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Vitamins and Supplements For Heart
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are diseases which affect the proper function of the heart and blood vessels, chiefly including ischemical heart diseases (IHD), cerebrovascular diseases (stroke) and peripheral vascular diseases.
CVDs are the number one cause of death in the United States and Canada. According to the Heart Facts 2003, CVDs is still the #1 killer in the US, claiming the lives of over 39% of Americans who die each year. In Canada, 33% of all male and 35% of all female deaths in 2001 were due to CVDs. The major components of CVDs mortality are IHD and stroke. Therefore, prevention of IHD and stroke will provide us a longer, healthier and happier life.
The most frequent risk factors of CVDs include high cholesterol or homocysteine levels, high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, overweight, smoking and less physical activity. The most common and direct cause of IHD and stroke is atherosclerosis, which is characterized by deposits of cholesterol in the intima of artery and formation of plaque, leading to the stenosis and hardening of arteries and the decrease of blood supplying to the heart and other organs. Sometimes plaque breaks off and triggers the formation of blood clots that block the flow of blood. If one of the arteries in the heart is blocked, the result is a heart attack. If the circulation to the brain is blocked, it may cause a stroke. Researches have demonstrated that only oxidized cholesterol (by oxygen free radicals) contributes to the process of atherosclerosis. Therefore, keep normal levels of blood cholesterol, homocysteine and glucose, control blood pressure, maintain healthy body weight, stop smoking, have a healthy eating, increase physical activity and supply with certain antioxidants will benefit for our heart and vessels.
Cholesterol control:
There are two major types of blood cholesterol: low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (good cholesterol). Elevated blood LDL cholesterol is associated with a high risk of heart disease. Therefore, it has been considered as a major risk factor of heart attacks and strokes. Clinical studies have showed that lowering blood cholesterol levels by diet and medication can reduce the risk of heart attack patients with elevated cholesterol. Besides cholesterol-lowering medications, garlic, soluble fibers, vitamin C and E, vitamin B3 and Pantethine (the active form of vitamin B5), coenzyme Q10, essential fatty acids (omega-3) and red yeast rice extract are the most commonly used vitamins and supplements for cholesterol control.
Homocysteine protection:
Homocysteine is an amino acid produced by dietary methionine in protein containing food. Elevated blood homocysteine level has been thought to be an independent risk factor for heart attack and stroke. High levels of homocysteine have been found in up to 40% of patients with CVDs. Because folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 are co-enzymes or co-factor in metabolism of homocysteine, supplementation of these 3 B vitamins (trio B) has been successfully used to lower homocysteine levels in patients. Generally, most of people do not take enough vitamins from food. Investigations have shown that up to 2/3 of old people have lower plasma levels of folate, vitamin B6 or vitamin B12. Supplementation with these vitamins may keep your heart in health. More than 10 combination products of these 3 B vitamins are now available from some companies, including Natural Factors, Source Naturals, Solgar, Schiff, Jarrow Formulas and Wonder Laboratories, etc.
Blood pressure control:
Approximately 25% of the US and 22% of Canada adult population have high blood pressure (hypertension) and the prevalence of hypertension increases sharply with advancing age. More than half of people aged at 60-69 in US have hypertension. Studies have shown that elevated blood pressures are the risks of coronary heart disease mortality and stroke death. Evidence from Canada has shown that 65% of all strokes are associated with high blood pressure. The good news is that hypertension can be controlled. In fact, by controlling blood pressure the risk of stroke can be reduced by 40%. Although nutrients and supplements, like blood pressure lower drugs, can not cure hypertension, they may help to lower high blood pressure or maintain blood pressure in the normal range. The most common used nutrients and supplements that may control blood pressure include calcium, magnesium, potassium, coenzyme Q10, garlic, essential fatty acids (omega-3), vitamin C and E, celery seed extract and ACEPept.
Anti-oxidation:
Antioxidants are natural compounds that help protect the body from harmful free radicals. It is known that only oxidized LDL cholesterol contributes to the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Antioxidants may interfere with the process of oxidation of LDL and thus may slow down or prevent the development of atherosclerosis. Many antioxidants can be obtained from food, however, it is difficult to get enough of them to hold back the free radicals generated in our body under polluted environment. The most popular used antioxidants include vitamin A, C and E, alpha lipoic acid, carotenoids, coenzyme Q10, garlic, zinc and selenium, green tea and grape seed extracts, and glutathione. Although clinical trials have not demonstrated that antioxidant vitamins and supplements can reduce heart disease and stroke death, clinical observational studies have shown that supplementation of certain types of antioxidant can reduce the risk of heart attack.
My friends and the audiences always ask me what kind of vitamins do we have to take? My answer is: it depends. Depends on age, sex, your food and your health condition, etc. Below are my comments:
1. Vitamins are essential substances, which is needed by body for normal growth and function, but can not be synthesized by the body. Therefore, they must be supplied from foods.
2. It is difficult to get enough vitamins and nutrients from fresh and healthy food, because (1) vitamins and nutrients are easily lost during food processing; (2) the requirements are increased by polluted environment; and (3) the absorption of certain vitamins is decreased when the age increases, such as vitamin B12.
3. Select the vitamins and supplements you really need and do not intake excessive vitamins or supplements which can be stored in the body, such as iron and vitamin A.
4. Natural vitamins and nutrients that derived from food sources are better than synthetic chemicals.
5. Choose the vitamins and supplements manufactured by a company with reputation for producing high quality products, such as Country Life, Enzymatic Therapy, Jarrow Formulas, Natrol, Natural Factors, Nature's Way, Now Foods, Rainbow Light, Schiff, Solgar, Source Naturals and Twinlab, etc. Kyolic aged garlic extract from Wakunaga of America might be the best choice of garlic supplements.
6. Read the label carefully for active ingredient, percentage of extract and the expire date.
Vitamins and supplements are generally safe and have few side-effects. However, excessive, prolonged use of certain vitamins, such as vitamin A, can be toxic. If you wish to reduce your risk of heart attacks or stroke, please discuss it with your health professional. You can also find the information of vitamins and supplements, medical researches and interaction of medication from the websites below:
1. American Heart Association: www.americanheart.org
2. American Society of Hypertension: www.ash-us.org
3. Drug Digest: www.drugdigest.org/DD/Home
4. Health Canada online: www.hc-sc.gc.ca
5. Heart and stroke Foundation of Canada: www.heartandstroke.ca
6. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Information Center: www.nih.org/healty/syh-hbc/index.htm
7. National Institute of Health, Clinical Center: www.cc.nih.gov/home.cgi
8. National Library of Medicine, Health Information: www.nlm.nih.gov/hinfo.html
9. National Library of Medicine-PubMed: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/
10. The guide of natural health and alternative medicine, information of vitamins and supplementations: www.naturalhealthweb.com/topics/subtopics/vitamins&supplements.html
Ji Zhou, MD, PhD
Canada
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Important Notes:
1. Personal website, personal opinions. Statement and information are provided for informational purposes only.
2. Information contained within this web site is searched from the websites listed above.
3. Please contact with your own physician or other medical professional for more information on supplementation of vitamins, minerals and supplements.
Homocysteine & Trio B vitamins (Chinese)
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