Scientists: Bacteria May Cause Atherosclerosis

Here's an interesting Science Daily article explaining how recent medical studies have determined that certain bacteria -- including bacteria from the teeth and gums -- can be a causative agent in atherosclerosis, or heart disease.

Though it is not a new hypothesis, doctors seem to be astonished at this finding.

Which is funny, to me, because nearly two years ago health journalist Angela Kaelin wrote about this very subject in a Colloidal Silver Secrets blog post , titled "Colloidal Silver, Oral Health and Heart Health." (See reprint at this link).

She pointed out that "poor dental hygiene and bleeding gums could allow up to 700 different types of bacteria to enter the bloodstream, which, studies show, increases your risk of a heart attack regardless of how fit and healthy you are," and explaining how colloidal silver can help destroy pathogens in the mouth before they migrate through the bloodstream and to the arteries and heart.

Another article explains how colloidal silver is extremely effective against the oral bacterial that causes periodontal disease and plaque.

It's good to see the mainstream medical science publications finally catching up the natural health crowd, huh?

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Calcium and Heart Attack—What You Really Need to Know

Several weeks ago the World Health Organization was urging governments of the world to add extra calcium to everyone’s water supplies.

Then, the British Medical Journal came out with a report claiming that supplemental calcium increases risk of heart disease by 30%, and implying it is unsafe to take.

So we have two prestigious medical authorities at loggerheads with each other.

What’s the public to believe?

The below article from the Alliance for Natural Health helps set the record straight…

-- Spencer

Calcium and Heart Attack—What You Really Need to Know

August 3, 2010

You saw the sensational media headlines last week: calcium supplements cause heart attacks! We told you the truth about this several weeks ago, before the latest research came out. If you take calcium, be sure to read this.

The source of the media hype was a British Medical Journal article which reported on a survey of fifteen trials in which participants (all over age 40) were given at least 500 mg of elemental calcium per day. The researchers concluded that calcium supplements increase the risk of myocardial infarction by about 30% over five years.

This was another example of bad research, poorly constructed from a scientific point of view. But it does contain an element of truth that we all need to understand.

First, the research itself: Daniel Fabricant, PhD, vice president of scientific regulatory affairs for the Natural Products Association, said the results of this study go against years of research showing the benefits of calcium supplementation, and suggested that the authors of the research “cherry picked” the fifteen studies from hundreds of available research studies in the area.

Andrew Shao, PhD, senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), said that their conclusions are “dramatically overstated….Seven of the fifteen trials evaluated had no, or incomplete, data on cardiovascular outcomes…. Further, the researchers chose to exclude any trials administering calcium plus vitamin D—including the Women’s Health Initiative, which found calcium plus vitamin D had no effect on the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke.”

This last point—about taking calcium with vitamin D—is vital but still incomplete.

As we reported just last month, supplemental calcium should never be taken alone. It needs additional magnesium, vitamin D, omega–3 fatty acids, and vitamin K (in particular, vitamin K-2, which is especially important). Without these essential co-factors, the calcium may end up in our blood vessels or our heart, where it causes harm, rather than our bones, where it is needed. So long as these co-factors are taken as well, many studies have shown that added calcium plays an important role in building and maintaining bone mass—and also reduces the risk of colon cancer.

It is unarguably true that many people are taking calcium in the wrong way. The answer is not to stop taking it. There are enough cases of bone loss (osteoporosis) as it is. And the potential side effects of osteoporosis drugs are truly scary.

In the article we ran about calcium several weeks ago, the World Health Organization was urging world governments to put extra calcium in everyone’s water supply. We explained that this was a bad idea. Now the British Medical Journal is implying that any supplemental calcium is unsafe, which is untrue if the needed co-factors are taken too. So, in effect, one conventional medicine authority is saying one thing, and another conventional medicine authority is saying the opposite.

What this underscores is that the general public needs access to health advisors—including integrative MDs, and doctors of osteopathy (DOs)—who know about proper supplementation and can give the kind of expert advice that is needed. Conventional medicine’s attacks on the licenses of integrated doctors for practicing outside the conventional “standard of care,” which often means recommending particular supplements, doesn’t harm those physicians alone, but the entire American public.

People will take supplements whether conventional medicine (and especially the giant drug companies backing conventional medicine) like it or not. So it is particularly dangerous to try to shut down doctors who are skilled in the use of functional foods and supplements.

From: http://www.anh-usa.org/calcium-and-heart-attack%e2%80%94what-you-really-need-to-know/

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Antioxidants help arteries stay healthy in people at risk for heart disease

Antioxidants are substances that protect cells against the effects of free radicals -- molecules produced when the body breaks down food or is exposed to environmental toxins and radiation.

Free radicals are believed to play a role in heart disease, cancer and other disorders. So it makes sense that antioxidants could help protect or even treat many health problems.

However, some poorly designed studies have given antioxidants mixed results and resulted in the mainstream media reporting that antioxidants are virtually worthless. But new research provides hard evidence that taking antioxidant supplements long-term produces dramatic benefits in people with multiple cardiovascular risk factors.

That's the conclusion of a randomized, controlled trial of vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 and selenium capsules. The research results, just reported in BioMed Central's journal Nutrition and Metabolism, show these dietary antioxidants produce multiple positive effects on sugar and fat metabolism, blood pressure and arterial flexibility (which allows blood to move freely through the body).

The study was conducted by scientist Reuven Zimlichman and his research team at Wolfson Medical Center in Israel. They randomly divided 70 high blood pressure patients into two groups. One group was given antioxidants supplements and the other took placebo capsules for six months. Those taking the antioxidants received vitamin C (1000 mg/day), vitamin E (400 i.u/day), coenzyme Q10 (120 mg/day) and selenium (200 mcg/day).

Tests at the beginning of the trial, after three months, and again after six months documented that patients in the antioxidant group had marked improvements in their cardiovascular health. They had more elastic arteries and better blood sugar levels. In addition, their cholesterol profiles were healthier with a significant increase in HDL, the so-called "good", heart-protective cholesterol. In fact, the researchers concluded "antioxidant supplements have the potential to alleviate atherosclerotic damage.."

"Antioxidant supplementation significantly increased large and small artery elasticity in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. This beneficial vascular effect was associated with an improvement in glucose and lipid metabolism as well as significant decrease in blood pressure," Dr. Zimlichman said in a statement to the media. "The findings of the present study justify investigating the overall clinical impact of antioxidant treatment in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors."

More hopeful news for heart patients: another study by Dr. Zimlichman and colleagues published in the June issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology, found that taking the amino acid L-arginine long-term also helped people with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. In this randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 90 patients were assigned to receive either oral L-arginine capsules or placebo capsules. After six months, tests indicated those taking L-arginine had improved vascular health -- including a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure.

From: NaturalNews.com, Thursday, July 22, 2010 by: S. L. Baker, NaturalNews.com features writer

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Boost Cellular Energy With D-Ribose

Boost Memory and Mental Acuity With Vinpocetine

Pregnenolone: The Happiness Hormone Everyone Loves

DMG: The Superstar Anti-Aging Nutrient of the 21^st Century

Boost Sexual Libido in Both Men And Women With Maca Root

CMO: The All-Natural Arthritis Pain Remedy That Really Works!

Hoodia: The Cactus Extract That Eliminates Hunger Pangs

Jubilee 3: Healing Arthritic Joints, Naturally

Colloidal Silver Kills Viruses

Colloidal Silver Cures MRSA

Colloidal Silver Secrets blog

Colloidal Silver Secrets Group on Facebook

The Authoritative Guide to Vaccine Legal Exemptions