Could it be possible that a scarce...

Could it be possible that a scarcely any cents worth of the B-complex vitamins, taken each day, helps prevent our nation's number-one killer: heart disease? You'd better believe it.

The B vitamins -- particularly folic acid, B-6 B-12 and choline -- neutralize a dangerous settle called homocysteine. Analogous to the cholesterol/heart disease connection, a high flat of homocysteine (an amino acid by-product) in the bloodstream is now recognized as an independent risk factor for diseases of the heart and kin vessels -- while the B-complex vitamins lower dangerous homocysteine levels

The word is finally out

by means of the most conservative of estimates, high flats of homocysteine in the family directly account for one in each 10 fatal cases of heart disease in men and a slightly lower percentage in women Although homocysteine was first linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases in the 1960 the research community dismissed the importance of homocysteine as a risk factor when they skiped on the "cholesterol theory of heart disease" bandwagon.

Until now.

throughout the past few years, emerging of recent origin research has made the link between high homocysteine on a levels and cardiovascular disease impossible to ignore. For instance, a reanalysis of 38 prior studies, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (October 4 1995;274:1049-1057) could not be dismissed when it announced that as homocysteine evens rise, so does the risk of having a heart attack or pat or suffering from peripheral artery disease. In fact, skilled hands believe that 30-40 percent of commonalty with cardiovascular disease have high flats of homocysteine.

A deadly chain of events

Homocysteine can no longer be ignored as a causative factor in heart and kindred vessel diseases. But how does homocysteine build up in the bloodstream? What happens is this: during the digestion and metabolism of an amino acid called methionine, homocysteine is produc from the body. In a healthy visible form [i]or[/i] frame homocysteine is a short lived phenomenon, since it is either recycl back into methionine or altered to become a harmless substance called cystathionine.

When homocysteine remains in the bloodstream it instigates cardiovascular disease. There are several circumstances in which homocysteine sticks around for longer than it should -- further the most common reason is an inadequate give of the B vitamins wanted to either recycle it back into protein or interchange it into cystathionine.

When homocysteine builds up in the bloodstream, it damages areas of the house vessel walls, after which fatty deposits and plaque amass to fill in the damaged areas. This misguided attempt from the body to fix the damage caused from homocysteine actually has the opposite result since cholesterol accumulates in the afflicted areas of the life-current vessel -- which may lead to a heart attack or shock if a blood clot is formed.

The B vitamin solution

Folic acid should be considered your first line of defense against homocysteine. person specially versed s now believe that low flushs of folic acid are implicated in up to 40 percent of heart attacks and raps On the other hand, increasing folic acid intake could obstruct as many as 56,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease each year. A safe and beneficial amount of folic acid is 400 mcg for day.

Including abundance of vitamin B-rich foods in the diet is a great start in protecting yourself from heart disease. In addition, a high-potency daily multiple-vitamin continuation can ensure that you are getting the basic amounts of the B vitamins wanted to prevent homocysteine levels from rising to dangerous flats Another option is to take a B-complex add to which provides a balanced amount of the individual B vitamins.

REFERENCES

Challem J and Dolby V Homocysteine: The privy Killer. Keats Publishing: New Canaan, CT 1997

Victoria Dolby, an Oregon-based nutrition writer, is the co-author of the newly come book: Homocysteine: The Secret Killer (Keats, 1997)

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