Supplements 101


Michael Dworkin, P.D., M.S. Erika Dworkin, Dip. C.N. (Pend.)


Heart Disease Prevention: Key Nutritional Supplements & Lifestyle Choices


Some risk factors for heart disease you can control and some you cannot. Coronary ar- tery disease causes roughly 1.2 million heart attacks each year, and more than 40% of those suffering from a heart attack will die. . . .According to the American Heart Association, over 7 million Americans have suffered a heart attack in their lifetime. ~ WebMD.com, Heart Disease Health Center


that you have a higher risk for a heart at- tack, stroke, or death from CHD if you are age 65 or older, male, a post-menopausal female, African/Mexican/Native American, or have a family history of CHD? You also can dramatically increase your risk for CHD if you smoke, suffer from unmanaged stress, anger or anxiety, or are diabetic, obese, or physically inactive. The good news is that you can make choices today that will have an impact on the controllable group of risk factors.


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What Is Heart Disease? The human heart maintains the body’s


circulatory system by pumping oxygen- ated blood to every living cell. Its unique muscle is especially resistant to fatigue, has a large number of mitochondria (cel- lular powerhouses), and allows continuous production of cellular energy. In fact, each


id you know that chronic heart disease (CHD) is the #1 killer in the United States? Did you know


day, the heart beats approximately 80,000 to 100,000 times, and pumps almost 2,000 gallons of blood.


Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the medical term for what is generally referred to as “heart disease.” CAD develops from ath- erosclerosis of the walls of the arteries that supply the heart muscle with oxygen and nutrients [narrowing, hardening, and clog- ging of arteries by plaque, a combination of ’bad‘ (LDL) cholesterol and cellular debris]. While CAD is the most common type


of CHD, many other conditions can stem from it or relate to other forms of cardiovas- cular dysfunction, including: angina (chest pain from atherosclerotic deprivation of the heart’s oxygen); arrhythmia (abnormal heart rate or rhythm); atrial fibrillation (an arrhyth- mia characterized by an irregular “flutter” of the heart’s atria, its small upper chambers; caused by disruptions in the heart’s electrical conduction system; linked to the osteopo- rosis drugs called bisphosphonates); car- diomyopathy/congestive heart failure (CHF) (heart loses its ability to adequately pump blood throughout the body; causes shortness of breath and fluid buildup in the lungs and extremities); high blood pressure (excessive pressure on the blood vessels overworks the heart and greatly increases the risk of heart attack, heart failure, and stroke); and periph- eral artery disease (arteries supplying blood to the lower extremities become diseased and narrowed).


Risks of the Conventional Approach For patients with CHD, conventional


physicians typically prescribe drugs or recommend invasive procedures such as angiography, angioplasty, bypass surgery, or defibrillator implantation. Unfortunately, all of these treatments come with a host of side effects and research shows they may not be effective for many people. Doctors most frequently prescribe statins


(lower cholesterol and reduce inflammation), beta blockers, and calcium channel block- ers. According to Julian Whitaker, M.D., a leading holistic physician, research shows that, for most people, expensive statins “do not protect against heart attack or premature death,” and that “not a single study” suggests that men or women of any age will receive “any benefits,” even if a statin reduces cholesterol substantially.


Beta blockers


(for hypertension, angina, and arrhythmia), which inhibit the heart’s ability to respond to adrenaline, actually weaken it. Calcium channel blockers (also for hypertension, angina, and arrhythmias), prevent calcium from entering the muscle cells lining arterial walls, thus relaxing them and easing the pressure against them. Unfortunately, they also block essential functions of the heart and blood vessels, and one study even found that patients taking large doses of calcium channel blockers had a 60% higher death rate than those taking diuretics or beta blockers!


Before starting a new prescription, con- sider exploring with your doctor the natural alternatives and lifestyle changes below that may be more beneficial. (If you already take medications to support your heart health, don’t stop them without first consulting your physician.)


The Natural Approach Coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinol)


Acetyl L-Carnitine / D-Ribose / Magnesium At the recent 52nd Annual Confer-


ence of the American College of Nutrition, Stephen Sinatra, M.D., author of The Sinatra


24 Natural Nutmeg February 2012


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