Most people who have heart attacks do not have high cholesterol! That's because there's another major cause of heart disease: homocysteine. Medical experts are convinced; homocysteine is as dangerous as cholesterol. Their studies have proven over and over that the lower your homocysteine, the lower your risk of serious illnesses such as heart disease and Alzheimer's disease.
People who take folic acid may increase the chances that arteries will respond to the body's call for more oxygen-rich blood, a step that could reduce the risk for heart attack and stroke, according to the results of a small study. Folic acid, also known as folate, is a B vitamin. Previous research has shown that folic acid helps reduce levels of homocysteine, an amino acid associated with increased risk of stroke and heart disease.
While past studies have shown folate's ability to lower homocysteine levels over 8 weeks, lead author Dr. Kam S. Woo of Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong and colleagues wondered if the same effects would be seen over the course of a year. To investigate, they gave 29 healthy men and women with high homocysteine levels a relatively high dose of folic acid daily for a year, and then measured their levels of folic acid and homocysteine, as well as their blood vessel function.
Folic acid supplements reduced homocysteine levels by 12% and increased folic acid levels by 69%, the researchers found. Also, function of the thin layer of cells that line the arteries--and allow these blood vessels to expand as needed--was improved, the authors report in the May issue of The American Journal of Medicine. Blood vessels need to be able to expand and supply blood to oxygen-starved tissue--such as heart muscle-on demand.
What's more, because high levels of homocysteine may increase the risk of atherosclerosis, or artery clogging, the study suggests that folic acid may help keep arteries clear. "These results demonstrate that long-term folic acid improves (artery function) and has potential implications for the prevention of atherosclerosis in adults with (high levels of homocysteine)," Woo's team concludes.
Fruit and vegetables contain folic acid. The US government recently mandated that food manufacturers fortify grain products with folic acid, adding 140 micrograms to every 100 grams of flour, rice, pasta and cornmeal.
What follows is a brief summary of studies from the most respected medical and research journals in the world, and their citations. Read these reports and you will be convinced of the health risks posed by homocysteine and the importance of taking the recommended ingredients in Homocysteine Support everyday.
HIGHER RISK OF DEATH SHOWN WITH EVEN MILDLY ELEVATED HOMOCYSTEINE LEVELS
Annals of Internal Medicine, 1999 Sep 7; 131:321-330, 363-375, 387-388
Subjects with mildly to moderately elevated homocysteine levels had a 30% to 50% higher risk of death that those with the lowest levels. A second study examined published research on homocysteine levels and cardiovascular disease and concluded that homocysteine is a significant risk factor for heart disease. (Homocysteine Support provides a regimen of B vitamins, effective in many research studies at lowering homocysteine levels in the blood.)
VITAMIN B COST-EFFECTIVE IN PREVENTING BLOCKED ARTERIES
Journal of the American Medical Association, 2002 Aug 28; 288:973-979
The University of California at San Diego School of Medicine, in conjunction with the Swiss Cardiovascular Center, found that inexpensive B vitamins can prevent repeat blockage of the coronary artery after angioplasty. (These are the same B vitamins found in Homocysteine Support, in amounts research has shown to be effective).
HOMOCYSTEINE IS STRONG RISK FACTOR FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
New England Journal of Medicine. 2002 Feb 14; 346:476-483
Subjects from the "Framingham Study" were examined over an eight-year period. Baseline homocysteine levels measured eight years earlier were examined in relation to those individuals who developed dementia on follow-up. The study concluded that an increased homocysteine level is a strong, independent risk factor for the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's nearly doubled in subjects with a high level of homocysteine. (Some researchers believe dementia begins many years before the symptoms become apparent. Two Homocysteine Support capsule daily starts lowering homocysteine now).
70% OF ADULTS AT RISK FOR ELEVATED HOMOCYSTEINE
New England Journal of Medicine. 1999 Sep 16;341(12)
A medical researcher at Emory University asserts that "approximately 70% of the adult population in the United States is exposed to a risk factor for cardiovascular disease-an elevated plasma homocysteine concentration-that can be easily avoided simply by consuming a B vitamin supplement." (Homocysteine Support specifically formulated to LOWER homocysteine).
HEART DISEASE IN WOMEN CUT IN HALF
Journal of the American Medical Association, 1998 Feb 4; 279(5):359-364
Harvard University researchers tracked 80,000 female nurses over a 14 year period, and found that an intake of folic acid and vitamin B6, which was greater than the FDA's recommended daily allowance, cut the risk of heart disease in half. (NOTE: American Heart Association statistics from 1998 show more females die from cardiovascular disease than men. (Homocysteine Support contains the B vitamins used in the study as well as B12 that has also been shown to be highly effective in lowering homocysteine).
MAJORITY WITH ARTERY DISEASE HAVE NORMAL CHOLESTEROL
Dr. Kilmer McCully, The Homocysteine Revolution, 1999; 115-116
"Practicing physicians know, however, that the majority of their patients with arteriosclerosis have normal or desirable cholesterol levels in the 180-220 range."
HOMOCYSTEINE SETS STAGE FOR SUBSEQUENT CHOLESTEROL DEPOSITS
McCully KS, Wilson RB. Homocysteine theory of arteriosclerosis. Atherosclerosis, 1975; 22:215-227
Homocysteine damages blood vessel walls and, says McCully, sets the stage for subsequent cholesterol deposits.
STRONGEST RISK FACTOR FOR HEART DISEASE THAT CAN BE MODIFIED IS HOMOCYSTEINE
New England Journal of Medicine. 1997; 337:230-236
This report stated that homocysteine was THE strongest modifiable predictor of overall mortality among patients with coronary artery disease. (Homocysteine Support is the simple daily capsule that can modify homocysteine in the blood).
See Geromatrix's Homocysteine Support.
