CoQ10, Magnesium For a Healthy Heart

The human heart beats an average of 2.5 billion times and pumps one million barrels of blood throughout the body in the average lifespan. Amazingly, a healthy heart can take a beating. It is a self-contained, self-propelled and energy-efficient wondrous pump that works 24/7.

Many of our lifestyles, though, are quite destructive and can cause a “broken heart”, but there are ways to support and even invigorate this all important muscle. Besides adding a light aerobic activity to strengthen the heart muscle and eating a diet that minimally impacts insulin levels, supplementing with a few nutrients can quickly help to support and mend a broken heart.

Magnesium (Mg) is used regularly in emergency rooms in cases of cardiac arrest and stroke and is safe enough to commonly be used to stop labor in preterm pregnancies. Everyone concerned with heart health can benefit by supplementing with magnesium since 85% of Americans are deficient in this vital mineral.

Boosting your Mg levels relaxes your heart muscle and blood vessels, increasing blood flow and flexibility (protects against atherosclerosis) and therefore lowering the pressure in blood vessels. Because magnesium helps to control and balance calcium levels, it’s an ideal alternative choice for someone considering taking calcium blockers to control blood pressure.

• Up to 1000 mg a day, keeping with a calcium to magnesium ratio of 1:1 for heart health
• Example: if you get 500 mg of calcium per day in your diet then you would supplement 500 mg of magnesium
• Magnesium should be taken alone and may be hard to assimilate if the stomach does not secrete enough hydrochloric acid. An option for quickly absorbing Mg is to use transdermal magnesium on the skin.

The high metabolic demands of the heart require sufficient levels of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) to energize and strengthen the heart cells, while also being used as an antioxidant to clean the blood of debris.

Although the body does produce some CoQ10, as we age we loose the ability to make enough for optimal health. Also, cholesterol lowering drugs called statins inhibit the body’s production of this important heart enzyme and it is imperative to supplement.

• 30 to 90 mg per day for heart health
• 50 to 150 mg per day if taking a statin drug.
  

Vitamin B6, B12, B9 (Folic Acid) are especially important in controlling homocysteine levels in the bloodstream. High levels of homocysteine are associated with atherosclerosis and other circulatory problems.

All B vitamins are water soluble and need to be replenished daily. Some individuals may not be able to assimilate B12 because their stomach does not secrete enough hydrochloric acid and may use a patch or opt for an injection. Most importantly is to choose a supplement that includes all B vitamins because supplementing with only these three can cause a deficiency in the others.

• B6 - 50 to 100 mg daily for heart health
• B12 - 100 mcg for heart health
• B9 (Folic Acid) - 400 mcg for heart health
  

Because over one-third of all deaths in the United States involve heart disease, it is important to be proactive and care for your heart before you have a “broken heart”.

Probiotics Feed Your Gut, Improve Your Health

Did you know that, at any given time, you have more bacteria in your body than the total number of people who have ever lived on the planet? About 1 pound of your current weight is made up of these tiny micro-organisms living primarily in your gut. These invisible “bugs” are fundamental to your health.

For optimal health, there is a delicate balance of 85% “good bacteria” that keeps the 15% “bad bacteria” in check and manageable. Micro-organisms such as E. coli, salmonella and Candida yeast have the potential to reek havoc in the body when this balance is disrupted.

The most harmful substances to the delicate intestinal balance are:

• Fluoride
• Chlorine
• Antibiotics in food production
• Prescription antibiotics
• A diet high in processed carbohydrates (including sugar and starches)
  

They lower the ratio of good bacteria to bad bacteria, allowing the unhealthy bacteria to multiply, leading to gas, bloating, constipation, intestinal toxicity, poor absorption of nutrients and a lowered immune system.

Whereas antibiotics kill all intestinal bacteria, probiotics feed the gut with desirable bacteria such as the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains. By supplementing with a probiotic capsule, millions of live bacteria are implanted into the intestinal wall resulting in the:

• Prevention of bad bacteria growth
• Improved absorption and assimilation of vitamins & nutrients
• Stimulation of the body’s immune system
• Production of certain vitamins including the all important B vitamins.

Because the environment of the stomach is sterile and acidic, it’s important to take a probiotic that has a specially designed coating that protects and delivers the micro-organisms to the intestine.

Your intestine is like an open field; if cared for properly it can flourish into a garden, if left to chance, the weeds move in. Antibiotics do not discriminate, they destroy all bacteria and if good bacteria is not purposefully replenished, then the bad bacteria instinctively move in. Don't leave your health to chance.

Low Vitamin D, Chronic Disease-Should You Supplement?

Recently, Vitamin D has been hyped in the news and many doctors are now making it a priority to test their patients’ levels. If the test reveals that your level is too low, should you supplement? New research suggest that anyone with a Th1 immune dysfunction shouldn’t.

There are two forms of vitamin D in your body, inactive and active. The inactive is changed into the active D through the kidneys; the body's natural active D regulator. Once converted, normal levels help to balance the immune system but high amounts behave similarly to the steroid prednisone, which reduces inflammation and consequently suppresses the immune system.

One theory is that Th1 diseases such as sarcoidosis, lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (among others)are initiated in the body by Cell Wall Deficient (CWD) bacteria of various species that invades the white cells of the immune system.

The CWD bacteria short-circuit the body’s natural checks and balances by allowing excessive quantities of active D to be produced within the white blood cells. High levels of active D weaken the immune system thereby permitting the bacteria to multiply and reprogram the genes. Research has found that a cell invaded by CWD bacteria led to 70 new genes and 368 altered genes.

The common test that doctors use for Vitamin D testing is 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (Calcidiol, Calcifidiol) which only measures the inactive D. This test is acceptable for a healthy individual and supplementation may be recommended.

But, if you have an immune disease and test low for inactive D, request that your doctor check your active D through 1,25 dihydroxy-vitamin D (Calcitriol) test, BEFORE you supplement with Vitamin D.

CWD bacteria will generate low inactive D and high active D. If you find yourself in this situation, you may be interested in reading about Professor Trevor Marshall, Ph.D who in 2002 developed the “Marshall Protocol” to treat certain diseases that involve the Th1 immune system dysfunction.