Why Pomegranate Juice Is ‘Roto-Rooter’ For The Arteries

Millions take toxic cholesterol and blood pressure lowering drugs that may do nothing to reduce heart disease specific mortality. Pomegranate juice, on the other hand, actually reverses underlying pathologies of the cardiovascular system that lead to bypass surgeries and heart attacks. 

One of the most amazing clinical studies ever performed has been hidden away behind a pay wall for over a decade. When I first stumbled upon this clinical pearl two years ago, in the form of the publicly indexed abstract on pubmed.gov, my jaw nearly dropped. I’ve finally acquired the full version of the study and am now excited to report on its implications in greater depth to help raise awareness about the power of pomegranate to heal the body, and I believe, save millions lives from premature death from heart disease.

The most eye-opening line in the abstract reveals why our original report on the study, How To Clean Your Arteries With One Simple Fruit, received over 500,000 social media shares:

“Pomegranate juice consumption resulted in a significant IMT [intima media thickness] reduction, by up to 30%, after 1 year.”

We shouldn’t be that surprised at how great an interest there is among the masses in safe, delicious, and affordable drug alternatives that have the power to unclog arteries? Certainly the drugs aren’t working, with the most popular class — cholesterol-lowering statins — being linked to over 300 adverse health effects. But sometimes the technical language of medicine gets confusing: what does this pomegranate-induced reduction in the intima media thickness (IMT) of the arteries mean?

Reducing The Intima Media Thickness: Reversing Atherosclerosis

The intima media is the middle portion of the arteries that become inflamed and fill up with plaque comprised of oxidized fats, immune cells, and their debris, in the condition known colloquially as “blocked arteries.” As the intima media grows thicker, less space is available for the blood contents to move through the opening (lumen) of the arteries. When the arteries eventually close or are blocked, catastrophic injury or death may follow. Therefore, anything that can safely reduce, or better, reverse intima media thickening is the holy grail as far as obtaining a root cause resolution of atherosclerosis, and by implication would profoundly reduce deaths linked to cardiovascular mortality.

Indeed, in a world where the #1 cause of death is cardiovascular disease, and where we preemptively medicate millions more with drugs that only reduce surrogate markers for cardiovascular disease risk – i.e. lipoproteins carrying cholesterol – without showing any convincing evidence that it is reducing cardiovascular disease or all-cause mortality, how could something as simple and powerful as pomegranate be overlooked? In fact, if a simple daily dietary intervention is capable of regressing and/or reversing the underlying disease process in millions of fatal cardiac cases, it would seem highly unethical not to use it.

Here, we wish to bring some of the finer details of this clinical trial to light, to further substantiate the value of botanical and food-based interventions not only in preventing but treating major chronic disease processes like cardiovascular disease, the developed world’s most deadly disease.

The Pomegranate “Artery Cleaning” Clinical Trial

Published in Clinical Nutrition in 2004 and titled, “Pomegranate juice consumption for 3 years by patients with carotid artery stenosis reduces common carotid intima-media thickness, blood pressure and LDL oxidation,” Israeli researchers discovered pomegranate, administered in juice form over the course of a year, reversed plaque accumulation in the carotid arteries of patients with severe, though symptomless, carotid artery stenosis (defined as 70–90% blockage in the internal carotid arteries).

The study consisted of nineteen patients, 5 women and 14 men, aged 65-75, non-smokers. They were randomized to receive either pomegranate juice or placebo. Ten patients were in the pomegranate juice treatment group and 9 patients that did not consume pomegranate juice were in the control group. Both groups were matched with similar blood lipid and glucose concentrations, blood pressure, and with similar medication regimens which consisted of blood-pressure lowering (e.g. ACE inhibitors, β-blockers, or calcium channel blockers) and lipid lowering drugs (e.g. statins).

The ten patients in the treatment group group received 8.11 ounces (240 ml) of pomegranate juice per day, for a period of 1 year, and five out of them agreed to continue for up to 3 years.

The remarkable results were reported as follows:

“The mean intima media thickness the left and right common carotid arteries in severe carotid artery stenosis patients that consumed pomegranate juice for up to 1 year was reduced after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of pomegranate juice consumption by 13%, 22%, 26% and 35%, respectively, in comparison to baseline values.”

You can only imagine what would happen if a pharmaceutical drug was shown to reverse plaque build up in the carotid arteries by 13% in just 3 months! This drug would be lauded the life-saving miracle drug, and not only would be promoted and sold successfully as a multi-billion dollar blockbuster, but discussion would inevitably follow as to why it should be mandated.

While these results are impressive, if not altogether groundbreaking for the field of cardiology, they may be even better than revealed in the stated therapeutic outcomes above.  When one factors in that the carotid artery stenosis increased 9% within 1 year in the control group, the pomegranate intervention group may have seen even better results than indicated by the measured regression in intima media thickness alone.  That is, if we assume that the pomegranate group had received no treatment, the thickening of their carotid arteries would have continued to progress like the control group at a rate of 9% a year, i.e. 18% within 2 years, 27% within 3 years. This could be interpreted to mean that after 3 years of pomegranate treatment, for instance, the thickening of the arteries would have been reduced over 60% beyond what would have occurred had the natural progression of the disease been allowed to continue unabated.

3 Ways How Pomegranate Heals The Cardiovascular System

The researchers identified three likely mechanisms of action behind pomegranate’s observed anti-atherosclerotic activity:

• Antioxidant properties: Subjects receiving pomegranate saw significant reductions in oxidative stress, including decreases in autoantibodies formed against ox-LDL, a form of oxidized low density lipoprotein associated with the pathological process of atherosclerosis. Decreases in oxidative stress were measurable by an increase in the blood serum enzyme paraoxonase 1 (PON1) of up to 91% after 3 years; PON1 is an enzyme whose heightened activity is associated with lower oxidative stress. All of this is highly relevant to the question of pomegranate’s anti-atherosclerotic activity because of something called the lipid peroxidation hypothesis of atherosclerosis, which assumes that it is the quality of the blood lipids (i.e. whether they are oxidized/damaged or not), and not their quantity alone that determine their cardiotoxicity/atherogenicity. Essentially, pomegranate prevents the heart disease promoting effects of oxidative stress.


• Blood Pressure Lowering Properties: The intervention resulted in significant improvement in blood pressure: the patient’s systolic blood pressure was reduced 7%, 11% ,10%, 10% and 12% after 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of pomegranate consumption, respectively, compared to values obtained before treatment. Pomegranate’s ability to reduce systolic blood pressure indicates it has a healing effect on the endothelium, or the inner lining of the artery which fails to relax fully in heart disease; a condition known as endothelial dysfunction.


• Plaque Lesion Stabilization: Because two of the ten patients on PJ (after 3 and 12 months) experienced clinical deterioration, carotid surgery was performed and the lesions were analyzed to determine the difference in their composition to those who did not receive pomegranate. The researchers noticed four distinct positive differences in the composition of the pomegranate-treated lesions:

1.     Reduced Cholesterol Content: “The cholesterol content in carotid lesions from the two patients that consumed PJ was lower by 58% and 20%, respectively, in comparison to lesions obtained from CAS patients that did not consume PJ (Fig. 3A).”

2.     Reduced Lipid Peroxides: “[T]he lipid peroxides content in lesions obtained from the patients after PJ consumption for 3 or 12 months was significantly reduced by 61% or 44%, respectively, as compared to lesions from patients that did not consume PJ (Fig. 3B).

3.     Increased Reduced Glutathione Content: “A substantial increase in the lesion reduced glutathione (GSH) content, (GSH is a major cellular antioxidant) by 2.5-fold, was observed after PJ consumption for 3 or 12 months, (Fig. 3C).

4.     Reduced LDL Oxidation: “LDL oxidation by lesions derived from the patients after PJ consumption for 3 or 12 months, was significantly (Po0.01) decreased by 43% or 32%, respectively, in comparison to LDL oxidation rates obtained by lesions from CAS patients that did not consume PJ (Fig. 3D).”

Essentially these results reveal that not only does pomegranate reduce the lesion size in the carotid arteries, but “the lesion itself may be considered less atherogenic after PJ consumption, as its cholesterol and oxidized lipid content decreased, and since its ability to oxidize LDL was significantly reduced.”

This finding is quite revolutionary, as presently, the dangers of carotid artery stenosis are understood primarily through the lesion size and not by assessing for the quality of that lesion. This dovetails with the concept that the sheer quantity of lipoproteins (i.e. “cholesterol”) in the blood can not accurately reveal whether those lipoproteins are actually harmful (atherogenic); rather, if lipoproteins are oxidized (e.g. ox-LDL) they can be harmful (or representative of a more systemic bodily imbalance), whereas non-oxidized low density lipoprotein may be considered entirely benign, if not indispensable for cardiovascular and body wide health. Indeed, in this study the researchers found the pomegranate group had increased levels of triglycerides and very low density lipoprotein, again, underscoring that the anti-atherosclerotic properties likely have more to do with the improved quality of the physiological milieu within which all our lipoproteins operate than the number of them, in and of itself.

Finally, it should be pointed out that all the patients in this study were undergoing conventional, drug-based care for cardiovascular disease, e.g. cholesterol- and blood pressure-lowering agents. Not only did the pomegranate treatment not appear to interfere with their drugs, making it a suitable complementary/adjunct therapy for those on pharmaceuticals, but it should be pointed out that the control group’s condition got progressively worse (e.g. the mean IMT increased 9% within 1 year), speaking to just how ineffective drugs are, or how they may even contribute to the acceleration of the disease process itself.

Pomegranate’s 100+ Health Benefits

Believe it or not, pomegranate has many other ways in which it can help to heal the cardiovascular system, as well as other organ systems. Our research project has identified over 100 distinct health benefits of pomegranate: View the Pomegranate Research Database. Learn more by reading some of our other articles on the topic:

• 100+ Health Properties of Pomegranate Now Includes Diabetes


• Amazing Fact: Pomegranate Can Serve As A Backup Ovary


• Pomegranate-Polyphenol Food Blend Reduces Prostate PSA Rise

© April 17, 2018 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

The post Why Pomegranate Juice Is ‘Roto-Rooter’ For The Arteries appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Turmeric Rich Curry’s Amazing Artery-Opening Properties

Did you know that a single culinary serving of spices in the form of curry can dilate your arteries, preventing the cardiovascular harms associated with eating common foods?

While spices are thought of mainly as culinary agents for the aesthetical enhancement of the flavor of food, they are also powerful medicinal agents, and in certain respects may actually mitigate the harms of things we like to eat that may not be as good for us as their pleasurable tastes and textures would have us believe.

A recent study published in Nutrition Journal titled, “A single consumption of curry improved postprandial endothelial function in healthy male subjects: a randomized, controlled crossover trial,” brought home exactly this point. Moreover, it reveals that certain culinary formulas, sometimes handed down through countless generations, may have indispensable value for our health. Interestingly, we find this concept echoed in the word recipe itself, whose first recorded use in Mid 16-century French literally means “medical prescription.”

A curry is essentially a blend of various spices used as a sauce in dishes, and in the case of this study’s tested formula, a traditional Japanese combination was used containing the following 8 herbs:  Clove, coriander, cumin, garlic, ginger, onion, red pepper, turmeric. [Note: click the hyperlinks of the preceding 8 herbs to view the extensive database of healing properties we have amassed on each one]  Interesting, Japanese curry was actually introduced to Japan by the British during the Meiji period (1868–1912) when India was still under colonial rule, making it a “Western” influence there, even though it ultimately originated in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

In the study, researchers tested 14 healthy male subjects with an average age of 45 years, who were given either a single serving of curry meal or spice-free control meal (180 g of curry or control and 200 g of cooked rice; approximately 500 kcal in total). Researchers then tested what happened to the blood vessels of subjects before and consuming either meal.

A variety of Indian curries. Image Source: Wikicommons.

Based on post-meal measurements of the ability of blood to pass through the blood vessels (postprandial flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD)) and other parameters, clearly the consumption of curry increased the blood flow through the blood vessels (increased FMD), whereas the consumption of the curry-free control meal resulted in a decrease in blood flow (decreased FMD). More specifically, the results were reported as follows:

The consumption of the control meal decreased FMD from 5.8 ± 2.4% to 5.1 ± 2.3% (P = 0.039). On the other hand, the consumption of the curry meal increased FMD from 5.2 ± 2.5% to 6.6 ± 2.0% (P = 0.001), and the postprandial FMD after the curry meal was higher than that after the control meal (P = 0.002). Presence of spices in the curry did not alter significantly the systemic and forearm hemodynamics, or any biochemical parameters including oxidative stress markers measured.”

The researchers concluded that curry prevented the negative effects of the meal upon post-meal “endothelial function,” that is, it prevented the inner lining (endothelium) of the blood vessels from contracting and inhibiting the normal flow of blood throughout the cardiovascular system. They surmised that the antioxidant activity of the spices likely are responsible for the observed positive outcomes, possibly through blunting the post-meal increases in blood sugar and/or oxidative stress. They summarized their findings:

Curry consumption ameliorates postprandial endothelial dysfunction and may be beneficial for preventing cardiovascular events. Lifestyle-related diseases such as atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus have become serious health problems in the modern world. Curry may be helpful in the fight against those lifestyle-related diseases.”

The reason why this finding is highly relevant to concerns about cardiovascular function is because atherosclerosis — the so-called “hardening of the arteries” — takes decades to develop within the system, often completely without symptoms, and one of the characteristic predisposing features of this pathological process is endothelial dysfunction, often starting with the inability of the blood vessels to fully relax when confronted with any number of stressors – dietary incompatibilities (e.g. wheat) and deficiencies (e.g. magnesium), environmental (e.g. smoking), infectious (e.g. periodontal pathogens), and psychological (e.g. stress) — and resultant damage incurred by them. You can see a more extensive list of nutritional approaches to keeping your arteries healthy here.

Imagine what would happen if we could address endothelial dysfunction decades before it progresses into atherosclerosis?  Since heart disease is the #1 killer, worldwide, adding certain medicinal spices to the diet could perhaps help to neutralize the cardiotoxic and highly lethal disease vector which is the standard Western diet. We’ve reported, previously, on how something so simple as adding fresh avocado to a traditional American hamburger completely ameliorates the artery-contracting properties of this typical meal. It is amazing when you consider all of the edible things now studied which are capable of ameliorating endothelial dysfunction. You can peruse the Endothelial Dysfunction page on GreenMedInfo.com’s healing substances database and find over 90 substances that may help with this goal.

Take a look at the 1700 studies on turmeric’s health benefits on our database.

Consider, also, that some of the spices in curry, such as turmeric, and which features almost universally in all the different cultural variations, have themselves been studied individually to have powerful cardiovascular benefits. Turmeric extract, for instance, was found to confer health benefits to the cardiovascular system as powerful as exercise. Garlic has been found to clear the arteries of plaque and to have blood-pressure lowering properties in hypertensive patients about as potent as pharmaceutical drugs.  You can learn more by looking at the over 1,000 studies we have indexed on the therapeutic potential of dozens of culinary herbs and spices here.

The beauty, however, is that culinary combinations of herbs often require lower doses than are typically used in the context of traditional herbal medicine. In fact, recent research on the spice rosemary known by poets and herbalists for centuries to be “for remembrance,” shows that lower culinary doses are much more effective than larger ‘pharmacologic’ doses for boosting cognition. Less can be more, and with the possibility of synergistic combinations, even lower amounts are needed to obtain a beneficial effect, especially when the purpose is to prevent disease, rather than just treat it after the fact with an aggressive ’emergency care’ model typical of allopathic approaches. Also, for those who do not like “spicy food,” consider drinking spices like turmeric by preparing beverage called “Turmeric Milk.” Check out this DIY recipe here.

Also, consider that the quality of the spices you consume may make all the difference to your health. It is a underreported fact that many of the spices available on the shelf in the U.S. today are irradiated with massive doses of gamma radiation, in a process euphemistically called “cold-pasteurization.” Read my article on the topic, “The Invisible Nuclear Threat Within Non-Organic Food,” to learn more. Suffice it to say, unless it is certified organic, or wild-harvested, it may actually be harmful to your health.

Finally, another useful culinary hack you can employ to reduce white rice’s potential toxicity is to cook it with coconut. It will significantly reduce both the caloric content and blood-sugar elevating properties of the dish if you do so. Learn more by reading: Coconut Oil May Reduce White Rice Calories 50-60%.

© April 6, 2018 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

The post Turmeric Rich Curry’s Amazing Artery-Opening Properties appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Only 1 TBSP Of Coconut Oil Produces Powerful Health Changes, Study Confirms

A simple tablespoon daily of coconut oil could promote weight loss and improve cardiovascular health, reveals a new clinical study. 

A new study titled, “A coconut extra virgin oil-rich diet increases HDL cholesterol and decreases waist circumference and body mass in coronary artery disease patients,” holds great promise in those suffering from overweight, obesity, and heightened cardiovascular disease risk, and against which pharmaceutical approaches often fail.

Coconut oil was once considered a “bad fat,” as it contains saturated fatty acids which conventional nutritionists did not distinguish from synthetically produced ones such as margarine. We know far better now, and increasingly, natural sources of saturated fats are gaining appreciation as not only “not-bad,” but actually beneficial, particularly for the brain. You can check out the first hand literature on coconut’s helath benefits on the GreenMedInfo.com database, or read our article, 13 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Coconut Oil.

The new study evaluated the health effects of a nutritional treatment with extra virgin coconut oil, focusing primarily on how it affects HDL cholesterol and a range of anthropmetric measurements (e.g. body weight, size, circumference).

The average age of the participants was 62.4 ± 7.7 years, with 70% of elderly individuals, and 63.2% of males. All of them were hypertensive and 94.5% had blood lipid profiles indicating “dyslipidemia” and on standard, cholesterol lowering drug treatment.

In the first phase, a three month period, 136 enrollees were put on a standardized diet. From the third month onward, the 116 who completed the first phase were place in two intervention groups: 22 remained on the diet, and 92 were put on the diet + 13 ml (.43 ounces) daily of extra virgin coconut oil, which is equivalent to about 14 grams, or about 1 Tablespoon (15 grams).

The results of the the three-month coconut oil intervention showed that relative to the standard diet, the coconut group saw a decrease in all six of the bodily parameters measured, including:

• 
  

  Weight: -.6 kilograms (1.322 pounds)

  
  


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  Body Mass Index: – .2 kg/m2

  
  


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  Waist Circumference: -2.1 cm

  
  


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  Neck Perimeter: -4 cm

  
  


• 
  

  Systolic Blood Pressure: -3.3 points

  
  


• 
  

  Diastolic Blood Pressure:  -3.5 points

  
  

Additionally, the coconut oil intervention group saw a 3.1±7.4 mg/dL increase in HDL cholesterol.

The researchers concluded:

“Nonpharmacological interventions are essential for risk factor control in secondary prevention among patients with coronary disease. Our study showed that a diet rich in extra virgin coconut oil seems to favor the reduction of WC and the increase of HDL-C concentrations, aiding with secondary prevention for CAD patients.”

Discussion

This study is far more powerful than may first meet the eye. For instance, at present, pharmaceutical interventions to raise HDL cholesterol lack solid scientific support. Only yesterday, I reported on a new JAMA review which revealed an astounding number of medical procedures have no benefit, even harm, wherein it was concluded that ,”In patients with low HDL-C levels who are treated with statins, there is no clinical benefit to HDL-C–targeted therapies.” Considering the fact that pharmaceutical interventions to lower HDL cholesterol have a wide range of serious side effects, the new finding that coconut oil may provide a natural alternative with side benefits, is all the more encouraging.

Additionally, midsection fat, also known as abdominal obesity, is a serious risk factor for cardiovascular events and cardiac mortality. In fact, a 2007 study published in the journal Circulation found that of three risk factors evaluated for heart attack, namely, abdominal obesity, abnormal lipids, and smoking, abdominal obesity was the most powerful: 48.5%, versus 40.8% for abnormal lipids, and 38.4% for smoking.

When one considers these two factors, any safe, diet-based lifestyle modification that can safely raise HDL-C cholesterol, and reduce midsection fat and related anthropometric parameters such as BMI and midsection circumference, is a home run.

This is, of course, not the first time we have reported on the powerful health benefits of coconut oil. In fact, it doesn’t take months, or even days, to observe positive changes in certain populations. We reported previously on what can only be described as an amazing study where just one dose of coconut oil derived medium chain triglycerides produced positive cognitive changes in Alzheimer’s patients in only 90 minutes. You can read about it in greater detail here:  MCT Fats Found In Coconut Oil Boost Brain Function In Only One Dose.

For additional research on how to raise HDL cholesterol, take a look at our database on the topic here: Raise HDL Cholesterol Naturally. For reducing abdominal obesity, you can take a look at our database on the topic: Reduce Belly Fat (Abdominal Obesity).

© March 30, 2018 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

The post Only 1 TBSP Of Coconut Oil Produces Powerful Health Changes, Study Confirms appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Eating Black Sesame May Slash Heart Disease Risk

Blood pressure is a major focus of cardiovascular disease prevention, but the blood pressure lowering drugs may actually increase mortality. We need food-based drug alternatives now more than ever, and black sesame may be the perfect candidate. 

There is no denying heart disease is a huge concern in the modern world. It is indisputable that your chance of dying from cardiovascular disease is greater than any other cause. But modern medicine fixates on suppressing proxy markers of risk, such as cholesterol and blood pressure levels, with drugs, instead of identifying and resolving the actual underlying causes of this global health epidemic.

In the case of high blood pressure (hypertension), the drugs themselves (e.g. beta blockers, ace inhibitors, calcium channel blockers) may actually raise the risk of mortality. This was famously demonstrated in a 2010 study published in JAMA. Diabetics treated with blood pressure lowering drugs and who maintained tight blood pressure control (systolic BP at less than 130 mm Hg) had increased mortality compared to those on the less restrictive blood pressure control (systolic at less than 140 MM Hg).

Clearly, this outcome does not bode well for those who are aggressively pressured into taking blood pressure medications as a “preventive measure.” Indeed, hypertension is largely a symptom of pathological changes like endothelial dysfunction within the blood vessels. Treating the symptom — elevated BP numbers — like it is the disease itself is wrong minded, and rarely does anything to change the underlying problem; indeed, it may worsen the problem.

Today, it is common for relatively symptomless populations to be screened for hypertension, leading to millions of diagnoses and subsequent prescriptions. But things may be getting worse. Back in 2003, the questionable entity known as prehypertension was introduced (a “condition” of having blood pressure between 120/80 mmHg and 139/89 mmHg, considered an indication of risk for hypertension). That year, The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC-7) revised its classifications of high blood pressure (BP) to include “prehypertension.”¹ Yet, this category was formerly covered by both the “normal” and “borderline” groups, and since then, it has been suggested that some forms of prehypertension be treated with medication.² This reminds us of the WHO’s decision to reify “osteopenia” or “pre-osteoperosis” as a disease entity, resulting in the manufacture of tens of thousands of highly misleading diagnoses, despite the fact that it is not an evidence-based categorization.

Food Is Medicine When Treating Blood Pressure Disorders

Given the danger of being overdiagnosed and overtreated with blood pressure medications that may be cardiotoxic, not to mention carcinogenic, why not use food-based solutions that improve blood pressure that are not only time-tested, safe, affordable, easily accessible, but also delicious?

At GreenMedInfo.com we have indexed a remarkably broad range of natural substances — 153 presently indexed on our Hypertension database — that can prevent and/or reduce elevated blood pressure. Some of these are as familiar as oats, garlic, whey, watermelon, coenzyme Q10, cocoa, and the amino acid arginine. You’ll also find there 20 Therapeutic actions such exercise, yoga, aromatherapy that help with hypertension. Of course, our database also focuses on avoidable causes, such as over 30 problem substances that can worsen hypertension like fructose and NSAID pain-killers. Did you know, for instance, that sugar — not salt — is a bigger threat to blood pressure?

The good news is that this is only the tip of the research iceberg. Over the course of the past five years alone, an ever-increasing body of research has accumulated showing that relatively simply dietary modifications can prevent health problems like prehypertension from worsening to the point where pharmaceutical intervention will be recommended, or deemed necessary.

Only Half A Teaspoon of Black Sesame A Day for A Month Reverses “Pre-Hypertension”

For instance, a study published in 2011 in Nutrition Journal titled, “Antihypertensive and antioxidant effects of dietary black sesame meal in pre-hypertensive humans,” found that in those diagnosed prehypertension, simply giving them 2.52 grams of black sesame meal (that’s less than half a teaspoon)  in capsules each day for 4 weeks resulted in significant reductions of systolic blood pressure compared to the placebo group. The study method was described as follows:

Twenty-two women and eight men (aged 49.8 ± 6.6 years) with prehypertension were randomly divided into two groups, 15 subjects per group. They ingested 2.52 g black sesame meal capsules or placebo capsules each day for 4 weeks. Blood samples were obtained after overnight fasting for measurement of plasma lipid, malondialdehyde (MDA) and vitamin E levels. Anthropometry, body composition and BP were measured before and after 4-week administration of black sesame meal or a placebo.”

For those wondering, malondialedhyde (MDA) levels are are indicator of the amount of oxidative stress occurring in the body. The results were remarkable, showing that participants went from an average systolic blood pressure of 129.3, which is less than a point shy of the official definition of hypertensive (130-140), down to an average of 121.0, which is only a little over a point into the technical definition of prehypertension (120-129). The more detailed results were reported as follows:

The results showed that 4-week administration of black sesame meal significantly decreased systolic BP (129.3 ± 6.8 vs. 121.0 ± 9.0 mmHg, P < 0.05) and MDA level (1.8 ± 0.6 vs. 1.2 ± 0.6 μmol/L, P < 0.05), and increased vitamin E level (29.4 ± 6.0 vs. 38.2 ± 7.8 μmol/L, P < 0.01). In the black sesame meal group, the change in SBP tended to be positively related to the change in MDA (R = 0.50, P = 0.05), while the change in DBP was negatively related to the change in vitamin E (R = -0.55, P < 0.05). There were no correlations between changes in BP and oxidative stress in the control group.”

As you can see, in the black sesame intervention group a relationship was identified between the systolic blood pressure and the improvement oxidative stress status in the body (measured by the reduced MDA level). Presumably, the black sesame’s antioxidant properties are positively modulating the structure/function of the blood vessels and the hemodynamics of the blood itself, which helped to reduce the blood pressure.

The researchers of the study concluded:

These results suggest the possible antihypertensive effects of black sesame meal on improving antioxidant status and decreasing oxidant stress. These data may imply a beneficial effect of black sesame meal on prevention of CVD.”

You can actually read more about the study and implications in a report done by our naturopath contributor Case Adams here: Black Sesame Seed Reduces High Blood Pressure Also, consider that black sesame likely possesses many if not all of the same health benefits identified within regular sesame, which include about 90 health benefits, and which you can look at here on our sesame seed database. The difference, of course, is that black sesame seed is pigmented. This melanin-like substance known as allomelanin has potent antioxidant and healing properties which may also explain why black seed (nigella sativa) has been found to have such profound healing properties, and known in ancient times within the Islamic tradition as the “remedy for everything but death.”

Kitchen Cupboard Life-Savers You Should Know About

It is amazing to think that such a simple intervention with food can have such a powerful effect on reducing one of the primary risk factors linked to premature death in the developed world. This is not the only example! Take a glance below at some of the other foods we have reported on that have been validated clinically to significantly impact the risk of dying from some of today’s most common causes:

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  How Garlic Can Save Your Life

  
  


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  10 Food-Medicines That Could Save Your Life

  
  


• 
  

  Curry Dilates Arteries with One Serving

  
  


• 
  

  Lime Juice Could Save 100’s of Thousands of Lives Each Year

  
  


• 
  

  Why Eating Sesame Seed Paste Could Save Your Life

  
  

Looking for more? Check out our Healing Foods research feed.

Let’s face it. Modern Western medicine’s founding father Hippocrates was right all along: “Let Food Be Thy Medicine”!

References

¹The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure: the JNC 7 report. Chobanian AV, Bakris GL, Black HR, Cushman WC, Green LA, Izzo JL Jr, Jones DW, Materson BJ, Oparil S, Wright JT Jr, Roccella EJ, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure, National High Blood Pressure Education Program Coordinating Committee JAMA. 2003 May 21; 289(19):2560-72. [PubMed]

² Cardiovasc Ther. 2010 Dec;28(6):339-43. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-5922.2010.00167.x. Prehypertension: the rationale for early drug therapy. Fuchs FD1.

© January 29, 2018 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

The post Eating Black Sesame May Slash Heart Disease Risk appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Chocolate Gives Statins A $29 Billion Run For Their Money

With the blockbuster cholesterol-lowering class of drugs known as statins being widely promoted for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, despite their having over 300 documented adverse health effects (including heart failure!), how does chocolate sound as a viable, heart-friendly alternative?

We already connect amorously with chocolate (to the tune of 6 billion lbs of cocoa consumed annually worldwide), revealing in heart-felt expressions like “I love it,” and “this is to die for!” how comfortable we are with publicly declaring our affection. But did you know that while it makes our emotional hearts sing, it may actually keep our physical hearts happy, alive and ticking longer, as well?

Indeed, back in 2006, researchers found that for elderly men, eating cocoa intake was inversely associated with blood pressure and 15-year cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. When compared with the lowest tertile (lowest 33%) of cocoa intake, the adjusted relative risk for men in the highest tertile was .50 for cardiovascular mortality, or a 50% reduction, and .53 for all-cause mortality, or a 47% reduction. Not bad considering the median cocoa intake among users was 2.11 grams per day, or just one half an ounce a week. While many people are searching out supplements such as ubiquinol to combat the side effects of statin drugs, they could have been eating chocolate instead.

Anything that can reduce your risk of dying from all causes by 50%, which is not an expensive and potentially dangerous drug, but a food, should be be taken seriously, even if — paradoxically — it is usually found in the candy section of the grocery store.

There is no shortage of solid, human clinical research supporting the consumption of cocoa, the signature ingredient in chocolate, for the reduction of both cardiovascular disease risk factors, and “hard” cardiovascular outcomes, e.g. hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, insulin resistance, low HDL, stroke, heart disease, etc. GreenMedInfo.com has made 30 such studies available to view on its cocoa page.

The remarkable thing about the research on chocolate is that its consumption appears to improve the pathological condition of the blood vessels known as endothelial dysfunction, and which is believed to be at the root of the problem of plaque accumulation in the arteries, as well as elevated blood lipids. Statins may in fact exert their greatly exaggerated health benefits not by suppressing lipids (as popularly advertised), but by acting as a mild vasodilator through enhancing nitric oxide concentrations in the lining of the blood vessels (endothelium). Statins, however, are produced from chemicals, and therefore guarantee a certain degree of collateral poisoning will take place, whereas chocolate has a long history of safe use both as a food and a medicine. Chocolate has also been extensively researched for effectively lowering blood pressure in those who consume it, which is still considered one of the best ways to reduce cardiovascular disease risk, and which drug-based blood pressure medications are notoriously ineffective at, since they may actually raise cardiac mortality even while effectively lowering blood pressure. In a similar way, statins may effectively suppress blood lipids while at the same time weakening the heart muscle.

Some of cocoa/chocolate’s other potential health benefits include:

• Inhibiting Accelerated Aging – Not only has the preference for chocolate in older age been linked with better health, optimism and better psychological well-being, but it has also been shown in the fruit fly-based experimental model of aging to have antioxidative, pro-oxidative, and metal-chelating effects associated with increased lifespan. Moreover, research in women shows that long-term ingestion of favanol-rich chocolate (raw chocolate is especially rich in these compounds) protects against UV-induced skin redness and improves their skin condition.


• Protecting Against Alzheimers – Cocoa procyanidins attenuate lipid peroxidation associated neuronal cell death in a manner relevant to Alzheimer’s disease.


• Reducing Stress (Elevated Catecholamines) – Daily consumption of 40 grams of chocolate during a 2 week period reduces the urinary excretion of cortisol and catecholamines, while reducing other metabolic indicators of stress, including gut microbial metabolism.

• Inhibiting Cholesterol Oxidation – Rather than fixating on the absolute number of lipoproteins or cholesterol within the blood (quantitiative analysis) it makes sense to ensure that those lipids don’t undergo excessive oxidize (qualitative analysis) which is associated with injury to the blood vessels and the formation of atherosclerotic plaque. More than a few studies have found that chocolate prevents LDL cholesterol oxidation, while also boosting the beneficial HDL cholesterol

• Boosting Cognitive Performance – Chocolate, along with flavonoid-rich red wine and tea, were shown to boost cognitive performance in elderly men and women, with the maximum effect at intacts of 10g/d, or the equivalent of 2 ½ ounces a week.

• Inhibiting Cancer – Llimited, though significant research indicates that cocoa is capable of inhibiting certain types of cancer. The growth of prostate cancer cells have been selectively inhibited with cocoa polyphenols, and animal research indicates that cocoa liquor is capable of inhibiting chemically-induced liver cancer.

• Improving Diabetes – New research from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has revealed that the consumption of chocolate, or its active constituents (cocoa, flavan-3-ols), reduces a broad range of risk factors for cardiovascular disease including insulin resistance. The researchers looked at 42 acute and long-term studies and found a 33% median reduction in insulin resistance following chocolate consumption. What is so unique about this new study is that chocolate consumption is generally believed to elevate blood sugar and blood insulin levels; not only does it disprove this myth but it sheds additional light on why chocolate consumption (especially dark, organic) may be beneficial in both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

• Boosting Sexual Function – Chocolate is an excellent vasodilator, which is one reason why it has been traditionally linked to improved fertility and virility. Research also indicates that chocolate consumption is linked to higher sexual function in women, as well.

This is only a sampling from the research we have gathered on chocolate/cocoa’s potential health benefits, of which there are several dozen.

Lastly, any serious discussion on the medicinal properties of chocolate should be qualified by pointing out that chocolate is often unfairly traded, and has even been linked to child enslavement. Non-organic cocoa may also contain residues of the dangerous herbicide glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup), among many other biocides used in conventional farming, so the consumer must take special care to avoid these moral and physiological pitfalls. Also, because chocolate has complex pharmacologically active properties, it must be consumed in moderation, and with attention paid towards the tendency for using it to self-medicate, especially when the cocoa content is lower and the sugar content higher.

© November 18, 2017 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

The post Chocolate Gives Statins A $29 Billion Run For Their Money appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Statin Drugs Linked To Arthritis, Heart Trouble And More

Research revealing the broad spectrum toxicity of statin drugs continues to accumulate unabated.  A study reveals that these cholesterol-lowering drugs may be contributing to an epidemic of arthritis and autoimmunity in exposed populations, adding to a growing body of clinical evidence that they may cause over 300 adverse health effects.

Published this month in the journal Arthritis Research & Therapy, and titled “Statins accelerate the onset of collagen type II-induced arthritis in mice,” researchers found that 100% of the animals given statin drugs developed arthritis and markers of autoimmunity versus 58% in the control population who did not receive them.[1]

The study was performed in the wake of an observational study showing that statin drug use was associated with an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.[2]  The researchers hypothesized that statin drug use may eventually lead to dysregulation of immune responses, possibly resulting in autoimmunity.  This finding does not come as a great surprise considering that statins have already been linked to lupus-like syndrome,[3] as well as immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy.[4]

Because atherosclerosis is known to have an autoimmune component, the emerging connection between statins and autoimmunity may undermine the justification for their continued use in the primary prevention of heart disease. Lesions form in an artery only after the body’s immune system snowballs out of control. White blood cells (macrophages and T-lymphoctyles) infiltrate the damaged area in an attempt to heal it, absorbing oxidized-LDL in the process, and eventually depositing in the artery wall as foam cells, triggering more white blood cells to infiltrate in a vicious cycle.

The blood work of heart disease patients has also shown elevations of a well-known marker of autoimmunity in the blood, namely, antinuclear antibodies.[5] What is more concerning is that statin drugs have been shown to induce elevations of these same antibodies,[6]not only calling into question their utility in preventing heart disease, but implicating them as potentially cardiotoxic agents.

Indeed, the cardiotoxicity of statin drugs was demonstrated back in 2009 when the journal of Clinical Cardiology showed that statin drugs actually weaken the heart muscle.[7] In addition, the GreenMedInfo.com statin drugs research page now contains 76 studies indicating the myotoxicity (muscle-damaging) effect of statins and 53 studies indicating their neurotoxicity (nerve-damaging). Since the heart is a highly innervated muscle, using them for “protecting” the heart is an insurmountable contradiction.

Related Links

Consumer Alert: 300+ Health Problems Linked To Statin Drugs

Coconut Water May Drive the Statin Drug Industry NUTS

Chocolate Gives Statins A $29 Billion Run For Their Money

Lower Your Cholesterol, Increase Your Diabetes Risk By 48%

Confirmed Once Again: Statins Likely Harm The Heart

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[1] Statins accelerate the onset of collagen type II-induced arthritis in mice. Arthritis Res Ther. 2012 Apr 26 ;14(2):R90. Epub 2012 Apr 26. PMID: 22537858

[2] Use of statins is associated with an increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2011 Oct 6. Epub 2011 Oct 6. PMID: 21979000

[3] Association Between Statin Use and Lupus-Like Syndrome Using Spontaneous Reports. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2011 Aug 23. Epub 2011 Aug 23. PMID: 21868063

[4] Autoimmune myopathies: autoantibodies, phenotypes and pathogenesis.Nat Rev Neurol. 2011 Jun ;7(6):343-54. Epub 2011 Jun 8. PMID: 21654717

[5] More Evidence that Atherosclerosis Is An Autoimmune Disease? http://www.theheart.org/article/166113.do

[6] [Polymyositis induced or associated with lipid-lowering drugs: five cases].Rev Med Interne. 2004 Apr ;25(4):294-8. PMID: 15050796

[7] Statin therapy decreases myocardial function as evaluated via strain imaging. Clin Cardiol. 2009 Dec;32(12):684-9. PMID: 20027659

© November 7, 2017 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

The post Statin Drugs Linked To Arthritis, Heart Trouble And More appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

The Benefits Of Resveratrol For Blood Pressure

According to statistics from the CDC, around 70 million people–1 in 3 Americans–suffer from high blood pressure. Half of these individuals have their blood pressure under control, probably under some form of blood pressure medication. ^[1]Hypertension, or high blood pressure, can be a silent yet deadly disease, one that doesn’t necessarily need to be managed by medication. While there are some rare hereditary conditions that make it impossible to control blood sugar with just exercise and diet, most people have the ability to use dietary strategies as their first line of defense.

How Resveratrol Supports a Healthy Blood Pressure

Resveratrol is a natural plant compound typically found in grapes, chocolate, and almonds. Its antioxidant capabilities have been studied for years, with each study revealing some type of benefit for health. Whether it’s protecting cells and DNA, regulating a healthy blood sugar, or protecting skin from UV damage, there seems to be a wide range of benefits associated with the compound. ^[2][3] A recent meta analysis shows that resveratrol may play an important role in supporting blood pressure health by regulating systolic blood pressure. ^[4] While the research is far from conclusive, it does lead many to wonder how powerful plant compounds really are.

One of the emerging areas of research in relation to resveratrol is in the field of healthy aging. Resveratrol may provide similar effects of calorie restriction in terms of cellular protection. ^[5] Its effects on blood pressure are not surprising, if you consider the fact that resveratrol may reduce irritation and improve blood flow through vessels. Resveratrol may even support hormones that play a role in blood pressure. Foods high in resveratrol may also contain a number of other beneficial compounds and nutrients, like antioxidants and fiber, that are responsible for supporting blood pressure.

How to Support Blood Pressure Naturally

One of the key ways you can support a healthy blood pressure is by eating right and exercising. I know, pretty boring advice. But eating right doesn’t mean just eating vegetables; in fact, it means avoiding sugars–including high-sugar fruits–in order to avoid the blood sugar spike that inadvertently leads to a rise in blood pressure. Also, just by walking every day, doing yoga, sprinting, or any other physical activity you enjoy, you’re one step closer to a balanced blood pressure ratio. In the past, a healthy blood pressure reading would’ve been 120/80; yet, recent evidence is suggesting that less than 120/80 is ideal. While you certainly don’t want low blood pressure (hypotension), at or above 120/80 may be signs of prehypertension. In this case, consult with your doctor to know for sure.

How do you support blood pressure health? Please let us know in the comments!

References:

1. Centers for Disease Control. High Blood Pressure Facts. Centers for Disease Control.


2. Szkudelski T, Szkudelska K. Anti-diabetic effects of resveratrol. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2011 Jan;1215:34-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05844.x.


3. Aziz MH, Afaq F, Ahmad N. Prevention of ultraviolet-B radiation damage by resveratrol in mouse skin is mediated via modulation in survivin. Photochem Photobiol. 2005 Jan-Feb;81(1):25-31.


4. Liu Y, Ma W, Zhang P, He S, Huang D. Effect of resveratrol on blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Clin Nutr. 2015 Feb;34(1):27-34. doi: 10.1016/j.cinu.2014.03.009.


5. Lam YY, Peterson CM, Revussin E. Resveratrol vs. calorie restriction: data from rodents to humans. Exp Gerontol. 2013 Oct;48(10):1018-24. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2013.04.005.

The post The Benefits Of Resveratrol For Blood Pressure appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Poor Diet Caused Nearly Half of All Deaths in the U.S. in 2012

A study released earlier this year reveals that some 45% of all deaths in the U.S. in 2012 were due to “cardiometabolic disease,” or CMD – all because of the average diet. CMD encompasses heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. [1]

Researchers say that the largest number of diet-related CMD deaths are due to high consumption of sodium, processed meats, and sugar-sweetened drinks, and low intake of nuts and seeds, seafood omega-3 fats, and fruits and vegetables.

Related: Drinking ANY Sugar Increases Your Risk of Diabetes

Says first author Renata Micha, R.D., Ph.D., assistant research professor, Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy in Boston, Massachusetts:

“These results should help identify priorities, guide public health planning, and inform strategies to alter dietary habits and improve health.

Increased intakes of specific minimally processed foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fish, vegetable oils, and decreased intakes of salt, processed meats and sugar-sweetened beverages appear to be key relevant priorities for dietary and policy recommendations. Future studies should evaluate the potential effects of specific interventions to address the diet-related cardiometabolic mortality and reduce disparities.” [2]

Published on 7 March 2017 in JAMA, the study found that more men than women die from diet-related causes. The researchers say that, generally speaking, the findings are consistent with the fact that men tend to have unhealthier eating habits. Additionally, there were a greater number of diet-related deaths among African-Americans and Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic whites. [1], [3]

According to Micha, the estimated number of deaths that were linked to not getting enough of the healthy foods listed was at least as substantial as the number of deaths associated with eating too much of the unhealthy foods listed.

Researchers report that the highest number of deaths was linked to high sodium intake; about 66,500 CMD deaths in 2012 were linked to eating too much salt, followed by (in order):

• Not eating enough nuts and seeds (59,000 deaths)


• Eating too much processed meats (58,000 deaths)


• Eating too little seafood omega-3s (55,000 deaths)


• Not eating enough vegetables (53,000 deaths)


• Not eating enough fruits (52,500 deaths)


• Drinking too many sugar-sweetened beverages (52,000 deaths) [1]

Read: Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Be the Key to Preventing Most Disease

The study did have its limitations. For instance, the studies the researchers used were observational, which don’t prove cause-and-effect. In addition, other dietary factors may have been at play, such as saturated fat and added sugar. And some dietary factors are potentially linked, like sodium and processed meats.

On a positive note, the researchers say that from 2002 to 2012, there were fewer diet-related CMD deaths due to insufficient polyunsaturated fats, nuts and seeds, and to excess sugary drinks. [1]

Sources:

[1] Live Science

[2] Medscape

[3] CNN

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

Fewer Dying from 3 of the 5 Leading Causes of Death in the U.S.

A study published online in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report says that fewer people are dying from 3 of the 5 leading causes of death in the United States – heart disease, cancer, and stroke. [1] [2]

Potentially preventable deaths from asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and other chronic lower respiratory diseases didn’t budge, though.

But, eh, more people died from unintentional injuries, mainly caused by falls and by overdoses from both prescription and illegal drugs.

Former CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a statement:

“Fewer Americans are dying young from preventable causes of death. Tragically, deaths from overdose are increasing because of the opioid epidemic, and there are still large differences between states in all preventable causes of death, indicating that many more lives can be saved through use of prevention and treatment available today.” [3]

The rates of death from each cause vary geographically. Where people live is generally a good indicator of the health problems they face, their access to and use of social services, and public health efforts. Deaths from all leading causes are highest in the South.

Macarena C. García, DrPH, from the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), wrote:

Source: NIDA

“Public health officials can use the decreases observed as benchmarks for improving population health, while using observed increases to direct targeted efforts to reduce the number of potentially preventable deaths.

Specifically, given the reported increase in potentially preventable deaths from unintentional injuries, these findings might inform the selection and implementation of evidence-based interventions to prevent deaths from injuries such as falls and drug overdoses, based on epidemiologic burden.” [2]

For the study, Garcia and her team analyzed mortality data from the National Vital Statistic System, using the same model as that used in a 2010 analysis to allow for comparison.

Overall, the 5 top causes of death in the U.S. – heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease (CLRD), stroke, and unintentional injuries – increased from 2010 to 2014, which was consistent with population increases. But the rate of heart disease, cancer, and stroke deaths increased more slowly than the population grew.

Of those who died of heart disease, cancer, CLRD, stroke, and unintentional injuries, the CDC estimates that 15% of the cancer deaths, 30% of the heart disease deaths, 36% of the CLRD deaths, and 28% of the stroke deaths were preventable. A whopping 43% of the unintentional deaths were preventable. [3]

Potentially preventable cancer deaths fell 25% from 2010-2014, driven by a 12% decrease in the age-adjusted death rate from lung cancer. The authors of the study credit the decline in cancer deaths to prevention, early detection, and treatment.

There was an 11% decrease in potentially preventable deaths from stroke and a 4% decrease in potentially preventable deaths from heart disease. The researchers wrote that the reduction in both causes of death is attributable to improved quality of care and a drop in risk factors, including better blood pressure control among people who have hypertension.

In comparison, potentially preventable deaths caused by accidents increased 23%. Those caused by CLRD rose1%, which the CDC said was not considered statistically significant. [3]

Overdose deaths involving prescription opioids have quadrupled since 1999, the CDC said. Nearly two million Americans abused or were addicted to prescription opioids in 2014, and more than 14,000 people died from overdoses involving those drugs.

Source:

[1] Medscape

[2] CDC

[3] Fox News

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

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Consumer Alert: 300+ Health Problems Linked To Statin Drugs

A growing body of clinical research now indicates that the cholesterol-lowering class of drugs known as statins, are associated with over 300 adverse health effects — research boldly flying in the face of national health policy, medical insurance premium guidelines, statin drug manufacturer advertising claims, and the general sentiment of the public, with approximately 1 in every 4 adult Americans over 45 currently using these drugs to “prevent heart disease.”

The Cholesterol Myth

For well over 40 years, statin drugs have successfully concretized a century old myth about the primary cause of heart disease: namely, that cholesterol “causes” plaque build up in the arteries, ultimately leading to obstruction of blood flow, and subsequent morbidity and mortality.

Indeed, the medical establishment and drug companies have been singing the praises of this “cholesterol myth,” to the tune of 25 billion dollars in statin drug sales, annually.

While it is true that oxidized low-density lipoprotein is found within the atheromatous plaque that is found in damaged arteries, it is less likely a cause than an effect of heart disease. The underlying damage to the lining of the artery, which could be infectious, chemical, stress and/or nutritionally-related, comes before the immune response that results in plaque buildup there. Blaming LDL cholesterol for causing heart disease, is like blaming the scab for the injury that caused it to form, or, like blaming the band-aid for the scab it is covering — this is, after all, the inborn and fatal flaw of allopathic medicine which focuses only on symptoms of disease, which it then — fool-heartedly — attempts to suppress by any chemical means necessary.

Death By Statins?

No one can deny that statins do exactly what they are designed to do: suppress cholesterol production and reduce measurable blood serum levels. The question is, rather, at what price do they accomplish this feat, and for what ultimate purpose?

With the National Cholesterol Education Program Guidelines, having been designed by “experts” on the payroll of statin drug manufacturers, requiring ultra-low levels to obtain a strictly theoretical and numerical definition of “health,” statin drugs are guaranteed to receive first-line treatment status in the goal of the preventing and treating heart disease through lipid suppression.

What is at question here, is whether the unintended, adverse effects of this chemical class of drugs are less, the same or worse than the purported “cardiovascular” benefits they provide?

Fundamentally, statin drugs damage the muscles and nerves in the body — so much so that a dose as low as 5 mg a day (albeit in rare cases) can kill a human. There are well over 100 studies demonstrating the myotoxic, or muscle-harming effects of these drugs, and over 80 demonstrating the effects of nerve damage, as well. When you consider that a vast proportion of our body is comprised of muscles and coordinating nerve systems, this drug has the potential to cause damage to the entire body, and undoubtedly does so universally, differing only in the matter of degree — the damage occurring acutely in those at the tip of the iceberg, asymptomatically in the majority of others at the base.

Moreover, statin myotoxicity is not exclusive to skeletal muscle. If you consider that the heart is also a muscle, in fact, is our most tireless muscle, an obvious red flag should go up. It is a remarkable fact that it took over 40 years before the biomedical research and publishing fields were able to produce a human study, like the one published in the Journal of Clinical Cardiology in Dec. 2009, showing that statin drugs, despite billions of advertising/marketing dollars to the contrary, actually weaken the heart muscle. 

These results, while disturbing, are to be expected given the well-known problem associated with statin drug use, namely, the inhibition of the mevalonate pathway necessary to produce the heart-essential nutrient coenzyme Q10. Coenzyme Q10 deficiency itself may be a major contributing cause to heart disease. There is also research that statin drugs deplete the body of the cardioprotective minerals (and associated mineral-protein complexes) zinc and selenium. This finding may also explain why rates of heart failure may be increasing in the general population given these drugs.

While the discovery that statin drugs, instead of preventing heart disease, likely contribute to it, is surprising and counterintuitive, it should not distract from the more disturbing discovery that they contribute to over 300 disease and/or adverse health effects.

Millions of statin drugs users around the globe are risking their lives on a bad bet that taking a magic chemical pill will reduce their risk of dying of a disease that is not caused by a lack of the drug. What is more likely to happen, however, is that the quality and duration of their lives will be reduced, profoundly, along with billions of dollars of squandered cash that could have been spent on authentically medicinal and cardioprotective foods, nutrients, minerals and vitamins.

In light of these findings, a very serious question is raised: are those who are party to the manufacture, promotion, administration and/or prescribing of this chemical class of drugs, in violation of the medical ethical principle of informed consent? And is this ethical violation, insofar as it results in injury to those who have been mislead and/or coerced to take these drugs, also a legal/criminal one?

Additional Research Links

Natural Cholesterol Lowering Agents

Natural Substances Which Reduce Cardiac Mortality

Natural Substances Which May Unclog Arteries

© August 2, 2017 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.