There are many years of fantastic scientific information by Mel Siff available for free at his Supertraining Group - http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/ and the best of these has been posted at www.melsiff.com

Someone recently asked for more recent information on heart disease and

cholesterol levels, especially since some cholesterol-lowering drugs

(statins) recently have caused several dozen deaths. Here is a website with

some useful information in this regard:

In addition, I have appended information on other "natural" ways of dealing

with different types of cardiac disorder, based largely on what I have used

or am using to deal with my own health after a near fatal infarct and

quadruple bypass surgery about 4 years ago. I responded very adversely to

beta blockers, so, in conjunction with my cardiologists, I weaned off these

drugs and settled for the use of several supplements such as hawthorne berry

and others listed later. I also took a short course of the antibiotic,

azithromycin, just in case reports are accurate that cardiac disease has a

lot to do with inflammation associated with bacterial infection of the

cardiovascular system.

I regarded the small, though very real risk posed by (very costly) statins to

be unacceptable in my life, so that I have managed to effectively use many

of the supplements below to control any increased levels of cholesterol

(see our archives for more information on the statins).

So far, medical tests seem to show that I am in excellent health and my

lifting performance and work capacity seems to corroborate this - not that

this really means all that much, because, as I found out when I suffered my

heart attack, it is not unusual to have a clean bill of health and compete in

top level sport one day and to suffer a massive coronary the next day. What

is of supreme importance is one’s quality of mental and physical health and

vigour right now, not one’s hoped-for health in one’s old age. Note, however,

that cardiac disease is not something to be trifled with and that whatever you

do should be done in consultation with suitable medical specialists. What suits

me might not necessarily suit anyone else.

Here are a few extracts from the article which I mentioned earlier:

HOMOCYSTEINE

Researchers conclude that homocysteine is up to 40 times more predictive than

cholesterol in assessing cardiovascular disease risk.

Cardiovascular disease causes 44% of all deaths in the United States.

Alzheimer’s dementia affects 4 million Americans now, and is expected to

increase sharply as the population ages. Both cardiovascular and Alzheimer’s

disease have now been linked to the accumulation of a toxic amino acid called

homocysteine. (See my article on Alzheimer’s Disease for more details.)

Vitamin supplement users have assumed they are being protected against

homocysteine elevations. Unfortunately, this is just not true. There is a

very specific groups of nutrients needed to work together, which you will see

as I proceed with this article.

Homocysteine is formed by the body as a naturally synthesized byproduct of

methionine (a very important amino acid in your body) metabolism. Like

cholesterol, homocysteine performs a necessary function in the body, after

which, if the right cofactors are present, it will eventually convert to

cysteine (and this is one of the amino acids needed to produce glutathione,

which is very critical in your detoxifications pathways.) and other

beneficial compounds such as ATP, (the energy molecule of the body) and

S-adenosylmethionine (SAM). When left intact, it enters the bloodstream and

begins attacking blood vessel walls, laying the foundation for heart disease,

stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.

The clear message from new scientific findings is that there is no safe

"normal range" for homocysteine. While commercial laboratories state that

normal homocysteine can range from 5 to 15 micromoles per liter of blood,

epidemiological data reveal that homocysteine levels above 6.3 cause a steep,

progressive risk of heart attack (the American Heart Association’s journal

Circulation, Nov. 15, 1995, 2825-30). One study found each 3-unit increase in

homocysteine equals a 35% increase in myocardial infarction (heart-attack)

risk (American Journal of Epidemiology, 1996, 143, 9: 845-59).

Many enzymes, or catalysts are involved in the complete metabolism of

homocysteine. If any of these enzymes is defective or functions

inefficiently, the body is less able to successfully process homocysteine.

Although this enzyme dysfunction may be due to a mutated or defective gene,

(identified by Dr. Rima Rozen at McGill University in Montreal), more often

this breakdown in metabolism is due to deficiencies of certain nutrients -

particularly B-6, B-12 and folic acid. When this function is disordered,

whether due to genetic defect or nutrient deficiency, homocysteine

accumulates and enters the bloodstream where it promotes oxidation of lipids,

causes platelets to stick together, enhances the binding of lipoprotein (a)

to fibrin and promotes free radical damage to the inside of arteries.

Some have suggested that the obvious solution to reducing homocysteine would

be to restrict methionine intake by restricting foods such as meats that are

rich in methionine. Then the supermarket shelves would be lined with low

methionine and methionine-free foods. That makes about as much sense as

switching cabins on the Titanic. Methionine is a sulfur-containing amino acid

that is involved in the synthesis of protein, important in the maintenance of

cartilage, and needed for the formation of other important amino acids such

as taurine and carnitine. Methionine is not at fault. The problem is when

homocysteine cannot be converted……

For many people, the daily intake of 500 mg of TMG, 800 mcg of folic acid,

1000 mcg of vitamin B12, 250 mg of choline, 250 mg of inositol, 30 mg of

zinc, and 100 mg of vitamin B6 will keep homocysteine levels in a safe range.

But the only way to really know is to have your blood tested to make sure

your homocysteine levels are under 7. If homocysteine levels are too high,

then up to 6 grams of TMG may be needed along with higher amounts of other

remethylation cofactors. Some people with cystathione-B synthase deficiencies

will require 500 mg a day or more of vitamin B6 to reduce homocysteine to a

safe level. For the prevention of cardiovascular disease, you would want your

homocysteine blood level to be under 7. For the prevention of aging, some

people have suggested that an even lower level is desirable, but more

research needs to be done before any scientific conclusions can be

reached…….

[TMG - trimethylglycine - is sometimes also known as betaine. The betaine,

B6, B12 and folic acid combination is very reasonably priced and anyone with

heart disease could benefit from daily intake of this supplement. Mel Siff]

Homocysteine is Not a New Story

Also from the Life Extension article: "The homocysteine theory of

cardiovascular risk was first tested and published by Dr. Kilmer McCully in

1969, but, with everyone focusing on cholesterol at that time, his findings

were ignored. Finally, almost 30 years later, the word is out on

homocysteine. In addition to NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, articles have

been published in Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times,

Prevention magazine and more."

Homocysteine levels rise as people age. Therefore, any anti-aging program

must take homocysteine level control into consideration. Lowering

homocysteine has benefits beyond heart protection. When the blood supply to

the heart is blocked, a heart attack results. When blood to the brain is

blocked, a stroke results. If the penile artery is occluded, impotence

results. Blockages in the extremities results in intermittent claudication or

pain in the affected extremity……

Mel Siff