DOES YOUR HEART GOOD

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert 

March 11, 2003 

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Dear Reader, 

Last week I told you about the difficulty your body has in absorbing calcium ("Skinny Dipping" 3/4/03) - an important factor when you're trying to lose weight, because an increased calcium intake can help take off the pounds. 

This week calcium is on the agenda again with a new study that has important information about a vitamin that can help regulate calcium levels in heart muscle cells. It's a win/win situation: good for weight-loss, and good for the heart. 

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Calcium rules and regs 
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Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) occurs when the expansion and contraction of heart muscle cells is impaired, reducing the heart's ability to pump blood throughout the body. Because previous research on animals has demonstrated the possibility that low levels of vitamin D may play a role in heart failure, Researchers at the Department of Nutrition Science, University of Bonn, Germany, designed their study to examine the effect of vitamin D on human hearts. 

Over a period of five months, fasting blood samples were collected from 54 CHF patients. Their samples were compared to similar samples taken from a group of 34 healthy subjects that did not have CHF. 

An analysis of the samples revealed that the group of 54 CHF patients had vitamin D levels significantly lower than the healthy group. In fact some in the CHF group had D levels that were only half of the average level found in the other group. Furthermore, those with the lowest vitamin D levels tended to have the most severe symptoms of CHF. 

Because impaired calcium metabolism is known to contribute to the dysfunction of heart muscles, the Bonn researchers concluded that their study helps confirm that vitamin D may have an important effect in regulating the calcium levels within the muscle cells of the heart. 

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How much - and from where? 
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This Bonn research is the most recent in a series of studies that illustrate the importance of vitamin D in heart health. In an e-Alert I sent you last year ("D's Day" 4/30/02), I told you about a University of California, San Francisco, study that showed how vitamin D may cut the risk of heart disease in older women by as much as one-third, primarily due to the ability of vitamin D to prevent the buildup of calcium deposits in the arteries. 

Mainstream authorities, including the American Heart Association, continue to insist that you don't need to supplement with vitamin D. But studies like these confirm the benefits that nutritionally oriented physicians have known about for years. 

In the February 2002 issue of Nutrition and Healing newsletter, Dr. Jonathan Wright makes clear the profound importance of vitamin D: "Although the final proof isn't in 
(and probably won't be in our lifetimes), it's very likely that if you're over 40 and supplement your diet with a generous amount of vitamin D, you can lower your risk of prostate, breast, and bowel cancer along with your risk of 'essential' hypertension, osteoporosis, and tuberculosis. Young adults can lower their risk of multiple sclerosis as well." 

Dr. Wright recommends a daily vitamin D intake between 1600 and 2000 IUs - and as much as 4000 IUs for those of us over 
40. According to Dr. Wright, it's impossible for most people to get enough vitamin D from the sun alone - and he discourages the use of dairy products because of the many other health concerns they raise. Instead, he suggests other food sources like salmon and sardines - or even good old- fashioned cod liver oil, which provides over 1300 IUs of vitamin D per tablespoon. 

If you'd like to learn more about Dr. Wright's recommendations on vitamin D from his February 2002 newsletter, click here for free access http://www.wrightnewsletter.com/misc/nah_0202.shtml 

One of the true groundbreakers in the research and development of effective alternative therapies, Dr. Wright has been practicing natural and nutritional medicine since 
1973 - often vilified by the medical mainstream, but honored by his peers as the first recipient of the Linus Pauling Award for Lifetime Achievement in Natural Medicine. You can find out more about Dr. Wright and his monthly newsletter, Nutrition & Healing, by clicking here. http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/NAH/WNAHD334 

...and another thing 

HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., sent me an insightful response to the two ephedra e-Alerts from last week ("Ban The Torpedoes" 3/3/03, and "Choose Your Poison" 3/6/03). 

Dr. Spreen writes: 

"I have another comment about Ephedra. It's mighty funny that this herbal agent gets all the bad press, especially when its milligram content of active ingredient is very low. What's even funnier is the fact that nobody has mentioned a common, over-the-counter (OTC) drug that's a pure compound of the same drug class. Pseudoephedrine is just what the name suggests- 'pseudo', meaning a synthetic form of ephedrine, in this case chemically identified as pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, and defined in Dorland's Medical Dictionary as 'An adrenergic agent.' It can be bought in any quantity, from any drugstore, as the popular brand name 'Sudafed'. 

"Funnier still (if you think any of this is funny) is the fact that each OTC tablet contains 30 milligrams of the drug, and the label allows up to 240 milligrams daily 'as a decongestant,' though it's a stimulant, pure and simple, and not only truckers but many others have known about its use along that line for years. 

"To get 240 milligrams of ephedrine from the herb you'd have to be one aggressive son-of-a-gun and be taking it like candy. It would be (and it IS) much easier to get the same effect from far fewer tablets of the commonly available drug. 

"Why isn't anyone suggesting a heart warning on Sudafed labels? This wouldn't have anything to do with big money pharmaceutical interests nudging out the competition now, would it?" 

Last week, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson joined the mainstream chorus calling for stricter controls of the public's access to ephedra, saying, "I don't know why anyone would take these products. Why take the risk?" 

I wonder if Secretary Thompson's home medicine cabinet contains a box of Sudafed or Tylenol Sinus or any number of other very popular OTC products that contain pseudoephedrine? And, if so, why would he take the risk? 

To Your Good Health, 

Jenny Thompson

Health Sciences Institute

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