TriVita Weekly Wellness, Reduce Your Risk of Blood Clots
January 31, 2009 by admin
Filed under Blood Clots
by Dr Brazos Minshew, TriVita Chief Science Office
Over 300,000 people in North America die each year from stroke. Another 700,000 die each year from heart attack. The most common type of both stroke and heart attack is ischemic disease, caused by a blood clot. Damage occurs when the blood clot reduces – and then totally blocks – circulation in an artery. The tissue nourished by that artery begins to die almost immediately.
The nature of blood clots
Blood clots are a miracle when they occur in the right place at the right time. If a blood vessel is injured it sends out chemical distress signals that cause platelets to seal the leak. Platelets are small, white cells that are normally very slippery. They become sticky when the lining of the blood vessel (the endothelium) is damaged.
1. The endothelium sends chemical messages to the platelets.
2. The platelets send chemical messages to attract fibrin proteins.
3. Fibrin proteins are like string that becomes very sticky and ties the groups of platelets together. This is an immature or “white” blood clot.
If the leak is not sealed by this “white” clot, larger red blood cells are tied to the platelets by fibrin to form a “red” clot.
Blood clots in the wrong place – at the wrong time
Problems occur when these clots happen in the wrong place at the wrong time. For example, one probable cause of migraine headaches is inappropriate communication between blood vessels and platelets. If a single blood vessel cramps or spasms it can signal platelets to become so sticky that they restrict circulation in the rest of the brain. Ischemic strokes and heart attacks are often caused by mature red clots breaking free of the injured area and blocking arteries in the heart or brain.
Interestingly, blockages from blood clots can occur in any area of the body. For instance, a person can have a “stroke” that injures the lungs or kidneys. Deep vein thrombosis in the legs is the exact same kind of vascular disease that causes stroke or heart attack.
The key to preventing damage is to make sure that the clots form only when and where they are supposed to. This is only possible with accurate communication between the endothelium in the blood vessels and the clotting mechanisms in the red blood cells, platelets and fibrin. Simple nutrients can have profound effects on improving this communication – and I make several suggestions later in this report.
Working smarter, not harder
Blood thinners force platelets and fibrin to ignore clotting signals from the endothelium. When a person is having a stroke these drugs are life-saving because the blood vessels, platelets and fibrin are getting the message to clot in the wrong place at the wrong time. One new class of drugs triggers the release of nitric oxide to open the blood vessels. Nitric oxide also helps the blood vessels, platelets and fibrin proteins communicate clearly. To prevent blood vessel miscommunication in the first place, high nitric oxide levels are needed.
Nitric oxide is made from nitrogen; nitrogen comes from fruits and vegetables. Eating up to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day will make your clotting system very smart! Plant-based foods have been proven to improve your health – including the health of your circulatory system.
Smart nutrients
TriVita Adaptogen 10 Plus® Dr. Nathan Bryan, cardiologist and specialist in nitric oxide communication, recommends TriVita Adaptogen 10 Plus to help increase nitric oxide. Adaptogen 10 Plus also helps protect against stress. Stress alone – without any help from cholesterol – causes blood vessel spasms which may result in blood clots. So, a good first step in improving the health of your circulatory system is to eat your fruits and vegetables every day and take whole-food supplements like Adaptogen 10 Plus.
TriVita OmegaPrime® Essential fatty acids such as those in OmegaPrime can help keep the platelets from getting sticky at the wrong time. Dr. Dwight Lundell, cardiologist and specialist in bypass surgery, recommends the Omega-3 EFA in TriVita OmegaPrime as a prime tool to help protect against inappropriate clotting. We need 1–4 grams of Omega-3 every day (2–6 OmegaPrime soft gels).
TriVita HCY Guard® Dr. Kilmer McCully, cardiologist and specialist in vascular health, recommends the protective nutrients found in TriVita HCY Guard to help your body reduce homocysteine (HCY). HCY is one culprit in forming clots at the wrong place and time. Taking a single HCY Guard sublingual lozenge daily can help your body reduce homocysteine up to 35% – in as little as 42 days!
Other nutrients such as Vitamin E, turmeric and ginger, and Vitamin C all provide information for your blood clotting system to work smarter. Smart nutrients are the key to making good decisions about where and when to activate this miraculous system!
Source: TriVita Weekly Wellness Report January 31, 2009.
TriVita Asks, “Is Cholesterol Bad?”
January 1, 2009 by admin
Filed under Cholesterol
Summary: Cholesterol and Your Heart: Where Do We Stand?
by Dr Brazos Minshew
Cholesterol. This article will explain the relationship between high cholesterol and heart disease, describe the different types of cholesterol, and review several ways to lower a high cholesterol level, including exercise, a low-fat diet, and medication.
What is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol, judging from the thousands of food labels and TV commercials boasting “zero cholesterol” has quite a bad reputation. Cholesterol is a vital component of all cell membranes. Unfortunately, too high a concentration of cholesterol in the blood is associated with an increased risk of heart disease. A high cholesterol level is one of many risk factors for developing heart disease.
Where Does Cholesterol Come From?
Most of the cholesterol circulating in your blood is made in the liver from fat metabolism. Dietary cholesterol comes from animal products such as meat, milk, cheese and butter.
Cholesterol and fat are transported through the bloodstream in particles called lipoproteins, which are so named because they contain different proportions of lipid (fat) and protein molecules. Chylomicrons carry triglycerides (fat from the foods you eat) from the intestine to body tissues, where they are used for energy or stored as fat.
LDLs (Low Density Lipoproteins) are stuffed full of cholesterol. They hold about two-thirds of all the cholesterol in the blood. These particles, nicknamed “bad” cholesterol, are partially responsible for forming plaque (debris) along blood vessel walls. The more LDLs you have, the greater your risk of getting coronary artery disease or a heart attack.
HDLs (High Density Lipoproteins) are known as “good” cholesterol. Cholesterol and Heart Disease
Increased levels of cholesterol in the blood can contribute to atherosclerosis, which is the gradual build-up of cholesterol, fat, and fibrous debris along the walls of your arteries. In the heart arteries called coronary arteries this can lead to chest pain or angina when someone exerts themselves.
What’s Your Risk?
A high level of blood cholesterol is associated with an increased risk of heart disease. But unlike other risk factors for heart disease that you can’t change or modify, such as age, sex, or a family history of heart disease, you can lower a high cholesterol level. The more risk factors you have, the greater your chances of developing heart disease.
Know Your Numbers
Cholesterol levels can be measured with a simple blood test. The higher the ratio (high total cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol), the greater your risk for coronary heart disease. Your doctor can help assess the degree of risk associated with your particular cholesterol values:
| Lab Test | Desirable | Borderline | High Risk |
| Total Cholesterol | less than 200 mg/dL
(5.2 mmol/L) |
200-239 mg/dL
(5.2-6.1 mmol/L) |
more than 240 mg/dL
(6.2 mmol/L) |
| LDL Cholesterol | less than 130 mg/dL
(3.4 mmol/L) |
130-159 mg/dL
(3.4-4.0 mmol/L) |
more than 160 mg/dL
(4.1 mmol/L) |
| HDL Cholesterol | More than 39 mg/dL
(1.0 mmol/L) |
n/a | less than 40 mg/dL
(1.0 mmol/L) |
| Triglycerides | less than 250 mg/dL
(2.8 mmol/L) |
n/a | more than 250 mg/dL
(2.8 mmol/L) |
| Ratio of total Cholesterol:HDL | less than 3.5 | 3.6-4.9 | more than 5 |
Ways to Lower Cholesterol
Is your cholesterol or ratio of cholesterol to HDL too high? The most effective ways to lower cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease include exercise, a low-fat diet and medication.
Exercise keeps your heart and blood vessels healthy. Exercise raises HDL, the “good” cholesterol.
The National Cholesterol Education Program’s (NCEP) dietary guidelines for lowering cholesterol have focused on lowering total fat, which often ends up increasing carbohydrate in the diet. Some nutrition experts have demonstrated that certain people on this diet may actually lower their HDL cholesterol, the “good” cholesterol. This often leaves the ratio of cholesterol to HDL unchanged. Other dietary guidelines include lowering cholesterol intake, changing the type of fat you eat, and increasing fiber.
General Tips for a Cholesterol-Conscious Diet
Reduce Total Fat
Depending on your cholesterol profile, a reduction in total fat may be beneficial. Less fat in the diet means that there is less “raw material” for the liver to use in making cholesterol. Reduce Saturated Fat
The type of fat you eat is just as important as how much you eat. Since the liver makes cholesterol more efficiently from saturated than unsaturated fat, changing the type of fat you eat can help to lower your cholesterol. Reduce Partially Hydrogenated Fats or Trans Fats.
To prolong the shelf life of foods, particularly margarine, snack foods and baked products, manufacturers use liquid vegetable oils, which have been partially hardened to form trans fats. Eating a diet containing these products has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Many foods now specify their content of trans fats; reading food labels can help you avoid these substances
Increase Polyunsaturated Fats
The type of fat found in fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and tuna is particularly healthful. Since bile, a substance that helps digest fat, is made primarily of cholesterol, excreting it will help lower total cholesterol levels. Intriguing research has shown that the vegetable protein in soy may be able to lower blood cholesterol.
A registered dietitian (RD) can help you plan a cholesterol-modifying diet that’s appropriate for your weight, height, activity level, and blood cholesterol profile.
Source: TriVita Article Cholesterol and Your Heart: Where Do We Stand?
Women, Make Health Your Top Priority
November 28, 2008 by admin
Filed under Women Health
Summary
Taking care of yourself is essential to living a longer, healthier life
By Dr. Tammy Pon, M.D.
Only a few short years ago the life expectancy for women reached a peak in modern history, with most women living to an average 79 years of age! In honor of this very special issue that addresses women’s health, I’d like to discuss a few of these issues and the strategies needed to meet this new future of longevity and vitality.
Heart disease
Heart attacks and heart disease kill more women than any other cause. Women have a death rate from heart attacks that is 70% higher than men. There are two reasons for this: One is that a heart attack in a man does not look like a heart attack in a woman. The second is that women’s heart attack symptoms are often misdiagnosed in the emergency room (ER).
A heart attack in a woman is not always the “elephant sitting on my chest” feeling that accompanies a heart attack in men. Instead, there may be an “impending sense of doom” accompanied by shortness of breath, fatigue and low back pain, jaw pain and shoulder pain. Also, if a man comes into the emergency room sweating, with shortness of breath and chest pain the ER staff will automatically assume “heart attack.” When a woman enters the ER with similar symptoms, many in the ER staff will assume “panic attack!” The delay in treatment to differentiate these two conditions may cost a woman her life.
A woman is not a man. Yet, medicine assumes that the heart attack symptoms commonly presented by men are the standard for measuring ER reactions. With aging women outnumbering aging men by more than 2:1, it’s time for emergency room staff to be more aware of women’s unique health needs.
How women keep healthy hearts
The key to heart health is to recognize our need for nutrients and nurturing. Women of average size should eat seven servings of fruit and vegetables every day and sleep from 7 ½ to 9 hours every night. And women need exercise, too. Weight-bearing exercises are important, too because they strengthen your bones and prevent osteoporosis.
Talk about your anxieties with another woman. Why? In one study, talking with a woman reduced the blood pressure of both men and women, while talking with men did not. Stress management along with consistent exercise, proper rest and plenty of fruits and vegetables holds the promise of a healthy heart. Be diligent about testing risk factors as well: blood pressure, triglycerides, blood sugar, body composition, homocysteine, C-Reactive protein and lipids.
Bone health
Another risk that comes with the blessing of a longer life is osteoporosis: thinning bones. Take Vitamin D supplements as well. Eat calcium-rich foods – especially fruits and vegetables. Remember, cows get the calcium for their own bones from vegetation. I’ve already mentioned exercise for heart health. Weight-bearing exercise becomes critical now for bone health. The extra weight increases bone metabolism and draws nutrients to the weakest areas of bone to strengthen them. Don’t rely on medications alone to promote healthy bones. Take charge of your bone health now to protect against osteoporosis.
Dealing with menopausal symptoms
At a certain age, a woman ceases to be fertile and her periods stop. Menopause is a new experience this century for women in our culture. A hundred years ago most women simply did not live long enough to experience menopause. Find expert healthcare providers who can guide you through these changes with a maximum focus on nutrients and nurturing and a minimum focus on medications. With proper care, heart health and bone health can be improved and menopausal symptoms may be reduced or even eliminated. Taking the appropriate supplements can help us face our increased longevity with enthusiasm and vitality.
Source: VitaJournal October 2008 pg 6.
For more information on menopause, visit trivita.com, click on health articles and then the VitaJournal archive.
Are You At Risk? What’s Your Homocysteine Level?
High homocysteine often leads to serious, debilitating conditions including:
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| Help reduce the risk of degenerative diseases
The damage can rarely be reversed. Most North Americans are poorly prepared to handle the effects of a stroke. It’s hard to fully recover from a stroke, so that’s a good reason to start taking TnVita’s HCY Guard immediately to help reduce your risk. When your homocysteine level is too high, your body suffers During the methylation cycle, when HCY fails to recombine the “leftover’ protein into methionine, this excess HCY escapes into your bloodstream. It may begin to build up and cause destructive explosions to the most delicate tissues in your body. For example, it can damage your arteries, brain, bones and even your DNA. The results can be devastating This is the kind of damage that high levels of homocysteine can cause inside your body and brain: Thickening and hardening your arteries and weakening heart tissue —this can lead to strokes and heart attacks by shredding your most delicate tissues and inflicting thousands of tiny paper cuts inside your arteries and brain • Building fibrous webs in the synapses of your brain — this may lead to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease • Impacting DNA function, causing potentially dangerous cell or DNA mutations • Leaving your bones unable to absorb calcium, causing weak bones and osteoporosis • Contributing to the damage done by many degenerative diseases. Risk Factors A family history of: Cardiovascular disease, Stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Osteoporosis, Diabetes • Low Vitamin B-12, B-6 and Folic Acid levels • Gastric disturbances, breathing difficulties or kidney issues • Age aver 50 • Pregnancy • High stress • Poor eating habits • Lack of exercise • Excessive smoking or coffee drinking. Source: TriVita Magazine, November 2008 pg 10. TriVita’s HCY Guard helps maintain healthy homocysteine levels, get yours here today! |
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