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CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH

Is Atherosclerosis Inevitable? Diet and Lifestyle Choices

There’s a lot you can do to help prevent the contributing factors to atherosclerosis like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high triglycerides.These factors can lay the groundwork for developing atherosclerosis.

Diet is fundamental to heart and cardiovascular health and to preventing atherosclerosis. The well-researched anti-inflammatory Mediterranean diet is one that is synonymous with heart health. The Mediterranean diet is heavily plant-based, with lots of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, legumes, tubers, whole grains, herbs and spices as well as moderate portions of fish and seafood, poultry eggs, dairy, and healthy fats.

Other lifestyle choices besides diet are also key to cardiovascular health. That means daily exercise and healthy lifestyle choices like maintaining healthy weight and blood sugar levels, not smoking and living in a toxin-free clean environment with good air and water quality, and reducing stress.

Cardiovascular Health

The cardiovascular system (AKA the circulatory or vascular system), is made up of the heart, blood and blood vessels — about 60,000 miles of them, including arteries veins and tiny capillaries. The heart is essentially a pump that circulates blood which provides nourishment, oxygen and other key compounds to cells and transports waste products of metabolism away from cells.

There is a genetic component to cardiovascular health, but it can be negatively impacted with poor diet, lack of exercise, unhealthy lifestyle (like smoking) and infections.

Risk of cardiovascular disease is largely determined by the condition of the vascular system. In addition, vascular health impacts many other conditions such as diabetic neuropathy and erectile dysfunction.

Atherosclerosis

As we age, there is the risk of developing atherosclerosis — an accumulation of cholesterol-laden plaques in the arteries. If these plaques build up they can constrict blood flow (and its oxygen and nutrients) destined for the heart and other parts of the body. It can become a life or death situation if there is extreme blockage of main blood vessels or if a plaque breaks apart, causing a heart attack or stroke.

Functional Nutrition for Heart and Cardiovascular Health

My nutritional approach for atherosclerosis always begins with the foundations of healthy diet and lifestyle.

As a functional nutritionist I address the underlying factors of atherosclerosis like inflammation, oxidative stress, gut microbiome, digestion, detoxification, and low nutrient status.

When appropriate, there are a number of nutrition supplements clinically researched to support cardiovascular health and even reverse the buildup of atherosclerotic plaque, that I can layer into a client’s nutrition care plan.

Nutrition Supplements I Use in My Practice to Support Cardiovascular Health

SHOP HEART + CARDIO HEALTH

Select a Supplement Below

Arterosil HP

Helps support and maintain vascular endothelial function, arterial elasticity and healthy blood pressure.

Arterosil HP contains building blocks as well as antioxidants for the endothelial glycocalyx, the protective “non-stick” lining of the endothelium of the arteries.

The endothelial glycocalyx provides a micro-thin physical barrier in every blood vessel — when the glycocalyx is breached, cholesterol can adhere to, lodge under or penetrate the endothelial wall of arteries. This initiates the inflammatory response that leads to plaque formation and thrombotic events.

The highly dynamic glycocalyx needs ongoing support as it can be damaged by systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, a high sugar diet, diabetes, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, stress, aging, disease, smoking and air pollution.

Arterosil HP contains natural ingredients — a rare seaweed (Monostroma nitidum) and 22 fruits and vegetables and green tea.

The focus of cardiovascular medicine is shifting from the contents of the lumen of the blood vessels to the condition of the arterial wall.

The progression of atherosclerosis is largely determined by the endothelial damage and function and correlates less so with the onset of high lipid levels.

Arterosil HP supports microcirculation as well, a common problem in diabetic patients.

Research

Vascanox HP

Vascanox HP is a breakthrough product providing nitric oxide support for up to 24 hours with a single dose (as shown in a recent study, open-label IRB approved using N.O. test strips to measure nitric oxide).

Vascanox HP supports the natural production, storage, and release of nitric oxide through multiple pathways.

Nitric oxide is a signaling messenger molecule that is produced in the body through both nitric oxide synthase (NOS) pathway and nitrate-nitric oxide pathway.

Nitric oxide signals blood vessels to widen which in turn allows greater blood flow to tissues like the heart and brain. Blood vessels are supposed to be able to dilate and constrict as needed; arterial stiffness contributes to high blood pressure and inflammation in the arteries.

In addition to mediating blood vessel dilation, nitric oxide is involved with neurotransmission and pathogen suppression.

Research

Research on Nitric Oxide and the Vascular System

Bergamet PRO+

Powerful antioxidant, lowers total cholesterol, improves cholesterol profile, supports healthy blood sugar.

Made from an extract of the citrus bergamot fruit (bergamot polyphenolic fraction) combined with other antioxidants, Bergamet PRO+ has been clinically studied to lower total cholesterol, improve LDL cholesterol, improve HDL cholesterol, and improve triglyceride levels.

Researchers have also determined that adding bergamot polyphenolic fraction to a statin (rosuvastatin) significantly enhanced the statin-induced effect on serum lipid profile compared to rosuvastatin alone.

Some integrative cardiologists use BergametPRO+ in conjunction with statins, sometimes able to use a lower dose of statin to get the needed cholesterol lowering effect.

Bergamet PRO+ also supports cardiovascular health by maintaining healthy arteries (reducing oxidative vascular damage), supporting healthy blood sugar and enhancing insulin tolerance.

Vitamin K2

Reduces risk of vascular damage; improves cardiac output.

Vitamin K2 (which is different from Vitamin K1) directs free calcium in the body away from being deposited in the arteries and sends it toward the bones. If calcium is deposited in the vessel walls of the arteries it could dangerously become incorporated into atherosclerotic plaque deposits.

(Adequate intake of vitamin K2 has shown to lower the risk of vascular damage because it activates a protein that prevents calcium from depositing in vessel walls and joint spaces.)

Vitamin K2 also improves cardiac output, the volume of blood pumped by the heart.

Omega-3 Fish Oil

Supports heart health and may prevent sudden cardiac arrest and stroke.

Studies have shown Omega 3 fatty acids (EPA + DHA) may improve heart rate and rhythm, reduce blood triglyceride and cholesterol levels, reduce blood pressure, promote vasodilation and arterial elasticity, reduce inflammation of the heart and blood vessels and help prevent artery-blocking clots and platelet aggregation.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends consumption of dietary Omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. fatty fish, flaxseed, walnuts) to decrease the risk factors associated with heart disease, such as hypertension, high triglycerides and atherosclerosis.

For people with heart disease, the AHA recommends 1 gram (1000 mg) of EPA+DHA daily from fish and dietary supplements, as recommended by their physician.

For people with elevated triglycerides, the AHA recommends 2-4 grams (2,000 – 4,000 mg) of EPA+DHA each day from fish and dietary supplements, as recommended by their physician.

(In addition to cardiovascular health, Omega-3’s support the brain, neurological system, eyes, skin, immune system and may even be related to mood disorders.)

CoQ10

Powerful antioxidant, heart muscle support, vascular support, adjunct to statin therapy. Supports energy production in heart muscle cells and makes LDL cholesterol less damaging to blood vessels.

The body makes some of its own CoQ10, though less so as we age, and we are less efficient at using it. CoQ10 can also be gotten from the diet — fatty fish, organ meats, soy and sesame oils, and whole grains. CoQ10 supplements may be called ubiquinone or ubiquinol (active form).

Those who are taking statins (HMG coenzyme A reductase inhibitors) to lower cholesterol may be at particular risk for CoQ10 deficiency. Statins reduce cholesterol levels and they also block CoQ10 synthesis in the body by interfering with the production of its precursor (mevalonic acid.)

Some, not all medical practitioners, believe that low CoQ10 levels in patients on statins may contribute to the common side effects of statin therapy such as fatigue and aching muscles.