Homocysteine and Heart Disease...
Can You Reduce Your Risk?

Are you experiencing good heart health? Do "folic acid" and "homocysteine" play a role? Heart disease, almost non-existent a century ago, is now a global pandemic... outpacing mortality rates of any other disease.

The usual suspects... high cholesterol and high blood pressure are well established risk factors. But is it possible additional risk factors contribute to cardiovascular dysfunction within our bodies? More and more, accumulating research seems to say, yes.

Fact: Homocysteine
New Cardiovascular Risk Factor

As the dawn of the 21st century beckons, folic acid research points to one un-disputed fact:

"Suboptimal dietary intake of the B vitamin, "folic acid" elevates homocysteine levels. And elevated homocysteine is a major threat to your cardiovascular health."

Heres why...

Homocysteine, an amino acid generated by normal metabolism in your body, is toxic to blood vessel cells (endothelial cells), associated with abnormalities of the blood clotting cascade and causes oxidative stress. Homocysteine is also linked to oxidation of LDL, a potential risk factor for atherosclerosis.

Reduce Your Threat
of High Homocysteine With B Vitamins

Normally, homocysteine is safely transformed by the B vitamins, B-6, B-12 and folic acid into the beneficial amino acids, methionine or cysteine. But suboptimal dietary intake of these important vitamins retards this critical metabolic conversion.

The result?

Homocysteine builds up in the blood to dangerously high levels. Skeptical? Great! Your in a position to arm yourself with the facts...

Risk of Elevated Homocysteine
Supported by Extensive Research

In fact, more than 80 studies link high homocysteine levels with common cardiovascular risk factors in the general population

Want some examples? Brace yourself, here we go!

Based on a study of about 3600 people, Boushey discovered:

"Risk of coronary artery disease increases about 60% in men and 80% in women for each 5 micro-mole per liter increase in total serum homocysteine"

Journal of the American Medical Association

The findings of the Physicians Health Study were equally alarming: Men who experienced a heart attack had much higher levels of serum homocysteine than those controls who remained free of heart disease.

In fact, after 6 years, the risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) in 14,916 male US physicians, ages 40-84 was 3 times as great for men in the top 5% of total homocysteine compared to men in the bottom 95%

Journal of the American Medical Association

Exactly how strong is the prognostic or predictive power of homocysteine and heart disease? Good question!

That was evaluated in 587 patients with "angiographically" confirmed coronary artery disease. Again, levels of homocysteine were strongly correlated with risk of myocardial infarction:

"After 4 years, only 3.8% of patients with total homocysteine less than 9 micro-moles per liter had died, compared with 24.7% of those with total serum homocysteine greater than 15 micro-moles per liter."

New England Journal of Medicine

Relative Risk of Homocysteine
Equivalent to High Cholesterol or Smoking?

In fact, the relative risk ratio of high homocysteine may be equivalent to the risk associated with high cholesterol levels or smoking. Thats the assessment of the European Concerted Action Project.

Journal of the American Medical Association

So whats the upshot to all this?

Elevated homocysteine is clearly a very dangerous threat to your cardiovascular health.

Can you lower your homocysteine levels naturally, potentially reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease? You were wondering about that, right? :-)

The good news is yes!

"The B vitamins, folic acid, B12 and B6 can reduce elevated homocysteine within 6 weeks".

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

And Selhub discovered a "folic acid dosage @ 400 micrograms per day is able to prevent elevated homocysteine"

Journal of the American Medical Association

But only 30-40% of the people studied in the well-known "Framington trial" successfully achieved this level through dietary intake. Suboptimal intake of folate is a major problem in the general population. Why?

There may be at least 2 reasons... First, most people just don't consume enough fruits and vegetables. Secondly, the "bio-availability" of folate from natural food sources is low ... it is just not absorbed well. This is because folate in natural plant foods is in a "complexed" form that must be broken down first. And that depends on intestinal enzymes called conjugases.

Supplemental Folic Acid
Can Meet Your Needs

In sharp contrast, synthetic folic acid provided by nutritional supplements is already in a simpler, non-complexed form. It is heat stable and about 2 times as bioavailable as folate found naturally in foods.

In fact, Cuskelly discovered folic acid levels increase in people given the easily absorbed, supplemental folic acid. But those given food naturally rich in the more difficult to absorb folate? No increase in red cell folic acid.

What does this mean to you?

Supplementing with the highly absorbable, supplemental form of folic acid helps insure you meet the optimal RDA of 400 micrograms per day... vital for your heart health. And the vitamins A, C, E and beta-carotene, in addition to the minerals copper, zinc, manganese, iron and selenium provide additional important anti-oxidant protection for your cardiovascular system. In other words...

a full spectrum of vitamins, minerals and co-factors properly balanced, are all necessary for your heart and overall health in general. If you are interested in an excellent full spectrum nutritional supplement for all your health needs, contact me, Tom Jungmann. I will be happy to assist you with your nutritional concerns :-)

408.396.7752