| Two new studies, published in September 2004 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), found a clear correlation between chronic kidney disease (even non-severe) and cardiovascular disease, which makes prevention of kidney disease more important than ever.
In one of the studies, researchers examined three years of data covering the medical records of over one million patients (data made available by the Kaiser Permanente Renal Registry in San Francisco). The average age of the subjects was 52 years. |
Dr. Steve Blake
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 Deficiency: one-third of adults get too little to prevent cardiovascular disease.
Healthy food sources: almonds, sunflower seeds, and cold-pressed oils.
Degradation: can be oxidized during food preparation or storage.
Principal forms in the body: alpha-tocopherol and gamma-tocopherol.
Vitamin E is found in fatty foods such as vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds; please refer to Graph 5-1. |
Andreas Moritz
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 Noting that factors common to kidney disease, such as protein albumin in the urine, high homocysteine levels, inflammation and anemia, may boost the risk of cardiovascular disease and death, the researchers concluded that even mild kidney disease should be considered a major risk factor for cardiovascular complications after a heart attack.
To ensure that your kidneys continue functioning properly, keep your colon, liver and kidneys clean (see chapter 7). Kidney health largely depends on efficient performance of the digestive system. |
Gerald E. Markle and Frances B. McCrea
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 For other women, there is no gain in life expectancy; in fact, there may be a decline, given that among women with hysterectomies, there are higher rates of cardiovascular disease.
There are no universally accepted set of criteria regarding appropriate indications for a hysterectomy. Most are done for fibroid tumors that present no immediate problems, inflamation or bleeding, or are associated with abortion or sterilization. One study found that in half of all hysterectomies reviewed, accuracy of the preoperative diagnosis could not be evaluated. |
Andreas Moritz
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| To the contrary, most of them remained overweight which put them at an even greater risk for cardiovascular disease despite following their low-fat regimen. In addition, the study showed that low-fat diets had zero health benefits in regard to avoiding the risk of getting cancer and heart disease. The study cost the American taxpayers $415 million, but this money seems to have been wasted. The mass media, medical industry and food manufacturers have not taken much notice of this important finding. In the meanwhile, the low-fat hysteria continues to escalate. |
Dr. Steve Blake
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| This is important because, as mentioned, homocysteine is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The methionine that is converted can go on to become part of SAMe. SAMe is a methyl group donor that can protect DNA and may be important in cancer prevention.
The other active form of vitamin B12, deoxyadenosyl cobalamin, has an important role in the production of energy from proteins and fats as you can see from Figure 1-21. Vitamin B,2 is essential for the maintenance of the nervous system and for the synthesis of molecules involved in fatty acid biosynthesis. |
| The collagen protein is invaluable in artery and capillary walls to provide the strength and flexibility needed to resist cardiovascular disease.
HOW COLLAGEN IS MADE
It is a major manufacturing effort for our bodies to produce collagen. First, procollagen is made with the two amino acids, glycine and proline, as shown in Figure 2-2. Vitamin C is used in making procollagen. The conversion of procollagen to collagen involves a reaction (hydroxylation) that substitutes a hydroxyl group, OH, for a hydrogen atom, H. |
David W. Grotto, RD, LDN
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 A study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition showed that regular consumption of peanuts lowered triglycerides and improved diet quality by increasing nutrients associated with the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
TYPE 2 DIABETES: Study subjects who ate half a serving of peanut butter or a full serving of peanuts five or more times a week had up to a twenty-seven percent reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. |
Dr. Steve Blake
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| MIXED TOCOPHEROLS
There is general agreement that increased levels of vitamin E in the diet reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, studies on the cardiovascular protective effects of supplementary vitamin E given as synthetic alpha-tocopherol have had inconsistent results. Research continues, but there are indications that the other forms of tocopherols, collectively called mixed tocopherols, are also important as antioxidants and anticoagulants.
TOCOTRIENOLS
Tocotrienols are much more potent antioxidants than tocopherols. |
Shannon Brownlee
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 Then there's the CA-1 2$ test for ovarian cancer, calcium screening for cardiovascular disease, and spiral CT scan for lung cancer. And that's only a partial list. As one doctor puts it, "If I did all the tests that are recommended, I would never have time to listen to my patients."
That's not to say that a few screening tests haven't proved to be effective at preventing serious illness, allowing doctors to catch disease and treat it before symptoms appear. Taking everybody's blood pressure is a good idea, because treating those with hypertension lowers their risk of a heart attack or stroke. |
Dr. Steve Blake
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| To summarize, sodium is a needed nutrient, but most people take in levels high enough to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Much of the sodium consumed is hidden in processed food.
Chloride
Chlorine (chemical symbol CI) is a poisonous, greenish-yellow gas in the halogen family of elements. Chlorine is used to disinfect water and is used as bleach. Chlorine combines easily with sodium, hydrogen, and many other elements.
When combined with sodium or hydrogen, chlorine forms a stable ion called chloride (C7~). The chloride ion has a single negative charge. |
Andreas Moritz
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| The findings revealed that as GFR dropped, the risks of cardiovascular disease, stroke, hospitalization and death all increased sharply. In those patients where the GFR was below 45, the risk of death jumped by 17 percent and the risk of a cardiovascular event increased by more than 40 percent.
In the second study, conducted in the cardiovascular division of Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, researchers showed that heart attack patients with a GFR below 45 boosted their death risk to more than 45 percent. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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 Since the addition of cholesterol to their diet was the only significant experimental change in the lives of these animals, Anitschkow concluded that cholesterol was the cause of their cardiovascular disease.
Researchers subsequentiy hypothesized that more cholesterol in the diet translated into more cholesterol in the blood. This extra cholesterol settles onto the blood vessel walls to form deposits of fatty plaque that may build up until they eventually block the normal flow of blood. |
David W. Grotto, RD, LDN
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| HEART HEALTH: Though coffee consumption has been associated with hypertension and elevated homocysteine, one study that followed 41,836 postmenopausal women for fifteen years showed that coffee consumption reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease and other inflammatory conditions.
LIVER PROTECTOR: In a study of more than 125,000 people, one cup of coffee per day cut the risk of alcoholic cirrhosis by twenty percent. Four cups per day reduced the risk by eighty percent! |
Ray D. Strand
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 Since maintaining the integrity of this thin lining of the artery is of utmost concern, numerous studies have appeared involving supplemental vitamin C to either prevent or decrease cardiovascular disease.8
Vitamin C has also been proven effective in protecting the LDL cholesterol from becoming oxidized within both the plasma and the subendothelial space.9 Yet another benefit of vitamin C is that it has the ability to regenerate vitamin E and intracellular glutathione so they can be used again and again. |
| In fact doing highly sensitive CRPs allows the physician to identify those patients who have normal cholesterol levels and may still be at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Homocysteine Blood Levels
Checking patients' fasting homocysteine blood levels is not only easy but also critical in determining whether they are problematic or not. Hopefully, as the test becomes more standardized between labs it will become more affordable. Presently, a serum homocysteine level test costs between $45 and $150. |
| In addition are the 9 million people who have cardiovascular disease as a direct result of elevated homocysteine levels.1 Needless to say, I believe there is great value in learning more about this major killer, especially when you realize that you can correct it simply by taking B vitamin supplements.
What Is Homocysteine?
The history of homocysteine research is a fascinating one, beginning with the career of Dr. Kilmer McCully. A promising pathologist and researcher who graduated from Harvard Medical School in the mid-1960s, Dr. |
| In the next chapter, you will also learn the importance of folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12 in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Again, all of these nutrients work together either to eliminate or to decrease the inflammation in the arteries. The synergistic effect of supplementing all of these nutrients together is the key. That is why cellular nutrition is so critical to our health.
Turn the page and meet the new kid on the block . . . homocysteine.
SIX Homocysteine: The New Kid on the Block
Have you ever heard of homocysteine? |
| Of greater concern is the fact that at the time of actual diagnosis of diabetes by a physician, a majority (more than 60 percent) of these patients already have major cardiovascular disease.6 This puts the patient at a disadvantage before he even starts treatment. You see, once insulin resistance begins, the process of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) accelerates dramatically. This is why it is critical for physicians to recognize Syndrome X in their patients as soon as possible and encourage lifestyle changes that can correct the problem. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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| Antioxidants show a great deal of promise in preventing the oxidation of LDL-cholesterol and thus reducing this cardiovascular disease risk factor.2
THE FRENCH PARADOX AND THE GREEN TEA CONNECTION
The story of green tea and a healthy heart actually begins, not in Asia, but in France, with the French Paradox, the medical oddity that we discussed in Chapter 3. |
Herbert Ross, DC with Keri Brenner, L.Ac.
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 Insufficient sleep has been implicated in everything from cardiovascular disease to obesity to impaired immune response. It can also create stress, disrupt relationships, and make a person more accident-prone.
Because this book is about alternative approaches to helping you sleep better, we won't be discussing that last side effect of sleeplessness—being accident-prone—but suffice it to say, it can have a huge impact on health and well-being, both for you and for others that you put at risk by driving when drowsy. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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| It is estimated by cardiovascular disease experts that 70 percent of strokes occur in people with high blood pressure.
In another extension of the Seven Countries Study mentioned earlier, researchers from the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection in the Netherlands observed 552 Dutch men, aged fifty to sixty-nine, for fifteen years; among other things, the researchers monitored the incidence of stroke in the group. |
Herbert Ross, DC with Keri Brenner, L.Ac.
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| Shift work is associated with increases in gastrointestinal problems, cardiovascular disease, and infertility, as well as a higher incidence of smoking and overuse of other stimulants.6
In the 1880s, the invention of the lightbulb allowed factories to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Until that time, the duration of daylight determined work schedules: approximately 14 hours during the summer and 11 during the winter. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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| Coronary artery disease. A cardiovascular disease specifically affecting the arteries that supply blood to the heart, often the cause of a heart attack.
Dementia. Mental deterioration leading to inability to think clearly or function normally.
Dentin. The tissue of the tooth beneath the enamel and enclosing the pulp cavity.
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). A substance found in the nucleus of cells that carries genetic information.
Detoxification. The process of cleansing the body of drugs and other toxins.
Diabetes. A disorder characterized by high levels of glucose in the blood. |
Dr Ron Roberts
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 It is used to treat cardiovascular disease, colds and viral infections, hay fever, digestive disorders, and fungal infections such as thrush. In the past it has been recommended against intestinal parasites.
Garlic is best taken in its natural form, chopped or crushed to be more readily digestible. For an infusion, simply place 4-6 cloves in a cup of cool water and leave for six hours before drinking. Add 1-20 ml of brandy to preserve the garlic and break down its concentration.
Note: Avoid giving garlic to children under five years of age. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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 Estrogen alone (Premarin), given to women with a hysterectomy, was shown, like estrogen and progesterone, to increase the risk of stroke, decrease the risk of bone fracture, and have no effect on cardiovascular disease. A recommendation from this research (NIH Advisory for Physicians, March 1, 2004) was that estrogen alone should not be used for the prevention of heart disease.
HRT had no effect on sexual function when analyzed on the basis of controlled trials. When I say no effect, I don't mean some effect that was not statistically significant; I mean zero effect. |
| Daily aspirin in women reduced cardiovascular disease by 12%, which was statistically significant, with a 17% reduction in stroke and no effect on heart attacks or cardiovascular mortality. However, for any given woman, the absolute risk reduction, or how much the risk of heart attack was actually reduced in that individual, was only 0.3% over a six-year period. And aspirin increased the risk of major bleeding by 68%. For men there was a 14% reduction of cardiovascular events that was related primarily to a 32% reduction in heart attacks, with no effect on strokes or cardiovascular mortality. |
| An analysis of all of the published studies showed a 10% reduction in heart attacks and strokes in patients with a history of cardiovascular disease when clopidogrel was added to aspirin. These differences, however, translate to a less than 1% reduction in absolute risk.
In the Management of ATherothrombosis with Clopidogrel in High-risk Patients (MATCH)29 study, 7,599 patients with recent stroke or TLA and one other risk factor for heart disease were randomly assigned to receive clopidogrel or clopidogrel plus aspirin. |
| In the Ohsaki National Health Insurance Cohort Study, an eleven-year study of 40,530 Japanese adults ages forty to seventy-nine, green-tea consumption was associated with a reduced risk of death and death related to cardiovascular disease.56 I am not ready to accept the results of this study, because people who drink green tea may be more health conscious in general, and this may have led to biased results. A double-blind randomized trial of green tea is needed. |
| ALLHAT showed that when compared to diuretics, the alpha-blocker Cardura was twice as likely to cause heart failure and increased the risk of stroke and all cardiovascular disease. In view of this outcome the study was stopped early, and the authors of ALLHAT concluded that alpha-blockers should not be used in the treatment of hypertension.1 Based on these findings I believe that there is no role for alpha-blockers in the treatment of patients with hypertension. |
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