High glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates like white bread, chips, and doughnuts are associated with an increased risk of heart disease in women, according to the results of a recent study.*

Research conducted at the IRCCS Foundation and National Cancer Institute in Milan, Italy showed that 25 percent of women who ate high GI foods had more than two times the risk of heart disease than the 25 percent of women who ate low GI foods.

Approximately 48,000 women participated in the study along with approximately 17,000 men. However, the results of the study did not indicate that high GI foods in men posed any more of a risk than low GI foods.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the number one killer of American men and women. CDC estimates that coronary events in America take place once every 25 seconds.

While Americans spend billions of dollars on heart medications each year, these medications often come with a host of potential side effects. Dan Kaur Weamer, MS, CN, nutritionist and dietary enzyme expert, says people need to be better educated about the contraindications and interactive potential these drugs may carry. She also says there are safe and effective alternatives available to help the body promote and maintain vascular health.

“Most people don’t know alternatives are available,” she says. “Sometimes doctors aren’t well-informed either. Some of them only know what they’ve heard from a pharmaceutical representative.”

Weamer says systemic enzyme therapy and vitamin C can play a major role in reducing inflammation, a factor equal to cholesterol in determining heart disease risk.(1,2) She suggests using a dietary supplement that contains an enzyme blend to break down fibrin, which can lead to arterial plaquing. She recommends a supplement that contains garlic, globe artichoke and guggulipids, which help lower blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. Also beneficial are ginkgo biloba and vitamin E, two antioxidants that help minimize clumping, which contribute to the formation of plaque in blood vessels. For more information on systemic enzymes, click here.

*Source: Reuters

References
1. Nouza K. Systemic enzyme therapy in diseases of the vascular system.
2. Block G. et al Vitamin C treatment reduces elevated C-reactive protein. Free Radic Biol Med 2008; Oct. 10: 18952164. http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:18952164  or http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081113091630.htm

A Health magazine story, reported in mid-August on CNN.com, details supplements that are helpful for cholesterol support.

Three of the supplements included in the article are also included in one supplement, ProSol™ Vascular Maintenance.™

Vascular Maintenance™ also contains lipase, to help break down fat, and nattokinase, an enzyme that benefits cardiovascular health. The propriety enzyme blend, pHysioProtease,™ is included to modulate the natural inflammatory process.

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