects, incluing death ....over 100,000 people die each year in the U.S. alone DIRECTLY FROM TAKING PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS ....and this is under the supervision and management of doctors and nurses).

This is NOT the case for nutritional supplements. People are not dying of premature deaths from their nutritional supplements, ...but, somehow we accept that drugs are more "acceptable" than supplements in maintaining health. It makes no sense at all. It is true, that the formulation and amounts of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants matter .... not in their risk of death, but in regard to the true benefits they can provide. For example, there is a BIG difference between taking 60 to 120 mg of vitamin C in the ascorbic acid form, and 1300 mg per day of vitamin C in the vitamin C ascorbate form. With the first, one will do little more than prevent scurvy, whereas with the later, one may prevent the onset of chronic degenerative disease and possibly extend one's longevity.

There is a difference between taking 15 to 30 IU/day of vitamin E in the dl-alpha tocopherol form, vs. 400 to 800 IU/day of vitamin E in the mixed tocopherol (d-alpha tocopherol, gamma tocopherol, delta tocopherol) and tocotrienol formulation. The first will ....well, I'm not sure what 15 to 30 IU of vitamin E does, but I do know what the studies on using the natural mixed tocopherol form of vitamin E indicates ....less risk of many types of cancer, decreased risk of heart disease, AND decreased mortality.

In regard to extending one's lifespan, the single BEST way to increase longevity is NOT TO DIE!

I have studied the medical literature, and one of the biggest frustrations regarding studies on supplements (vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants) is that they were never meant to be taken in isolation. Supplements are meant to be taken in the proper ratios, amounts, and balance. Formulations make a difference; and most of these "reports" (meta-analyses) are comparing apples and oranges.

The authors of this latest round of anti-supplement propaganda (like prior anti-supplement reports) cherry picked their studies, leaving out some powerful studies showing a decrease in heart disease, cancer, and death from any cause. Again, if we are to live longer we must not die of a chronic degenerative disease. The studies exist, but they weren't included because it did not support the aim of this meta-analysis.

My hope is that people will not be so swayed by the sensationalism of a poorly designed and selectively biased report, or meta-analysis (summary of selected studies) that in the end will NOT hold up to true medical research scrutiny. Sometimes I believe that these researchers know that their report will not hold up to scrutiny, but in the war of information it ultimately does not matter. The damage will be done because the media has already announced the "bad news," creating doubt in the minds of the less informed, ...including the minds of many doctors who do not take the time to look at the solid studies on the benefits of supplements, but rather listen (and believe) all the information doled out to them by the pharmaceutical reps who visit their office on a daily basis.

Please refer to the following article for an accurate rebuttal (the first of others to follow):

http://www.lef.org/featured-articles/Rebuttal-to-Allegation-That-Certain-Vitamins-May-Shorten-Lifespan.htm?source=eNewsLetter2008Wk16-2&key=Article+Exclusive

Big Pharma: Statin Drugs vs. Antioxidants

I was concerned several years ago as the American Heart Association, backed by the pharmaceutical companies, continued to make and revise recommendations regarding how low doctors should reduce their patients' LDL cholesterol levels. At first LDL cholesterol levels were "normal" if they were 130 or below, then the standard was 100 or below, and finally, 70 or below became what we now consider medically "acceptable." With each recommendation the number of people who instantly had the made-up disease of "high cholesterol" increased, and more and more patients were prescribed statin drugs to lower their LDL cholesterol levels. Statin drugs are the top-selling drugs in the world, bringing in more money for Big Pharma than any other class of drugs. It was this con of convincing the public that high cholesterol was the cause of atherosclerosis, heart disease, and stroke that caused me to write the first edition of my book, The Cholesterol Conspiracy, in 2004. It has since been updated (2006) and is in its Second Edition; however, after the latest news from the American Heart Association conference in New Orleans on Nov. 8th, 2008 it appears that I will need to update my book again.

My contention has always been that it is NOT high cholesterol that is the main cause of plaque formation, heart disease, and stroke, but rather it is the OXIDATION of LDL cholesterol and the INFLAMMATION of the arterial lining (called the endothelium) that is the culprit to the number one cause of death for both men and women. As I discuss in my book, more than half of people who die of heart disease have NORMAL LDL cholesterol levels, ...thus it is NOT high cholesterol that is killing them, but the CONDITION of the LDL cholesterol and the inflammation of the endothelium that leads to the deadly disease. Likewise, there are cases of people with high cholesterol levels who show no signs of arterial plaque due to their high intake of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and the essential fatty acids that reduce the oxidation to LDL cholesterol and inflammation to the endothelium. What's more, antioxidants reduce endothelial inflammation an LDL oxidation better than any drug, ...and without the side effects.


The recent study reported at the American Heart Association in New Orleans, known as JUPITER, proved my case: if you reduce oxidation and inflammation you can reduce the risk of death from heart disease and stroke! However, unlike the JUPITER study, which proposed the way to do it is with statin drugs, I believe the best course to reduce LDL oxidation and arterial inflammation is with nutritional supplements.


If you were to believe the JUPITER study and what is being suggested by the doctors who spoke at the American Heart Association conference on Nov. 8, 2008 in New Orleans you would have to believe that "EVERYONE," young and old, sick and healthy, those with high cholesterol and those with normal cholesterol levels ALL should be on the "life-saving, miracle drugs of this or any other generation" …the statin drugs!


The JUPITER (Justification for the Use of Statins in Primary Prevention) Study, funded by AstraZeneca, makers of Crestor, was unveiled to the delight and awe of doctors and pharmaceutical companies. The study showed that 20 mg of Crestor cut in half one’s risk of heart attacks and stroke, whether they had high cholesterol or not! In other words, healthy people without elevated cholesterol levels ... could now be "saved" by the statin drugs, and like the IRS, the pharmaceutical companies are "here to help."


Doctors and pharmaceutical representatives got on the stage to proclaim that because statin drugs have been shown (in this study of just under two years) to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in HEALTHY people (those without signs or symptoms of heart disease and normal cholesterol levels) that governments around the world should push the campaign to put every single person on statin drugs.


As has been proposed earlier (documented in my book), they again proposed at this conference that we "drip statin drugs into our water supply" as the best way to get everyone on these "all-important" drugs. They want to take the decision out of our control and force these drugs, which ...oh, by the way, have dangerous, even deadly side effects, upon us ....and of course, run up a huge national medical cost.


Statin drugs are already the number one-selling drug in the world with over $18 billion dollars in sales, and now due to this study, they will likely double in sales. USA Today calculated that the ever-increasing prescribing of statin drugs which this study will generate would add $10 billion a year to the U.S. national debt. (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/200 )


BUT, what are the facts of this study; what about the risks of such widespread use of statin drugs, particularly in healthy people? …and, more importantly, what about alternatives to statins? Interestingly enough, one of the authors of this study also appeared as an author on another study released the same week of the announcement of this study, showing that vitamin E and vitamin C did NOTHING to reduce the risk of heart disease; ....in fact vitamin E, they reported, might increase the risk for hemorrhagic stroke. So, in a one-two punch knock out …. Big Pharma apparently established that statin drugs are the ONLY salvation for the number one cause of death.


Now, not only are antioxidants NOT the answer, according to Big Pharma, they are the problem. It must be that we, as human beings, are born deficient of statin drugs, ….some kind of an "inborn error of metabolism," and that it is not nutrients that we lack today, but drugs! Apparently Big Pharma is not satisfied with treating the sick, they want to provide “therapy” to the healthy, by actively putting more drugs into our drinking water …as if there are not enough drugs swirling around in the water supply already.


Again, I would like to point out that this JUPITER study proves my point made in my book, The Cholesterol Conspiracy , ....that heart disease (atherosclerosis) is not caused by high cholesterol, but rather oxidation of LDL cholesterol and inflammation of the arterial lining. In my book, I make a case (backed up by medical research) that oxidized LDL cholesterol and homocysteine-induced nicking and inflammation of the arteries leads to arterial plaque and inflammation.
C reactive protein (CRP) is an indirect measure of arterial inflammation (or any inflammation). The more oxidation and inflammation of the arteries, NO MATTER WHAT THE LDL CHOLESTEROL LEVEL (normal or not), the more plaque will build within the arterial lining (known as the endothelium). By reducing oxidation and inflammation (which can be measured directly with lipid peroxides, or indirectly with CRP levels) there is less damage to the LDL cholesterol and the endothelium, and less plaque will form. Less plaque means less heart disease and death.


Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and omega-3 essential fatty acids have all been shown to decrease CRP, homocysteine, and lipid peroxides levels, and in some cases restore endothelial function ….without any toxic side-effects (unlike statin drugs).


Although I discuss CRP in The Cholesterol Conspiracy, as a review, CRP is a protein produced by the liver in response to inflammation. Any condition that leads to inflammation will cause the production and release of CRP. Smoking, genetics, stress, arthritis, diabetes, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, dementia, high blood pressure colorectal cancer, the aging process, and damaged and an inflamed arterial endothelium will all cause an elevation of C reactive protein. It is an indirect, non-specific measurement of inflammation and oxidation. Statin drugs have been shown to exert an anti-inflammatory effect, and it is the modest anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory effect that is responsible for a reduction in oxidized LDL cholesterol and arterial inflammation. Less oxidized LDL cholesterol and less arterial inflammation, the less plaque that will build up within the arterial endothelium.


However, natural antioxidants, vitamin C, turmeric extract, essential fatty acids (fish oil) do more to reduce oxidized LDL cholesterol and arterial inflammation and lower CRP than cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, AND without the dangerous side-effects of statins (liver, nerve, muscle, and heart damage, ….let alone death). The B complex vitamins and betaine (tri-methly-glycine) lower homocysteine levels, which means less “scratching up” of the endothelium, i.e., less arterial inflammation, and lower CRP levels.


The JUPITER study showed how important it is to lower inflammation of the arteries in order to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, ….as measured by CRP levels, and that people are susceptible to heart attack and stroke even with normal LDL cholesterol levels because oxidation and inflammation. So, let’s look at the facts and my concerns of the JUPITER Study:


Facts of the JUPITER STUDY:


1. Nearly 18,000 men and women with low LDL cholesterol levels (median 108 mg/dL), and C reactive protein levels (CRP) greater than 2.0 mg/L were placed on 20 mg of Crestor or a placebo, and followed for just under 2 years.

2. The group on 20 mg of Crestor decreased their cholesterol levels EVEN FURTHER (to as low as 53 mg/dL), reduced their triglyceride levels, and cut their risk of nonfatal heart attacks by 55%, a 48% reduction in nonfatal strokes, and a 47% reduction in hard cardiac “events” (a composite of nonfatal and fatal heart attack and stroke).


Concerns about the JUPITER STUDY:


1. What are the long-term effects of lowering one’s LDL cholesterol to such low levels? There is already concern about depression, violent behavior, suicide, etc. from lowering one’s LDL cholesterol below 70 (see my book, The Cholesterol Conspiracy). However, what other problems may arise from such low LDL cholesterol, given that the body REQUIRES LDL cholesterol to function properly? Having high LDL cholesterol levels in and of itself is not a problem, it is the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides (lipid peroxides) and the inflammation of the endothelium (from homocysteine) that leads to plaque formation.

2. With the study only being 2 years long, AstraZeneca virtually eliminated discovering the long-term effects of such low LDL cholesterol levels AND the long-term effects of statin drugs in this population. However, we do know the long-term of statin drugs, and they are not pretty, ….dangerous and severe side-effects; occasional deadly.

3. Was the study designed to yield the desired results and minimize negative outcomes that would have been revealed had it gone on longer?

4. There was a higher incidence in insulin resistence and type 2 diabetes among those who took Crestor than in the control group. And, this was all happened within 2 years. As mentioned, what other complications would we have seen had the study gone longer than 2 years, ...especially since now all people, even those with normal cholesterol levels, are "supposed" to be on statin drugs for the REST OF THEIR LIVES? It would be good to know what people can expect.4. According to Stanford University cardiologist Dr. Mark Hlatky, about 120 people would have to take Crestor for two years in order to prevent a single heart attack, stroke or death; and how many people would then suffer moderate to severe side-effects over the long-term? Again, as people would be encouraged to be on these drugs for the rest of their lives!

5. Crestor gave clear benefit in the study, but with so few heart attacks and deaths occurred among these low-risk people that treating EVERYONE in the U.S. alone with statin drugs would cost up to $10 billion a year.

6. Big Pharma presents statin drugs as the only choice to reduce CRP levels, when this is not the case.



What We Can Learn From This Study:


1. It is important to lower C Reactive Protein levels as a means to lower inflammation, which in turn reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke.

2. This study confirms that it is NOT the lowering of LDL cholesterol that is key to reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke, but the reducing of inflammation, as is evident by the lowering of C reactive protein (CRP). Therefore, what about all the studies that show alternative means (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids) for lowering CRP, inflammation, and lipid peroxidation without any adverse effects?


What Can You Do?

1. Know, and lower your high-sensitivy CRP levels (as mentioned in my book): a. CRP less than 1.0 mg/L = Low Risk for CardioVascular Disease (CVD) b. CRP of 1.0 – 2.9 mg/L = Moderate Risk for CVD c. CRP greater than 3.0 = High Risk for CVD 2. Know, and lower your Homocysteine levels: a. Homocysteine less than 6.5 = Low Risk for CVD b. Homocysteine 6.6 to 8.0 = Low-Moderate Risk for CVD c. Homocyseine 8.1 to 10.4 = Moderate-High Risk for CVD d. Homocysteine greater than 10.4 = High Risk for CVD 3. Know, and lower your Lipid Peroxides a. This test is not commonly performed by most labs, but can be obtained. b. Keep Lipid Peroxidation low (according to print out on lab results)


How You Can Lower CRP, Homocysteine, and Lipid Peroxidation to Reduce Heart Attack & Stroke:

1. Statin Drugs: expensive; dangerous and sometimes deadly side-effects. a. See list of side-effects in The Cholesterol Conspiracy.
OR, .... even BETTER:
2. Lifestyle Changes: inexpensive, non-dangerous, …and it promotes health! a. Maintain a Healthy Weight b. Maintain a Low-Glycemic Diet (plenty of vegetables) c. Exercise d. Don’t Smoke e. Reduce Stress f. Adequate Sleep g. Drink Plenty of Pure Water h. Maintain Gum Health (brush, floss, and use Co-Q10) i. Use Full-Range Vitamins, Minerals, Antioxidants, and Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids: (a few examples of many vitamins and antioxidants are shown below, though I personally recommend a full-range of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids):

Vitamin C 2000 mg/day (vitamin C alone reduces CRP similar to statins)

B Complex Vitamins

Fish Oil (4000 mg per day)

Vitamin D (1000 to 5000 IU/day)

Turmeric Extract (400 to 800 mg/day)

Olive Extract (75 to 200 mg/day)

Grape Seed Extract and Resveratrol (200 to 400 mg/day)

Co-Enzyme Q10 (200 to 400 mg/day)

Betaine (TMG) (1800 to 3000 mg/day)

Magnesium (400 mg/day)


To see references (please see http://www.laddmcnamara.com/)
Posted by Ladd McNamara at 7:51 AM