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July 4, 2005
The Dangers of Oxidation and the Role Of Homocysteine in Predicting Heart Disease and Stroke
Most patients and many doctors have never heard of homocysteine. To find out more about this unknown sinister killer, let's take a look at a process called oxidation.
Oxidation is the process that generates energy. There are examples of oxidation all around you. In physics, fire is rapid oxidation, while rust is a form of slow oxidation. In biology, oxidation is the “slow burn” of metabolism – the process of burning energy to fuel all of your body’s work. But just like outside your body, burning inside your body has consequences. If left unchecked, it inflames and damages surrounding tissues. Luckily, nature has a solution.
You are born with extensive “antioxidant systems” that prevent the fire of oxidation from spreading or damaging delicate surrounding structures. You’ve probably heard of many of these antioxidants, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids, and coenzyme Q10.
Homocysteine is an amino acid that your body produces naturally during normal metabolism. It is the final common product of oxidation in your body. This is important because it distinguishes homocysteine from all other risk assessments. Because it accumulates during oxidation, its measurement is a measure of the health of your antioxidant systems.
Antioxidants prevent homocysteine from accumulating in the body. In other words, homocysteine levels indicate how efficient your antioxidant systems are. If your homocysteine level is high, it means that the fire of oxidation is overwhelming your antioxidants and damaging your heart and blood vessels. Homocysteine is an excellent measure of antioxidant health as well as an actual indicator of cardiovascular inflammation.
At low levels, your body can handle homocysteine, but when the levels inch above the normal range, it damages your arteries. Homocysteine also increases the formation of arterial plaque and makes the platelets in your blood stickier. This increases the risk of forming blood clots, which can cause heart attack, stroke, and pulmonary embolism.
A number of studies demonstrated the link between high homocysteine levels and heart attack and stroke. For example, the Physician’s Health Study concluded that participants with high homocysteine levels are three times more likely to have a heart attack.
To read more about this topic order Al Sears MD’s The Doctor’s Heart Cure today.
Posted by james at July 4, 2005 6:32 AM