A Properly Functioning Immune System…..important for the current healthcare crisis and beyond
In our last blog we discussed the need for a medical food to help with high cholesterol. We also alluded to the complexity of cholesterol.
Aside from simple LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol, there are other aspects of the cardiovascular system that contribute to heart disease even if you have normal cholesterol numbers. Let’s remember that 50% of people who suffer a heart attack have normal LDL.
There is a single layer of cells called the endothelium that lines the interior surface of blood vessels. The endothelium is a communication point between blood flowing through the vessel and the deeper layers of the vessel. This layer of cells releases substances that control how the vessels contract and relax (blood pressure). It also releases enzymes that control blood clotting, immune function, and how the platelets stick together.
A healthy vascular endothelium produces sufficient nitric oxide (NO)...... but what does NO do?
According to Jason Clark, BSc, MSc, Nitric Oxide:
Dysfunction affecting NO production can be driven by high blood sugar (diabetes), free radicals without enough antioxidants, and other factors such as aging. That is why we get concerned about erectile dysfunction in those male patients with diabetes because we suspect that there is an underlying cardiovascular problem.
Using Veridia Diagnostics, one of our advanced diagnostic lab partners, we can now measure Endothelin (blood vessel constrictor) in your blood! Elevated levels of endothelin may be related to high blood pressure, sleep apnea, chronic heart failure, kidney disease, obesity, and diabetes.
If testing indicates you have elevated endothelin, we can use a medical food to help lower your endothelin level. ArginCor® is a medical food formulated to provide specialized nutritional support for endothelial function, wound care and blood flow. It provides high quality L-arginine which the body converts into NO.
Medical foods are intended to:
You Might Also Enjoy...
A Properly Functioning Immune System…..important for the current healthcare crisis and beyond
Our office is receiving frequent questions about the current healthcare challenge. The questions seem to fall into three general categories. We’ll use this month’s blog to address those.
There’s a lot of buzz in diet and weight management circles right now about Keto
Food as Medicine – Part I - Medical Foods for Cholesterol Treatment