The mechanism of atherosclerosis is mostly guessed than proved. Scientists observe the structure and composition of atheromatic plaques in patients and try to make up the rest of the story. They also conduct experiments testing what they believe is the causing agent already, that is cholesterol, and try to see if more or less of that can change the clinical results. And it does, but only a bit. Medicine needs to confirm the validity of 2 generations of researchers at this point as well as the billions spent on projects, drugs and educating practitioners and people about their decided truth. So even a small association of cholesterol consumption with atherosclerosis can trigger a very warm welcome to further validate the cholesterol hypothesis.
Recently researchers tested other factors that they believe may be correlated with atherosclerosis. The results are pretty amazing: human studies showed that elevation of blood homocysteine is found to be a greater risk factor (22-40 fold) than elevated cholesterol (1.2 - 3.1 fold), high blood pressure (8-18 fold) or cigarette smoking (3.5 fold). But this is not convenient for the medical community because they would have to re-assess and possibly discard most of the beliefs modern therapy of atherosclerosis is based on. Not to mention the loss in billions of dollars the pharmaceutical companies would suffer if such a radical change was to take place. In fact there have been many studies clearly indicating that the cholesterol hypothesis is not very well explaining how atherosclerosis occurs. There are some major points related to this theory that conventional medicine accepts but cannot explain. But this is not enough to change the world.
In fact the story goes way back to the 70s, when a brilliant medical research from Harvard found out all about homocysteine and the massively important role it plays in the development of arteriosclerotic disease. The pieces of the puzzle were already there and he managed to connect them and see the whole picture. Of course cholesterol is a big part of the story but it is not the cause of arteriosclerosis. It is a secondary effect. It accumulates wherever there is arterial damage. Homocysteine is a highly toxic molecule that is usually flushed out of our bodies. Under certain circumstances, very common indeed, it accumulates in the liver, reacts with cholesterol and form a highly toxic substance that causes arterial damage when it is released in the bloodstream. The simplicity of this mechanism has been verified in many research projects and also opens the way for the real cure of arteriosclerosis. If homocysteine is the causing factor then all we need is to help our liver metabolize it so that it is safely flushed away with the urine. Just like it is supposed to do. Specific vitamins (B6, B12 and B9) fortify the enzymes responsible for the above reactions and literally can reverse this debilitating disease without any toxic drugs. Even before the 70s, publications had shown that these vitamins play a major cardioprotective role. Today, there are serious research projects confirming just that but still mainstream medicine is blind and deaf to this pioneering work.
Patients with risk of cardiovascular disease are typically subscribed statins to lower their blood cholesterol levels. These drugs are minimally tested in humans, have severe side effects and offer minimal, if any, protection from heart attacks and strokes. Medicine's inability to explain and accept the truth becomes the patient's discomfort and doom. By the way, statins make many billions of profit for the pharmaceutical companies that produce them per year. It is no surprise that they are around despite the side effects. People should know what their choices are. Statins are not the only way.
Helen Davies is a Medical Researcher with Master Degree in Human Molecular Genetics (Imperial College London). As the founder of Primal Health company she has done extensive research on the mechanisms of Arteriosclerosis, lipid metabolism and alternative methods to deal with this disease. If you are interested in learning more about safe, efficient and natural ways to eliminate risk of cardiovascular disease, visit our website --> DNA-Diet.org DNA-Diet.org
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