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Nutrition Formulas
Nutura
Quality & Safety
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Vascu-Flow
Nutritional
Support For:
• Hypertension
• Arteriosclerosis
• Atherosclerosis
• Erectile Dysfunction
• Arrhythmias
• Fibromyalgia
• Diabetes
Cardiovascular
disease is the leading cause of death for both males and females
in the United States; it claims more lives than all other diseases
combined. Worldwide it is estimated that more than 12 million people
die every year from cardiovascular disease. As we age, the heart
and arteries become more susceptible to diseases including high
blood pressure and atherosclerosis. By age 80 men are nine times
more likely to die of chronic heart failure than at age 50. Among
women, this risk increases 11-fold over the same period. Poor lifestyle
choices – smoking, lack of exercise, high-fat diet, cholesterol
and sodium contribute to the development of cardiovascular diseases.
However, with advancing age the arteries undergo changes –
including arterial stiffening and thickening, which are major risk
factors for cardiovascular disease. Age related changes also make
it easier for fatty deposits to build up on the inside of the arteries.
How well your arteries perform depends on a series of complex interactions,
which include age, disease, lifestyle and genetics.
The endothelium is the layer of thin, flat cells that lines the
interior surface of blood vessels. People who maintain a healthy
endothelium can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes caused
by atherosclerosis or hypertension. Robert F. Furchgott, Ph.D. New
York, Louis J. Ignarro, Ph.D. of UCLA, and Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D.
of the University of Texas at Houston won the 1998 Nobel Prize in
medicine for their work on “Nitric Oxide as a Signaling Molecule
in the Cardiovascular System”. Endothelial cells produce nitric
oxide. Nitric oxide relaxes arteries to help maintain normal blood
pressure, increases oxygen supply, protects the heart from damage
and cell death, is a mediator in inflammation, and is a potent free
radical scavenger.
To make nitric oxide, endothelial cells need L-arginine and an enzyme
called nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Normal endothelial cells have
plenty of L-arginine and NOS, but in aging blood vessels NOS can
be in short supply. Even if sufficient amounts of nitric oxide are
produced, it can still be inactivated by oxygen free radicals. Without
adequate levels of biologically available nitric oxide, endothelial
cells in the intima can’t function properly. Some researchers
consider decreased availability of nitric oxide in the endothelium
to be one of the earliest signs of arterial aging and high blood
pressure.
The good news is that studies strongly suggest that exercise, good
nutrition, and neutraceutical therapies can slow the aging of arteries
– even among people who are genetically at risk. These interventions
could delay or prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease in many
older people. It is imperative to find out the health of your arteries
before clinical disease sets in so appropriate measures can be taken.
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supplement ingredients, contraindications and drug interactions
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