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Cholesterol is innocent
I’ve been proclaiming cholesterol’s
innocence since 1992, and plenty of convincing research confirms
this. The real culprit is inflammation in the arteries, not cholesterol.
Finally, the American Heart Association is beginning to agree.
(3) They’ve found that people with heart disease
all have one factor in common, and it isn’t high cholesterol.
It’s inflammation in their arteries.
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| WARNING:
Are you already on a statin drug to lower your cholesterol?
You’re probably aware of the importance
of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) for your heart. But what you
may not know is that if you’re taking
a statin drug to lower your cholesterol, your
heart is being depleted of this important nutrient.
CoQ10 supplies the energy for your heart’s
pumping action. Studies overwhelmingly show that any
and all statin drugs create dangerous
CoQ10 deficiencies that can lead to heart failure.
In a disturbing twist, I recently discovered
that one of the leading statin manufacturers actually
holds the patent on a combination
that would (click
here to read more...)
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This may be big news in the
medical community, but I reported on this 11 years ago in ALTERNATIVES.
In that article I gave an easy way to halt artery inflammation
for about 5 cents a day. Readers who heeded my early advice will
be way ahead of the game, if and when doctors announce an official
about-face.
But given their bias against any vitamin
therapy, doctors probably won’t advise this simple approach.
Instead, their answer will be anti-inflammatory drugs, the next
new “miracle cure.” Unfortunately, this approach will
prove to be as misguided as cholesterol medications were.
The real solution to heart
disease
The real solution is to halt the causes
of inflammation, one of which is homocysteine, a harmless
acid-like waste product that forms when you eat red meat and other
protein foods. Homocysteine is quickly broken down by certain
B vitamins, so it isn’t usually a problem. But if a person
isn’t getting enough of these B vitamins (a widespread and
disturbing problem in our country today), then homocysteine builds
up to dangerous levels and “burns” the delicate tissue
of artery walls. Plaque is then formed at the site of this inflammation
as the body attempts to heal the damage.
How dangerous is this? Studies
show that a high level of homocysteine is one of the most dangerous
risk factors for heart disease. It increases a person’s
risk of heart attack by 300 percent!
If you’re thinking a little extra
B-vitamin intake would correct the problem, you’re on the
right track. That’s exactly how some alternative M.D.s handle
the problem. Studies as far back as 1988 show that this B vitamin
lowers homocysteine levels back into the safety zone in just weeks.
It has an 80% success rate. And the cost is about 5 cents a day.
The secret thyroid connection
But if you’re a good detective
(and I think you are), you’re probably wondering what’s
causing this B-vitamin deficiency in the first place?
Closer investigation reveals that an underactive thyroid gland
is at the root of the problem. This malfunction inhibits the absorption
of B vitamins, causing homocysteine levels to skyrocket. The connection
between the thyroid and heart disease was first mentioned in the
1976 book, Solved: The Riddle of Heart Attacks, by Dr.
Broda Barnes. His research was largely ignored by the medical
community, until the release of a study in 1999. At the Cleveland
Clinic, researchers corrected the thyroid function in patients
and saw homocysteine levels normalize on their own—without
any need for vitamins.
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