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Learn more about Cardiovascular Health:Heart Health OverviewOmega 3 Fatty Acids and Heart Rhythms Magnesium and Heart Rhythms Coenzyme Q10 and Your Heart Acetyl-L-Carnitine -- Memory and Your Heart R-Alpha Lipoic Acid -- Nerve Communication and Heart Health Overview of Substance P, Stress, and Heart Function Quercetin and Substance P Repair Plus -- A Novel Approach to Nerve-Heart Health Cardio Helper -- Your Heart and Circulation LeptiZyme -- An All Purpose Circulatory House Cleaner Heart Health OverviewYour heart never gets time off or a vacation. The four chambers of your heart are synchronized by nervous system control. Wear and tear to your heart's structure as well as its energy producing systems, along with stress, are the challenges you must overcome to keep your heart in optimal working condition. A startling array of new science is showing that the nerve-heart connection is the key to maintaining proper heart rhythms. A common neuropeptide called substance P links cardiovascular function, stress/mood, and inflammation – opening the door for numerous solutions to support cardiovascular health – especially towards the goal of maintaining optimal heart function and rhythms. It is important to understand that a healthy heart rhythm has variance from beat to beat known as Heart Rate Variability (HRV). These natural fluctuations are reflective of the tone or fitness in your autonomic nervous system that is controlling your heart and running your heart rhythms. Powerful arrays of nutrients that simultaneously nourish your nerves as well as your heart are showing that they enhance HRV – directly supporting the health of your heart.* Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Heart RhythmsA significant body of scientific evidence has left no doubt that omega 3 oils, of which DHA is the most important, have a significant ability to support Heart Rate Variability (HRV) -- reflecting a healthy nerve-heart relationship. Doses ranging from 1 gram to 6 grams have shown benefit with higher doses offering a higher level of support. Fish oil has been shown to support improved vagal nerve tone (better fitness), crucial assistance for healthy heart rhythms.* DHA is the vital omega 3 fatty acid used by your nerves, your heart, and your circulatory system. It is typically 12% of standard fish oil. At Wellness Resources we use a molecularly distilled DHA, free of mercury and all other contaminants, that has been modified so the important DHA is 50% of the oil.* Our premier cardiovascular support product, Leptinal®, contains 500 mg of this special oil, providing 250 mg of pure DHA, the amount found in 2 grams of regular fish oil. Leptinal® contains GLA as well, another essential oil (not in fish oil) that works synergistically with DHA throughout the circulation to support healthy blood pressure function. Leptinal® also contains fine quality pomegranate, citrus methoxyflavones, and tocotrienol vitamin E -- making it an unprecedented multi-nutrient formulation designed to address the core important issues of cardiovascular health (blood pressure, cholesterol, the heart itself).*
Magnesium and Heart RhythmsMagnesium is a key mineral for your nervous system, heart, and overall circulation. In your heart magnesium is required to support the normal contraction/relaxation of the heart muscle pumping actions. Your heart also requires a tremendous amount of energy to work properly -- and magnesium is needed in the final step of all energy synthesis (ATP production). Magnesium is needed by your arteries to properly relax, facilitating normal blood pressure function and thus making it easier for your heart to do its work. In your nerves, magnesium acts as a buffer against stress.* Under strict metabolic experimental conditions, a diet restricted in magnesium was tested on 14 post menopausal women. 5 of them developed poor heart-nerve function and displayed stressed electrical regulation of the heart. When magnesium was added back in heart-nerve function and heart rhythms returned to normal. Interestingly, the experimental magnesium-deficient diet was not unlike what many Americans eat on a daily basis. A number of other studies show that magnesium supports normal heart rhythms.* At Wellness Resources we use the finest magnesium chelates that are designed for better absorption, transport, and cellular uptake. Unlike cheap magnesium oxide that generates free radicals in metabolism and thus depletes your cardiovascular defense system, our magnesium compounds provide direct support for improved muscle, nerve, and heart function. This is why true quality nutrition can make such a difference to your health. Two-thirds of our Muscle Mag product uses the anti-fatigue form of magnesium called magnesium malate -- a great compound to help you improve muscle fitness and maintain your energy level. The other third is magnesium glycinate, the potent nerve relaxant. Our RelaxaMag product is mostly the anti-tension magnesium glycinate, along with magnesium ascorbate (vitamin C) and magnesium krebs chelates (assisting detoxification).* Magnesium, like DHA, is commonly lacking in the American diet. These nutrients are the foundation for normal nerve to heart communication and fitness.*
Coenzyme Q10 and Your HeartCoenzyme Q10 is rate limiting to the production of energy in your body, without enough you simply can’t make energy at an optimal rate. Unfortunately the production of Q10 declines with age. Your heart, like your brain, requires huge amounts of energy to run properly compared to other organs and systems in your body. When you are fatigued your nerves and heart do not have the energy they need to function in an optimal way, pointing your health in the wear and tear direction. Your heart has the highest concentration of Q10 of any organ in your body, reflecting the vital importance of this nutrient to your heart’s well being. Q10 is also a potent cardiovascular antioxidant, working synergistically with Vitamin E. Regular Q10 supplementation has been shown to improve the fitness of the heart muscle itself over time.* Researchers have found that a combination of fish oil and Q10 supplementation smoothes out nerve-heart function and reduces stress-related wear and tear signals. Numerous studies support the use of Q10 dietary supplements as a heart-friendly nutrient that is required for energy. Q10 is the bottom line nutrient for the production of ATP (cellular energy) and ATP is used by all of your nerves as a primary signaling compound to regulate healthy nerve function. Because Q10 levels decline with age (and are further depressed if a person is taking statin drugs to lower cholesterol) I recommend Q10 for any person over the age of 50 and for use in younger people to support energy and offset wear and tear as needed.*
Acetyl-L-Carnitine -- Memory and Your HeartNatural Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC) production in your body, like Q10, declines with age. ALC is one of the most powerful nutrients for nourishing the autonomic nervous system that regulates heart rhythms. A number of studies have shown that it can offset stress-related wear and tear and promote normal Heart Rate Variability (HRV).* While ALC has a general nourishing effect on all neurotransmitters in your brain it is most noted in scientific research for its pronounced benefit to memory. It is well documented that supplemental ALC boosts your levels of acetylcholine, your primary neurotransmitter involved with memory. Acetylcholine is also the primary neurotransmitter of your parasympathetic nerves (the relaxed side of your nervous system). These nerves control the vagal nerve tone that is essential for a happy heart rhythm.* A variety of studies show that ALC has a direct benefit to the heart itself. The primary fuel of your heart is fatty acids (not sugar), thus the ability to efficiently burn fat for fuel is needed for normal heart energy production – a process called beta oxidation. ALC provides carnitine, the specific nutrient your body must have to perform beta oxidation.* Furthermore, ALC helps the heart offset changes that occur during normal aging. In your heart's energy producing engines (mitochondria) is a special fatty structure called cardiolipin, which makes up 20% of the fat that naturally occurs in the mitochondrial membrane. As it turns out, cardiolipin stabilizes the function of the energy-producing engines. Technically, it helps an enzyme, cytochrome c oxidase, direct the natural production of energy. Cardiolipin levels and cytochrome c oxidase levels decline with age, thus reducing the capacity of the heart to produce energy. ALC has been shown to enhance the formation of cardiolipin and the function of cytochrome c oxidase, offsetting this age-related form of wear and tear. ALC thus works synergistically with other energy nutrients (B vitamins, pantethine, Q10, and magnesium) to support natural energy production in the heart.* Wellness Resources has two products that contain ALC, one is a 500 mg capsule. The other is our very popular Stress Helper, which has 300 mg of ALC per capsule along with two other heart-friendly nutrients (pantethine and carnosine). Memory and stress issues are keys that extra ALC makes sense as part of a heart health support program.*
R-Alpha Lipoic Acid -- Nerve Communication and Heart HealthNerves must maintain healthy connections to tissues they are regulating, including the heart. When signs of nerve wear and tear (shaking, numbness, tingling, etc.) start to show up in the hands or feet it means that the long nerves going to these areas are struggling to maintain healthy function. The basic nutrients needed for nerve transmission are B vitamins, magnesium, and calcium. Nutrients like ALC and Q10 boost basic needs. Proper thyroid function is also important for healthy nerve transmission down long nerves. Additionally, nerves must be protected, and that is where R Alpha Lipoic Acid comes in -- a potent nerve antioxidant. Numerous studies show that R Alpha Lipoic Acid supports the integrity of healthy nerve transmission.* Normal heart function is under complex regulation from both sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves. These nerves must be able to communicate their signals properly to the heart. R Alpha Lipoic Acid helps offset general age-related nervous system wear and tear, helping to preserve the natural function of nerves. It does this by participating in antioxidant processes, along with other antioxidants like vitamin E and Q10. Numerous studies show it also supports general cardiovascular antioxidant functions, supporting not only your heart's antioxidant function but also helping all the cells that line your arteries.* Your heart must make energy, and lots of it. Even in a perfectly healthy person normal energy function is inherently inefficient, as some oxygen-related byproducts must be trapped by antioxidants otherwise energy production “rusts” whatever is next to it. As you age the natural function of antioxidant systems starts to decline, this means that free radical-driven rusting processes increase. The reason for taking antioxidants in general is to offset this issue everywhere in your body, and the heart is no exception. R Alpha Lipoic Acid has been shown in animal studies to directly support the normal antioxidant function of the heart, even in old animals. Numerous studies are coming in on this topic, many of which are using a combination of Acetyl-L-Carnitine and R Alpha Lipoic Acid to stabilize the heart in the face of various forms of stress.*
Overview of Substance P, Stress, and Heart FunctionSubstance P is a neuropeptide that is involved in the natural regulation of many aspects of your cardiovascular system. Under normal circumstances it helps control vascular relaxation and thus blood pressure by enhancing the formation of nitric oxide. It also promotes the normal movement of fluids out of blood vessels for a variety of reasons. The main receptor for Substance P is called Neurokinnin 1 (NK1), which is located in many places throughout the body including the circulatory system and the heart itself. This means that substance P is a common regulatory compound used by your nervous system. As it turns out substance P is also the main way your body processes pain and intense stress. Under routine stress, your body simply turns up the volume knob on nerve activity and energy production and when the stress is over everything is supposed to recover. If not, your body enters a wear and tear trend. Substance P is not used as a basic coping mechanism for low-grade stress. However, extra substance P kicks in when stress is more intense. This could be an acute high level of emotional stress, physical pain, injury, an accident, or ongoing stress of an energy-depleting emotional nature. Substance P is highly inflammatory by nature, a natural method of helping to deal with acute stress but problematic if stress is ongoing. Signs of too much substance P include disrupted sleep, poor stress tolerance, ongoing fatigue, anxious or hostile feelings, restless legs, increased general aches or pains, skin-related issues, respiratory stress, and/or digestive inflammation. Unfortunately, too much substance P, instead of helping normal cardiovascular function, is a major irritant to the heart itself as well as a compound that disrupts the vagal tone of the nervous system that is needed to support proper Heart Rate Variability and healthy heart rhythms. All of the nutrients listed in this section so far contribute to the overall “bank account reserves” of your nervous system to help maintain natural balance, this helping to keep extra substance P in check. Lifestyle factors that promote relaxation, fitness, improved breathing, etc. all contribute to the same type of health benefits. Besides these basic approaches there are a few more things you can understand about substance P that can really help you out.* Quercetin and Substance PSubstance P can be released in the brain stem or from any nerve ending. Once it is released it triggers mast cells to release more histamine, which in turn promotes more substance P release by more nerve cells. This means that if you get stuck in a substance P rut in can be self-sustaining and somewhat hard to get out of. Quercetin is nature's most potent natural stabilizer of mast cells. This helps mast cells not release histamine so easily, helping to reduce the cycle of ongoing substance P activation.* Our quercetin capsules provide 500 mg per capsule, and 1-6 per day can be used, as needed. Besides substance P issues, signs of need include mild allergy, pollen sensitivity, skin sensitivity/itching, sinus issues, and/or digestive issues.*
Repair Plus, A Novel Approach to Nerve-Heart HealthRepair Plus contains 100 mg of quercetin per capsule along with Bromelain, Papain, and Curcumin. Bromelain, a natural proteolytic enzyme, has been shown to directly decrease levels of substance P. It is known that enzymes degrade substance P and Bromelain and Papain provide your body with a boost in its natural supply of such anti wear and tear enzymes.* Adding Repair Plus to your program would be based on overall aches as well as the general feeling of wear and tear. Repair Plus works synergistically with many other nutrients that support healthy tissue formation -- and is thus part of a natural rejuvenation strategy.*
Cardio Helper, Your Heart, and CirculationIn regular cardiovascular regulation substance P acts to promote vascular permeability that enables nutrients to flow out of the circulation and into body tissues. When there is too much substance P from stress, then there can be too much vascular permeability which causes too much fluid to escape from blood vessels or to leak into surrounding connective tissues. This results in fluid retention. Cardio Helper has a combination of nutrients that are specifically designed to nourish the vascular lining so that natural levels of vascular permeability are supported.* The Hawthorn berry in Cardio Helper is also a proven heart tonic that has been shown to improve the fitness of the heart itself -- helping your heart use oxygen more efficiently and helping you to exercise.*
LeptiZyme -- An All Purpose Circulatory House CleanerLeptiZyme contains natural plant-derived protease enzymes standardized for fibrolytic activity (like Nattokinase and Serrapeptase). Fibrin is naturally made by your liver and is part of your body's natural clotting process, helping to link platelets together as needed. Your body uses its own protease enzymes to maintain house cleaning, which includes cleaning up extra fibrin. For example, if you cut yourself you will need to heal. The way your body eventually gets rid of the fibrin-rich scab is by using its own protease enzymes to “digest it." Similarly, if your strain or injure something you make extra fibrin to help repair that problem and then the fibrin is cleared out by your protease enzymes.* Your circulatory system is exposed to many irritants on a regular basis, whether pollution in some form, chemicals in food, byproducts of germs, stress chemicals, or extra substance P exposure. Any of these irritants may produce small “injuries” that activate fibrin to help stabilize the irritation. While you sleep your body seeks to clear up this wear and tear, part of which is done by using your supply of protease enzymes to “take out the trash” and gobble up debris. These are natural processes that work every day of your life. Exactly how refreshed you feel when you wake up in the morning is how well your body did. As you age, your ability to recover from this form of irritation declines. Indeed your natural levels of protease enzymes decline with age and your ability to clear our extra fibrin also declines. This can leave too much inflammatory trash floating around your circulatory system. You can boost your body’s own natural house cleaning system, which naturally supports cleansing of your circulatory system, by taking protease-containing enzymes.* The Bromelain and Papain discussed in Repair Plus (above) are other examples of protease enzymes. I made the LeptiZyme product to offer another option as well as to cost-effectively parallel the enzyme activity found in Nattokinase and Serrapeptase enzyme products. I'm not a big fan of soy extracts or silk worm gut extracts, that is why I chose highly purified plant enzymes as an option to boost protease enzyme activity.*
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