Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), in particular coronary heart diseases (CHD) seem to be a popular topic of discussion by the many medical experts in the medical fraternity. There has also been a lot of development in this field with a lot of advances being made regularly and of course similarly many new discoveries and postulations being put forth by many researchers.

New evidence-based guidelines are available to aid clinicians in improving the preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic management of CHD; particularly in women. Surveys and quality improvement initiatives have documented the underuse of evidence-based interventions for women. Precise application of evidence-based therapy by the treating physician has the potential to improve the clinical outcomes for women with CHD. But, yet they are still increasing despite theses many advances with new methods of treating such cases.

It has been ascertained that heart diseases is the leading cause of both women and men deaths in the United States. In 2002, 696,947 people died of heart disease with 51% being women and this was 29% of all U.S. deaths. Coronary heart disease is the fore-runner principal type of heart disease with 494,392 deaths in 2002; representing about 71% of all heart disease deaths. It is estimated that about 47% of cardiac deaths occur before emergency services or transport to a hospital. In 2006, heart disease is projected to cost more than $258 billion, including health care services, medications and lost productivity. Worldwide, coronary heart disease kills more than 7 million people each year.

It is really alarming......oh dear! What then are the causes and why is it modern scientific techniques aren't curtailing its proliferation? Of course, we do know of the inherent risk factors but are we addressing the root cause of the disease? I had just posted the article on the homocysteine factor for the benefit of many people to realize that it is all the more important for each and every one of us to play a bigger part in identifying the disease much earlier. Just as the saying goes, "Prevention is better than cure". But how many do take this precaution. It is not so much as any other reasons but more due to the lifestyles you adopt, the food you ingest and the environment that you are in.

Many would rely on the doctors' prescription to save their lives which are mainly drugs, drugs, drugs and none other than drugs!! Why did you not ask yourselves whether these drugs are just temporary measures in containing the problem? Or are you so naive not to take an interest in knowing what these statins drugs would do to your long term health? In fact there are many people now resorting to alternatives, meaning those that do not have side effects on their health in the long run.

Pharmaceutical companies can reap much from the sale of drugs that advertisements and promotions at the expense of each of you seems to be the intention of the day. Mind you......it is at your expense. Have you explored some other statin drug alternatives? In fact there are many other alternatives but yet again you must be able to be sure of its effectiveness.

Remember, it has to be solving the root cause of CHD and not otherwise. Amongst one of such alternatives is Transfer Factor which has been touted as the new kid on the block in the transferceutical arena. Take a look at this alternative approach which is taking the medical fraternity by surprise. Be pounds wise as it addresses the root cause of the cardiovascular diseases.

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We all  now know that any homocysteine level above 6 units (millimol per liter) is certain to have great implications into the health of your life.

What then are the risks which lead to high homocycteine levels? Knowing them would enable you to avoid a situation where you need more efforts to reduce homocysteine and its disease effects subsequently. However, there are many you could avoid but there are also some which you could hardly, in fact, cannot change.

The risk factors are:-

• The Unavoidable Genetic Inheritance

Includes family history of heart diseases, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, diabetes, pregnancy and male sex

• Low Folate Intake Of Less Than 90mcg Per Day
• Increasing Age
• Deficiency In Estrogen
• Excessive Indulgence In Alcohol, Coffee Or Tea Intake
• Smoking
• Lack Of Exercise
• Hostility With Repressed Anger And Stress
• Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Amongst them are celiac, Chron's disease and ulcerative colitis.

• H. Pylori-generated Ulcers
• Being Strict Vegetarian Or Vegan
• High Fat-Diet

Includes excess red meat and high fat dairy intakes

• High Salt Intakes

It is imperative that, for those of you who are living a lifestyle that involves most of the above risk factors, you must now take pro-active measures to reduce your high homocycteine levels; lest you may find to be too late should it leads to the many diseases of today. It is also a caution to those of you that in the event that you contract a certain disease, it costs you more to address it then than to do it now.

To know how to manage your high homocysteine level, apart from adopting the above risk management measures, here is the clue.

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The amazing effects of the various "nutrients" on your homocysteine level as discussed in my last post determines your day-to-day health. At optimized level, it gives you the feeling of improved mood, mental clarity, memory, arthritic fibromyalgia and migraine pain reductions, better sleep, increased energy and liver functionality, slowing of aging process and detoxification due to raised glutathione level and the noticeable dramatic reduction of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

Regulating homocysteine is essential for the following reasons:-

• High Homocysteine Accelerates Oxidation And Aging

As in the case of high homocysteine affecting its release, free radicals are released from the many chemical processes in the body; be it from the oxidation of your food to smoking. If you eat fried foods, exercise excessively, suffer from chronic inflammation, breathed exhaust fumes or are exposed to excessive sunlight, you will end up with more that damages your skin, lung, digestive tracts, brain, arteries and DNA.

• High Homocysteine Weakens Your Immune System

Your immune system is constantly being attacked by free radicals and glutathione, the anti-oxidant that lives within any cell acts much like the benevolent police force that stands guard to mop up any excess free radicals from cell-mediated processes to ensure your good health.

• High Homocysteine Damages Your Arteries

Increased oxidation is one of the ways homocysteine damages your arteries. It causes blood cholesterol to be oxidized to the dangerous oxidzed low density lipoprotein (LDL) which can severely attack all arterial walls causing atherosclerosis.

• High Homocysteine Damages Your Brain & Its IQ & Ages It

The brain being the center of most activities is more prone to oxidation by free radicals; thus the rampant brain-related problems such as Alzheimer's disease, clinical depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is the brain communication chemicals that keep you exhibiting the various emotions and methylation is essential for it to function well; including raising one's IQ. The many effects of an aging brain such as diminished brain power, slower retrieval memory and lower sex drive etc happen because the brain DNA are being oxidzed, damaged and killed by amino acid beta-amyloid.

• High Homocysteine Increases Pain, Inflammation & Blood Clotting

It promotes the release of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), the hormonal inflammatory messenger which is derived from an animal fat called arachidonic acid; high levels of these two are strongly linked pains and inflammation-related diseases as prolonged inflammation actually damages nerves, arteries and joints.

• High Homocysteine Increases Cancer Risk & Creates Detoxification Problems

Glutathione, essential in DNA repair and detoxification, works along with SAMe in your liver to overcome the abuse you inflict upon your body through smoking, drinking, drugs (both illlegal & prescribed), allergens, viruses and chemicals. Almost all cancer are related to glutathione deficiency, which also is attributed to recurrent cold, muscle pains, smoker's cough, asthmatic cough & wheezing, chronic bronchitis, frequent tiredness, joint pains & irritability.

• High Homocysteine Is Linked To Hormonal Problems

In post-menopause, women are prone to estrogen deficiency which attributes to increased homocysteine level and thus greater cardiovascular diseases, stroke and heart problems risks. The accumulating evidence that lowering hoocysteine keeps hormonal balance thus works in both ways.

• A Sure Indicator Of Vitamin B And SAMe Deficiencies

Instead of just guessing in the dark over what vitamins you may be lacking, a high H score is evidently good enough to appeal you to supplementation of vitamins B. SAMe is the "master tuner" with its expected wider range of benefits. It protects against liver disease, helps protect the brain from oxidation damage, reduces arthritis and fibromyalgia joint pains and restores joint mobility.

How about what next? Straight away to the pharmacy and grab hold of SAMe and other vitamins B? Urrgh....? That simple? Believe it or not, you may still have to wait on for my next post.

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Hi, welcome back.

We now know that homocysteine can now be converted to either SAMe or glutathione. Being too much in the body is toxic by its own nature, its accumulation is a sure sign of failure of the mechanism of methylation and sulphur-adding enzymes and it spells trouble.

Increased levels of methylation with increased SAMe, glutathione and vitamin B are good signs of low homocysteine and are disassociated with chronic diseases. Wouldn't that be ideal? What about the feeling good irony? Do not make the same mistake of assuming that if you do not have the symptoms, you do not have homocysteine problems. Exactly like most of the serious medical illnesses such as coronary heart diseases, stroke and hypertension involving high homocysteine levels, it is often symptom-free at the early stages which is where lies the danger.

In any of such cases, lowering your H score with "intelligent" nutrient is one way and will be a priority. The accumulation of homocysteine in the body only affirms that enzymes, the chemical catalyst of all the bio-chemical transformation processes are not functioning properly and coordinating amongst themselves. it is a very complex form of induction as enzymes do not work alone to effect healthy levels of homocysteine. Enzymes have helpers known as co-factors which are primarily as follows:-

• Enzymes (Cystathionine beta synthase & Cystathionine lyase) & Co-Factors (Vitamin B6, B2 and Zinc)
• Enzyme (Homocysteine Methyltransferase & MTHFR) & Co-Factors (Vitamin B12, B2, Folate, Trimethylglycine or TMG and Zinc)
• Enzyme (SAMe synthase) & Co-Factors (Magnesium & ATP)

In assisting you to be stay chemically flexible, well-methylated and in the best possible physical and mental health, the B vitamins is amongst the co-factors that "intelligently" choreograph the homocysteine dance. Vitamin supplementation alone is insufficient, so is eating a balanced diet. You need methyl donors such as SAMe and TMG which can donate abundantly to the bodily chemical dance. Most importantly is re-test your H score regularly and diet reassessment. Reclogging of coronary arteries resulting in chest pains is a common phenomenon amongst heart-bypass patients. A case to point out here is many of such similar conditions patients would have been advised to ingest key homocysteine-lowering vitamins B and in particular, folate supplement in a thousand times more than the usual 15 mcg daily. You would be surprised that a re-test of the H score in such situations reveal continued high homocysteine levels. Supplementing with 6mcg of TMG is able to bring down the H score from 15 to 4 units goes to show just blindly supplementing with the big four vitamins B without H score re-testing and diet reassessment is bound to be a fatal mistake. Know your regimen; whether it is working for you or against you and know what next to do to overcome it if you want to stay and live healthily.

The question before you now is, "Are You Well Methylated?". Though not necessarily the best "nutrient" to supplement with, SAMe is, however, very important to cell development functions. As a methyl donor in over 35 to 40 methylation chemical reactions involving the DNA (such as in DNA methylation in cancer development), proteins, catechol, phospholipids, amines and other neurotransmitters, SAMe is expensive and unstable in nature. TMG instead is a better choice for healthy living as a supplement as it is easily obtained naturally from choline found in fish and eggs of a non-vegetarian diet.

Happy reading and happy New Year to all

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