The Rest of the Story

Hopefully this post will complete this discussion series about Nitric Oxide, the important role it plays in cardiovascular health, and the amino acid, L'Arginine, that produces it in our bodies.  These final elements are also vital to a balanced Arginine product.

There is no question about the vast array of benefits our bodies receive from antioxidants.  There is a paradox with the French.  They eat more saturated fat but have less cardiovascular disease.  The antioxidants in red wine are suspected as being protective.  So am I telling you that you need to drink red wine in order to be health?  No, you don't have to drink red wine to compete with the French.  Actually OPC's from grape seed are excellent antioxidants!  Red grape juice is also a good source.  It is extremely important to note that LDL (or the bad cholesterol) must be oxidized to be inserted in plaque.  With antioxidants, they stay out of plaque!  Vitamins C, B, and E are also antioxidants. 

What are antioxidants?  They are simply substances that protect your cells against the effects of free radicals.  Free radicals are chemically active atoms or molecular fragments that have a charge due to an excess or deficient number of electrons.  Because they have one or more unpaired electrons, free radicals are unstable.  They scavenge your body to grab or donate electrons, thereby damaging cells, proteins, and DNA (genetic material).  The same oxidative process also causes oils to become rancid, peeled apples to turn brown, and iron to rust.  Free radicals arise from sources both inside and outside our bodies.  Free radicals are produced when your body metabolizes food, from inflammation, or by environmental exposures like tobacco smoke, pollution or radiation.  Our antioxidant systems are not perfect, so, as we age, cell parts, damaged by oxidation, accumulate.   Free radicals can damage cells and play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases.  Oxidation is the number one enemy in our bodies that causes disease.

Fulvic Minerals are also essential.  They are complete spectrum minerals.  They are processed by plants to the ionic or atomic level.  The Fulvic delivery system ensures complete absorption.  Fulvic Minerals increase enzyme activity, stimulate the immune system and aid in the assimilation and utilization of nutrients.  In other words, Fulvic Minerals have the ability to help us get all this other "stuff" into our system quicker and more effectively.  What you take in is not nearly as important as what you absorb, thus the importance of Fulvic Minerals.

Additional Fulvic Mineral benefits are:

• They increase oxygen in the blood
• They act as a free radical scavenger
• They supply vital electrolytes to your cells
• They restore electrical balance to your cells
• They enhance and transport cell nutrients.

All very important benefits, indeed!

The final ingredient(s) that complete any nutritional product naturally are super juices.  One of the benefits of super juices is they are antioxidants.  The first four that I will discuss (briefly), when taken from the very best sources that are available, gives you a tremendously potent source of antioxidants; however, L'Arginine itself is better than all of them as an antioxidant.

Super juices are broad spectrum antioxidants, they contain phyto-nutrients with multiple health benefits.  Phyto-nutrients, by definition, are those plant compounds which are thought to have health-protecting qualities.  In other words, they don't know how to explain it scientifically but they know they work.

•  Mangosteen Juice helps lower LDL cholesterol, helps prevent hardening of the arteries, helps regulate blood sugar level, helps reduce pain from arthritis, helps with allergies, helps reduce inflammation and lowers fever and helps strengthen the immune system and fight free radicals.
• Himalayan Goji Juice (the best source), helps maintain normal blood pressure, helps maintain normal cholesterol, helps maintain normal blood sugar, helps improve vision and supports eye health, helps boost the immune system, helps with menopause symptoms, helps with a chronic dry cough and helps strengthen muscles and bones.
• Brazalian Acai Juice (again, the best source), has essential minerals, helps improve energy and stamina, helps improve digestion, helps improve restful sleep, helps improve sexual functionk, helps maintain normal cholesterol levels and helps boost the immune system.  
• Tahitian Noni Juice helps decrease allergy symptoms, helps with depression, helps decrease arthritis symptoms, helps improve breathing, helps improve digestion, helps decrease high blood pressure and helps sharpen memory and increase clarity and awareness.  Mental clarity could mean that it would be good for dementia or alzheimers.

The final point I would like to make about this series is that the best form that any nutrient can be taken is liquid.  Why liquid?  First, for improved absorption.  The Physician's Desk Reference (PDR), which contains prescription drug information resources and includes dosages, interactions and side effects, and is widely used by the medical community, states that pills may only be 20% absorbed.  So, if one was to take a 5 gram pill of Arginine, 20% would only give 1 gram of absorption.  That would mean you would need to take 25 pills in order to get 5 grams of absorption.  Secondly, powders may not dissolve completely, and, thirdly, in order to avoid "pill fatigue".  Pill fatigue is a condition occurring over time to chronically ill patients who have to take a lot of medication, in which the patient stops taking pills because of the stress and monotony of constant pill swallowing.  With a liquid, you get the maximum absorption and, thus, the maximum benefit.

A word of warning:  when you decide to research L'Arginine on the web, you will likely come across an article from the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) discouraging the use of Arginine based on a very lopsided study where L'Arginine alone was given to patients who had just had heart attacks and some deaths did occur.  The important thing to note here is that these patients were not given an Arginine product balanced with the other ESSENTIAL ingredients.  It is not recommended to take L'Arginine without other ingredients to balance it's effects.

And that's the Rest of the Story!

More Good Stuff

To continue our discussion of just what is contained in a balanced Arginine product . . . . .

We've discussed what the amino acid L'Arginine is and how it creates Nitric Oxide in your body and what that miracle molecule does for you.  We talked about the fact that it must be a balanced product for it to function correctly and be the most beneficial for health.  Vitamin D3 was the first ingredient we discussed . . in itself, a miracle drug, indeed.

Another ingredient in a balanced Arginine product is your B vitamins.  B vitamins help improve the function of NOS - the enzyme that makes Nitric Oxide.  Studies show that women who consume more B vitamins have half the risk of heart disease.

B vitamins also help rid the body of Homocysteine, which is a compound that builds up in B Vitamin deficiency.  Homocysteine is an amino acid produced by the body, usually as a byproduct of consuming meat.  Homocysteine is made from another amino acid, methionine, and then in turn is converted into other amino acids.  Elevated levels of homocysteine in the blood appear to make for an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease.  If you have a blood test and you look at Homocysteines, you have a good way of seeing if you have enough Vitamin B in your system.  Too much Homocysteines reduces the amount of Vitamin B.  Homocysteines inhibit the action of Nitric Oxide and they also may generate free radicals - causing oxidative damage.

The next ingredient in a balanced Arginine product is Omega 3.  Omega 3's are anti-inflammatory, they make blood vessels more pliable, they improve endothelial function, they enhance the production of Nitric Oxide, they increase HDL (the good cholesterol) and decrease LDL (the bad cholesterol). 

Do you see the connection with these ingredients and what Arginine does?  Most of the time you think of Omega 3's as coming from fish oil but there is always the possibility of mercury poisoning with fish oil.  There are good plant sources of Omega 3's as well.  Perilla oil and flax oil are good sources.  The anti-inflammatory properties of Omega 3's are very important.  If you've ever been diagnosed with anything whose name ended in "-itis" (that's ITIS), that denotes inflammation:  for example:  arthr-itis.

Next is EDTA.  Intravenous studies are underway by the National Institutes of Health.  EDTA has been available in oral form for years.  EDTA is a heavy metal scavenger.  It is unclear it's exact mechanism in atherosclerosis, but it has been proven to have an affect.  EDTA is a natural chelator.  Many doctor's have used IV chelation for years.  If someone is exposed to heavy metals via an accident, etc., those metals will show up in their urine, hair and blood; and IV chelation would be used to remove them.  If those metals are not removed and are allowed to sit in the body, they begin to settle in the body's major organs and may not show up in urine, hair, and blood.  The problem still exists, however, and deterioration of those organs result and ultimately destruction.  One example is heavy metal toxicity in the brain.

As I mentioned before, you can readily see how the ingredients I've discussed work hand in hand with Arginine and support it's function in the body.  There are still a few more ingredients to discuss as we discover more good stuff. . .

Vitamin D3: How Important Is It?

The question was posed in my last post of this series:  What is a balanced Arginine product?

A better question would be:  What does a balanced Arginine product contain?

Number One on the list would most definitely be Vitamin D3.

According to studies, Vitamin D deficiency is now recognized as an epidemic in the US and it's deficiency may be associated with Cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and heart failure patients with CVD.  About two years ago, the Canadian Cancer Society recognized the Vitamin D deficiency problem there.  They encouraged everyone in Canada to take at least 1,000 IU's of Vitamin D every day, especially the elderly, because it had shown to lower the incidence of 18 different types of cancer by 60%!  According to Dr. Ignarro (Dr. Louis Ignarro, recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine and author of the book "NO More Heart Disease"), 1,000 IU's is not enough.  I encourage you to look at the website, http://vitamindcouncil.org .  This site is not selling anything, it is simply providing information only, about the research that has been done and is being done regarding Vitamin D and it's effect on many conditions, including cancer.  You'll learn on the site that by taking 200,000 IU's of Vitamin D3 every day for 7 days, you may stop the possibility of getting the flu.  In Canada, again, they encourage the use of Vitamin D3 instead of the flu shot.  It is much safer and much more cost effective.

What about the toxicity question?  Vitamin D3 is what you get from the sun.  In fact, you get about 10,000 IU's from the sun in a very short period of time.  Vitamin D2 is synthetic, is indeed toxic, and is usually prescription Vitamin D.  So, if it's what we get from the sun, why are people deficient?  With the scare about skin cancer, our lifestyles that keep us indoors, and the use of sunscreens, is there any question?  In parts of the world, if you stayed outdoors, completely naked, for all the hours of sunlight, you still wouldn't get enough.

  Vitamin D deficiency may be associated with arthritis, chronic pain, depression, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, PMS, as well as muscular weakness.

It's deficiency may also be assiciated with Fibromyalgia, Crohn's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and Auto-Immune illness!  What do you notice about these conditions?  These are conditions for which  most doctor's don't believe there is a cure.  But, if they are caused by a deficiency, and if that deficiency is rectified, then what?  Vitamin D3 will probably win a second Nobel Prize - the first one was for it's discovery and the second will be from realizing just how powerful it is!

And, finally, Vitamin D3 deficiency is also associated with Cancer!  The Susan G. Komen website contains information about Vitamin D and it's effect on Breast Cancer.  Again, http://vitamindcouncil.org has much information about this as well.  Listed here are the top 17 kinds of cancer that are affected by Vitamin D3.

More About Nitric Oxide

These studies show what Nitric Oxide does:  lowers blood pressure, lowers cholesterol and triglycerides, improve diabetes, improves sexual function, reduces blood clots and strokes, improves heart failure, and more.

These are not just light reading magazines.  These are medically published clinical studies!

Nitric Oxide is produced from Arginine in the endothelium.  If you have enough Arginine, you'll have enough Nitric Oxide.  Dr. Ignarro says it takes about 5 grams (not milligrams. . . but grams - that's 5,000 milligrams) per day to stay healthy.  Most Americans get maybe 3 grams per day in their diet and they don't assimilate all of that.  If we need at least 5 grams and we get 3 grams or less, then we're going in the hole, and the worse our diet is, the deeper we are going in the hole.

And here's more clinical studies . . . . . improves wound healing, improves kidney function, improves memory and cognitive functions, increases human growth hormone, improves muscle growth and performance, and more. 

We've known for years that Arginine has been used for weight lifting and body building because it helps a person recover faster.  But those same weight lifters and body builders have been taking it in pill form, of which form your body only assimilates about 20%.  But Arginine helps ANYBODY recover faster.  However, it is NOT recommended that you take Arginine by itself.  You need a balanced Arginine product.  And we will mention that fact again.

L-Arginine can positively affect people with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, family history of CVD, high estrogen, smokers, chest pains, leg pains, easily winded, lack of energy and impotence. 

In looking at this list, why does estrogen cause a problem?  One reason is this:  in Lexi-Comp's Clinical Reference Library book, titled "Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook", thousands of drugs are listed and every drug has a nutrient or nutrients that it depletes.  If you look up estrogen, you find that it eventually makes the arteries stiff because of the Vitamin C and the B Vitamins that it steals from your body.

So what is a balanced Arginine product?   Stay tuned and we'll find out . . . . .

Good News & Bad News

The answer is:  All Natural. . . . which is Good News . . . . . and . . . . Bad News!

                                                                                
The Good news is that it IS all natural and the Bad news is that you cannot "patent" a natural substance (like you can a synthetic drug).  That means that the pharmaceutical industry, and most of the medical establishment,  is going to be anti-natural.

Here's another quote from Dr. Cooke's book:  "There is magic within all of us.  It comes in the shape of a molecule known as nitric oxide.  A substance so powerful that it can actually protect you from heart attack and stroke."



I introduced the question in my last post:  ".....how can we make our bodies produce more?"  We've established that our bodies make nitric oxide.  And we know the vital role that nutrition plays in how our bodies function.  Nitric oxide is not a substance we can take by pill . . . . at least not indiscriminately.  A heart patient keeps nitroglycerin tablets nearby for when they feel a problem coming on.  This is basically nitric oxide.  It does the same thing, only it is more drastic than how your body normally manufactures it.

There IS something you can do nutritionally to enhance your body's own production of this miracle molecule!

The essential amino acid, L'Arginine, or simply Arginine, is what enables our arteries to produce nitric oxide. 

Here is a quote from the book entitled "The Arginine Solution", subtitled, "The First Guide to America's New Cardio-Enhancing Supplement" by Robert Fried, Ph.D., & Woodson C. Merrell, M.D. and James Thornton, M.D.   I quote:  "In the field of medicine and health, it is one of the revolutions of our time:  the discovery that the amino acid L-Arginine may be the "magic bullet" for the cardiovascular system."  Drs. Fried, Merrell, and Thornton claim that Arginine:  "opens clogged arteries, reduces the risk of Heart Disease, boosts potency with the natural alternative to Viagra, improves your immune system and more with this "miracle molecule" whose remarkable properties were validated by the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine."                                                                  

L'Arginine is a simple, essential amino acid that is not produced by the body, but that is found in our diet - primarily in red meat.  It is a protein molecule.  We know that red meat is fatty and has cholesterol, and, as a result, many individuals have cut back on their intake of red meat.  Another fact is that L'Arginine is somewhat difficult to break down from the diet.  In fact, we only assimilate about 20% of the L'Arginine that comes from the food we eat.  These facts are probably why, as Dr. John Cooke claims, Amercians are not producing enough nitric oxide in their blood vessels.

The question that many have in regards to L'Arginine, as with other supplements, is"  "Does Arginine interact with prescription medications?"

Can you eat red meat with your prescriptions?

If so, you can take Arginine with it.

L'Arginine is safe to take with:  Cholesterol-lowering drugs, aspirin or anticoagulants, calcium channel blockers, Digitalis or ACE Inhibitors and Beta-Blockers:  all associated with heart conditions.

What you may find is that, over time, taking Arginine may result in your needing less and less of these prescription medications.

It is always a wise thing to ask your physician prior to beginning any supplementation program.  The question to ask is, "Are there any contra-indications in the ingredients in this supplement with the medications I am currently using?"

A few words of caution:

You should never stop taking a prescription medication without your doctor's advice.  Usually, if you are on any kind of maintenance meds, you will need to be weaned off of these.

However, if your doctor is critical of you trying Arginine and working on a plan to wean you off the drugs, you may want to seek a second opinion.

Also!  Avoid nitrate type drugs, such as Nitroglycerin, or take your Arginine at a different time than these.  Avoid Vasculogenic drugs like Viagra for obvious reasons.  You will more than likely find that you do not need these type drugs after taking Arginine.

And, speaking of Viagra, Erectile Dysfunction, or ED, is just another form of cardiovascular disease -- below the belt.  And these quotes attest to that fact:

And that is the . . . . . . Good news & Bad news!

What In The World is Nitric Oxide?

So what is the answer?

How do our bodies produce nitric oxide?

And what in the world is nitric oxide, anyways?

If it's so good, how can we make our bodies produce more?

Let's examine The Science.  In this post we will look at and outline the research and science that supports Nitric Oxide.  We'll also look at the nutritional elements L'Arginine and Vitamin D3 in nitric oxide production.  Nitric Oxide has been called the "Magic Bullet".  Our bodies are obviously the gun because our bodies produce it.  But what pulls the trigger?

These three American Scientists won the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of the Nitric Oxide Pathway.  The Associated Press reported on October 12, 1998 that they won the prize "for discovering that the body uses nitric oxide gas to make blood vessels relax and widen - a finding that could pay off in treatments for heart disease."

Dr. Louis J. Ignarro wrote his book, "NO More Heart Disease", based on his more than 30 years of research.  The "NO" stands for Nitric Oxide but it also stands for NO:  meaning NONE.  The subtitles on the cover of his book reads:  "How Nitric Oxide Can Prevent - Even Reverse - Heart Disease and Strokes" and "A Program for Boosting Production of the Body's Own Wonder Drug."

Dr. Ignarro talks about winning the Nobel Prize and the benefits of L'Arginine

If you click on the link above you will be able to view a video clip of Dr. Ignarro speaking about winning the Nobel Prize and the benefits of L'Arginine on the cardiovascular system once it converts it to Nitric Oxide.


So, just what IS Nitric Oxide, or "NO"?

• It has been named "Molecule of the Year" by Science magazine in 1992. 

• It is produced by the endothelial cell linings along 100,000 miles of blood vessels and capillaries in the human body.

• It keeps the blood vessels open, elastic and functioning properly.

• 20,000 articles in medical literature since 1980 attest that "absolutely everything depends on it!"

According to Dr. John Cooke in "The Cardiovascular Cure", "Most Americans are not producing enough "NO" in their blood vessels."  If they are not producing enough "NO", then what is going to be the results?  If it is what keeps blood vessels elastic, then a lack of it will result in the hardening of those vessels.  If it is what causes those vessels to vasodilate, or relax, then a lack will result in constricted vessels.  If it is what allows for better blood flow to all parts of the body, then a lack of it will decrease that flow and thus deterioration will occur.  Where ever the weakest link in the chain is:  whether it's the heart, the lungs, the legs (as with PAD), the kidneys, or elsewhere, that's where the problem is going to be!

I hope you are beginning to get a picture of just how important this little molecule is to your health and, indeed, your life.  Maybe you're beginning to understand what in the world is Nitric Oxide!

Cardiovascular Disease Progression

I beg the indulgence of my readers. This information may be a little dull and boring but it shows the insidious nature of this disease that is so subtle, many times, in its approach, but so often deadly in its results. As I said in the beginning, much of the time, the first sign that you have heart disease is . . . . sudden death!











This picture shows a lengthwise cross section of an artery and actually illustrates the progression of cardiovascular disease. First, you have normal, healthy artery. Then early fatty streaks begin showing up which continue and grow. White and Red blood cells form an internal rupture within the endothelium (the lining of the blood vessels) and inflammation and calcification begin. A calcified shell forms around this lipid-rich plaque and, with scarring, calicified plaque develops. White blood cells accumulate to the point where the artery is vulnerable and there is a possibility of a rupture. This is what happend to Tim Russert. He didn't have much blockage (only about 40%) but it ruptured and, therefore, the first real sign of his problem was his death.

When a Thrombus and Myocardial Infarction occurs, doctors must go in and place a stent, which is a tube designed to be inserted into a vessel or passagway to keep it open. The other option is to put in a new vein or artery to bypass the damage.

How fast this progression occurs is determined by what we eat and what we assimilate!


Here we are comparing three cross-cut sections of arteries: First, a healthy blood vessel, where the endothelium is relaxed and the vessel is open. Second is a narrowed artery where constriction is occuring because of a lack of Nitric Oxide.

Nitric Oxide is what the endothelium produces to keep the arteries relaxed and vasodilated. This problem is compounded by the plaque build-up. But notice the third artery, where Nitric Oxide has been increased allowing for dilation. Even with the plaque still present, one can see how blood flow is increased!

In my next post I will discuss how our bodies produce this essential Nitric Oxide and what we can do nutritionally to enhance its production . . . . and . . . . . put a halt to Cardiovascular Disease Progression!

Endothelial Health

We've looked at the facts regarding the situation of heart disease in America today and now we begin to look at the science behind these facts. Why are we in this situation? What causes these problems. I'm no scientist. I'm not even a doctor. But the facts speak for themselves and there are some very excellent resources out there, available to the inquisitive mind. And, if you want a better life of physical health than, say, some of your friends and family have had . . . and maybe even yourself to this point. . . . let's take a look together.

Here is a cross cut section of an artery. The very thin lining inside the artery is called the Endothelium. This lining is only one cell thick, but if you took it out of all your arteries and spread it out over an area, it would be about the size of 6-8 tennis courts! This lining is where "the rubber meets the road", so to speak. This is where we have the ability to be healthy or unhealthy "cardiovascularly".

And where does your cardiovascular system not touch? Anywhere you bleed, if you are cut, is affected by your cardiovascular system and thus by your cardiovascular health!

If you have a nice, smooth, slick endothelium, then you have good artery flow. Especially if it is nice and pliable. If it begins to get stiff or clogged up, like with the plaque in this picture, then you have a problem.

The layer between the endothelium and the outer surface of the artery is the smooth muscle layer. What do you think happens if this layer constricts? For instance, if you are out in the cold and your hands, arms, feet and legs begin to get cold, what is happening? That muscle layer is constricting because of the cold, and is restricting the blood flow to those arteries because your heart, lungs, brain and other major organs require the extra blood flow.

You have about 100,000 miles of arteries in your body (some the size of your finger, some the size of spaghetti, and some the size of a 10th of the diameter of your hair!) You need all of your blood cells to be able to get through ALL of your arteries, so you need them to be soft and pliable: not constricted. Then, if you add the problem of plaque buildup, the blood flow is restricted even further.

I know you've heard the saying, "the Life is in the blood". It's true. It really is your life blood. And where blood does not flow because of whatever the problem, death occurs.

A healthy endothelium is like "Teflon": a smooth surface that enhances the flow of blood. Of course, we don't want "old teflon". What happens when teflon gets old? That's right. It begins to flake off and things start to stick to the surface. An unhealthy endothelium is like "Velcro", causing white blood cells and platelets to stick to it.


This book, entitled "The Cardiovascular Cure: How to Strengthen Your Self-Defense Against Heart Attack and Stroke" is written by John P. Cooke, who is an MD AND has a PhD, was the head of Stanford Medical Vascular Research at the time of the writing of the book and is now the head of Harvard Medical Research. I'll be using several quotes from this book as we go along with this series. As I said before, there are numerous resources out there: a host of books and hundreds of research papers have been written on this subject that we are examining.

I do not want to bore you, but I do want to impress upon you the seriousness of this apparent epidemic that plagues our country today. I also want you to know the why . . . . . and how YOU CAN PREVENT IT!

Next time, we will continue to look at how important to your life is your endothelial health!

The Facts

Let's look at the facts!

• Over one million die each year due to heart disease!

• Half of these are women!

• Every 60 seconds someone dies of a heart attack!

• The effect of heart disease is like SEVEN Boeing 747's crashing . . . . . with NO survivors . . . . EVERY DAY!

Just think about it! If we even had THREE 747's crashing every WEEK, what would they do to EVERY airport in the nation? You're right! They'd shut them down. The problem is: this is so common place . . . . and we think we have such a "perfect" way of dealing with this. Tim Russert is an example (from my last post) is an example of the fact that WE DO NOT! Our methods and, perhaps, our treatment is just not good enough . . . . obviously! But what if we could PREVENT this problem of heart disease?


And what about these additional facts?

• Nearly 80 million adults in the United States have Cardiovascular Disease.

• That's one in three!

• Every 36 seconds someone dies of a CVD. . . . .Wait . . . . didn't I say 60 seconds before? That was people who died of HEART ATTACKS. Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) includes many things, such as: stroke, hypertension (high blood pressure), and aneurysms, to name just a few.

And there's more. . . . .

Did you know that more people die from sudden cardiac death than AIDS (16,000), breast cancer (40,600) AND lung cancer (157,400) ALL combined?!*

• SCD accounts for 300,000 deaths each year - one every 60 seconds!*

• 95% die before reaching the hospital!

• 100,000 ATHLETES die each year from SCD!

• And 60% of youth are at risk for heart disease!

• And you think eating meat is a major cause? Did you know that the most common kind of death with vegetarians is CVD?!

• In fact, Heart Attacks kill more people than the next NINE causes of death COMBINED!
  

*Sources: NASPE, CDC, American Cancer Society

This is truly a problem here in America!

• CHD is the SINGLE largest killer of American males and females!

• EVERY 26 seconds an American will suffer a coronary event and every 60 seconds someone will DIE from one!

• About 38% who experience a coronary attack in a given year WILL DIE FROM IT!

• EVERY 45 seconds, someone in the US has a stroke!

• Strokes account for 1 of every 16 deaths in the US!

Do these facts scare you? Well, they should! No one is exempt. Tim Russert only had a 40% blockage! Remember, the number one sign that you have Cardiovascular Disease, many times, is SUDDEN DEATH!

These are The Facts! But there IS a way to PREVENT this dreaded disease! Stay tuned . . . . .

The Situation

It seems that nobody took the bait on my last post and answered the question about what the South American tribe did in response to their problem: Did they rebuild with concrete, move, poison the bugs, or do nothing and die early? They decided to do nothing and take the chance of dying early!

I want to give you a little true or false quiz:

1. The #1 concern of drug companies is your health. True or False
2. The #1 concern of stockholders of drug companies is your health. True or False
3. The #1 concern of stockholders of drug companies is to permanently fix your problem. True or False
4. The United States is 37th in health and longevity in the world. True or False
5. The United States is 4% of the worlds population. True or False
6. The United States consumes 43% of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. True or False
7. Most drugs have no side effects. True or False
8. In the U.S., between 100,000 - 150,000 die every year of improperly prescribed drugs and surgery. True or False
9. In the U.S., 500,000 men and 500,000 women die each year from cardiovascular disease. True or False
10. My insurance company will pay all my bills and pick an MD to make me healthy. True or False

Benjamin Franklin said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Do you know what the number one killer in the world is today? Time Magazine called it "The Stealth Killer." Cardiovascular Disease, or CVD happens so insidiously that the first sign we have, many times, is sudden death. Hopefully, in this series, I can help educate you on why this is the case. I know you remember the newsman, Tim Russert. People Magazine revealed that Russert had a stress test at the end of April 2008 which was "normal". Russert's physician, Dr. Michael Newman, stated that "normal" meant that "At a high level of exercise he had no symptoms." He also said that Russert's blood pressure and cholesterol were "well-controlled" and that he exercised: in fact he worked out on a treadmill the very morning of his death. He died Friday, June 13, 2008. It was said that not only did Russert pass his stress test in late April but he could passed one an hour before his death!

Russert's case is not an isolated one. That is the frightening thing about this disease. There are many contributing factors to this phenomenon: lifestyle, diet, congenital factors, environment (just to name a few).

So this is the situation. Exactly how big is this health challenge we face in the US today? Next time, we will look at some facts that will perhaps show the extent of the challenge and then, in subsequent posts, we will begin to look at the science behind the problem and the solution.

Education is the key to finding a resolution to: The Situation.

Are You Hurtin' Enough to Move?

In October 2009, Alex Guerrero published an article in the publication To Your Health titled "Playing to Win: Injury Prevention Is the Key". The article was about the San Diego Chargers running back, LaDainian Tomlinson, who, at that time, with almost 12,000 rushing yards (he finished the year with 12,490), was well on track to becoming, in Mr. Guerrero's words, "the National Football League's most prolific runner."

The article actually focuses on LaDainian's philosophy of how to win: paying attention to safety and preventing injury. This is done by training in order to be and stay in shape, regular exercise to discover any weak areas of the body, and being smart about how much you do, insuring that proper recovery is a part of the schedule. It's an excellent article and I have barely brushed the surface of it. You can find the article readily on the internet.

The point I want to make about this article is in the title: "Prevention Is The Key". In my previous post I introduced you to an allegorical poem written in 1895 that epitomizes this point. We can save ourselves so much time, money and effort if we would just focus on preventing things from happening rather than cleaning up after the fact. Disease prevention should be the main focus of the medical community. I agree that we need cures for the diseases we battle that are so debilitating. But I contend that if just half of the money and effort was expended toward prevention, which includes education, we wouldn't have near the number of occurrences of those same diseases. It makes me so mad that I didn't know that I shouldn't eat the way I ate as I was growing up. It makes me mad that I didn't know the effects that stress could have on my body physically. If I had known these things, along with others, I fully believe I wouldn't be a diabetic today.

The story is told of a South American tribe in which everyone was dying by 30 years of age. Scientists were brought in to investigate as to the cause. What they found was that a small bug that lived in the mud of the huts of the tribe was the culprit. The Chief of the Tribe was given four choices: Rebuild with concrete, move, poison the bugs, or do nothing and die early. Do you know what they decided to do?

And then there was the hillbilly, sitting on his front porch with his old hound dog. One day a city slicker drove up and asked for directions. The hillbilly asked the visitor to "come on up and sit a spell" with him. As the two sat and pondered the universe, about every five minutes the old hound dog would let out a big yelp. Finally the city slicker asked the fellow what in the world was wrong with his dog. The hillbilly answered, "He's layin' on a nail." "Why doesn't he move?" "Well," came the reply, "he ain't hurtin' enough to move!"

If you really believed that you could do something to improve your health, would you act on that belief? Are you hurtin' enough to move?

The Ambulance in the Valley

I want to begin this promised series with a story (actually a poem) that was related to me. In doing research, I found this same story on the internet in at least 2 other places. I discovered that it's author was Joseph Malins and that it was written in 1895! I think that fact proves the saying, "the more things change, the more they stay the same!" Perhaps you have heard this story before . . .

A Fence or an Ambulance*

“Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant;
but over its terrible edge there had slipped
A duke and full many a peasant.
So the people said something would have to be done,
But their projects did not at all tally;
Some said, “Put a fence around the edge of the cliff,”
Some, “An ambulance down in the valley.”

But the cry for the ambulance carried the day,
For it spread through the neighboring city;
A fence may be useful or not, it is true,
But each heart became brimful of pity
For those who slipped over that dangerous cliff;
And the dwellers in highway and alley
Gave pound or gave pence, not to put up a fence,
But an ambulance down in the valley.

“For the cliff is all right, if you’re careful,” They said,
“And, if folks even slip and are dropping,
It isn’t the slipping that hurts them so much,
As the shock down below when they’re stopping.”
So day after day, as these mishaps occurred,
Quick forth would these rescuers sally
To pick up the victims who fell off the cliff,
With their ambulance down in the valley.

Then an old sage remarked; “its a marvel to me
That people give far more attention
To repairing results than to stopping the cause,
When they’d much better aim at prevention.
Let us stop at its source all this mischief.” cried he,
“Come neighbors and friends, let us rally;
If the cliff we will fence we might almost dispense
With the ambulance down in the valley.”

“Oh, he’s a fanatic,” The others rejoined,
“Dispense with the ambulance? Never!
He’d dispense with all charities, too, if he could;
No! No! We’ll support them forever.
Aren’t we picking up folks just as fast as they fall?
And shall this man dictate to us? Shall he?
Why should people of sense stop to put up a fence,
While the ambulance works in the valley?”

But a sensible few, who are practical too,
Will not bear with such nonsense much longer;
They believe that prevention is better than cure,
And their party will soon be the stronger.
Encourage them then, with your purse, voice , and pen,
And while other philanthropists dally,
They will scorn all pretense and put up a stout fence
On the cliff that hangs over the valley.

Better guide well the young then reclaim them when old,
For the voice of true wisdom is calling,
“To rescue the fallen is good, but ’tis best
To prevent other people from falling.”
Better close up the source of temptation and crime
Than deliver from dungeon or galley;
Better put a strong fence round the top of the cliff
Than an ambulance down in the valley

-Joseph Malins 1895

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I'm sure you've heard that before. I'm afraid that many industries today make millions off the mentality of the folks who wanted the ambulance in the valley. In this series, however, we are going to examine the other recourse: the fence.

Set a Better Sail

Hello Readers! I've been promising my business blog for a while now and I think I'm ready to dive in. I want to lay some ground rules and give you an idea of what I hope to accomplish with this blog.

This blog is for educational purposes. I will do my best not to bore you. I will do my best to bring you information that will be relevant to you and that you will want to read.

This blog is for your benefit more than for me. Of course, I hope that I help you and that you come to trust me and that, in the future, if you need what I have to offer, you'll come to me.

The focus of this blog is three-fold. I want to help you take charge of your life. I do not pretend to be an expert. I know a few things and I believe in them with all my heart. I am a teacher at heart. I cannot keep a good thing to myself. The first area of focus is Health and Wellness. I have always been interested in how our bodies were created and how our behaviors affect them. I believe that our bodies were created to heal themselves; however, if we do not take care of what we have been given, we will actually create a lack of health in our bodies. Some things are out of our control: such as the environment. But, if we will use the tools that are at our disposal and attempt to educate ourselves on the proper ways to care for our bodies, we can reap a multitude of rewards!

The next area of focus is Wealth. The majority of the people in this world are slaves to the system. We live from paycheck to paycheck. We do not save for the future. The corporate world offers little hope of fame and fortune to the majority, but what it does offer is stress, frustration, fatigue and . . . did I say stress? There is a better way. I want to help you find that way. The way where you are your own boss. You choose whom you work with. You choose the hours you work. You choose your pay. The way where you are rewarded in direct proportion to your efforts. And you can afford it. You may have tried it before, but if you failed, it's not your fault. I want to give you hope.

The third area of focus is Support. (You thought I was going to say Spirituality, didn't you? No, if I can help you in that area, it will be from my personal blog: http://leslie-tritsch.blogspot.com) You are not alone. There is help out there that costs you little to nothing. I want to help point you in that direction. Actually I want to be a part of that Support. That support is in the form of training, mentoring, education and friendship.

I will be posting at least weekly and will be starting with a series on an extremely important health situation in America today. I will more than likely intersperse posts along the way relating to the other areas of focus before I get through the first series. You may contact me at any time via email at t.tritsch@ms.metrocast.net if you have questions. Or you can comment at the end of each post. I will be monitoring any comments and will respond as quickly as possible.

I will also be sharing information from other sources that I feel may be of interest to you.

I'd like to quote the late "great" Jim Rohn in closing:

"We are all in a little sailboat called life. It’s not the blowing of the wind that determines our destination – it’s the set of the sails. The same wind blows on us all: the wind of disaster and the wind of opportunity; the wind when it’s favorable and when it’s unfavorable; the wind when it’s upside down; the economic, political and social winds. The difference in our arrival is not the blowing of the wind, it’s the set of our sails. We have to set a better sail – better thinking. Correcting the errors of the past and picking up new disciplines for the future. It’s our decision. We have to want to. Everyone’s life is the same – opportunity mixed with difficulty. For things to change we have to change. Don’t wish things were easier; wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems; wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenges; wish for more wisdom. You cannot grow without challenges. You can’t fly without gravity."

As we attempt to Take Charge of Our Lives, we would do well to take these words to heart. Set a Better Sail. Today is the first day of the rest of your life!