Artherosclerosis

• Every second man and woman in the industrialized world dies from the consequences of atherosclerotic deposits in the coronary arteries (leading to heart attack) or in the arteries supplying blood to the brain (leading to stroke). The epidemic spread of these cardiovascular diseases is largely due to the fact that until now the true nature of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease has been insufficiently understood.

• Conventional medicine is largely confined to treating the symptoms of this disease. Calcium antagonists, beta-blockers, nitrates, and other drugs are prescribed to alleviate angina pain. Surgical procedures (angioplasty, bypass surgery) are applied to improve blood flow mechanically. Hardly any conventional medicine targets the underlying problem: the instability of the vascular wall which triggers the development of atherosclerotic deposits.

• Cellular Medicine provides a breakthrough in our understanding of these causes and leads to effective prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease. The primary cause of coronary heart disease and other forms of atherosclerotic disease is a chronic deficiency in vitamins and other essential nutrients in millions of vascular wall cells. This leads to instability of the vascular walls, to lesions and cracks, to atherosclerotic deposits, and eventually to heart attacks or strokes. Since the primary cause of cardiovascular disease is a deficiency of essential nutrients in the vascular wall, a daily optimum intake of these essential nutrients is the primary measure to prevent atherosclerosis and to help repair wall damage.

• Scientific research and clinical studies have already documented the particular value of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, lysine, proline, and other ingredients of Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and in improving the health of patients with existing cardiovascular disease.

• Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program comprises selected essential nutrients to help prevent cardiovascular disease naturally and to help repair existing damage. The following pages document health improvements from patients with coronary heart disease and other forms of cardiovascular disease, who have benefited from this program.

• My recommendation for patients with cardiovascular disease is to start immediately with this natural cardiovascular program and inform your doctor about it. Follow Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program in addition to your medication. Vitamin C and E are natural “blood thinners.” If you are on blood thinning medication you should talk to your doctor about the vitamins you take so that additional blood tests can be performed and your prescription medication may be decreased. Do not change any medication without consulting your doctor.

• Prevention is better than treatment. The success of this essential nutrient program in patients with existing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease is based on the fact that the millions of cardiovascular cells are replenished with cell fuel for optimum cell function. A natural cardiovascular program able to correct an existing health condition is, of course, your best choice to prevent this condition in the first place.

Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program Can Help and Reverse Coronary Heart Disease

Millions of people die every year from heart attacks because no effective treatment to halt or reverse coronary artery disease has been available. Therefore, we decided to test the efficacy of Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program for the Number One health problem of our time: coronary atherosclerosis, the cause of heart attacks. If this nutritional supplement program is able to stop further growth of coronary atherosclerosis, the fight against heart attacks can be won and the goal of eradicating heart disease becomes reality.

To measure the success of our vitamin program we did not primarily look at risk factors circulating in the blood stream. We focused directly on the key problem, the atherosclerotic deposits inside the walls of the coronary arteries. A fascinating new diagnostic technique had just become available that allowed us to measure the size of the coronary deposits non-invasively: Ultrafast Computed Tomography.

The Ultrafast CT measures areas and density of the calcium deposits without any needles or radioactive dye involved; then the computer automatically calculates their size by determining the Coronary Artery Scan (CAS) score. The higher the CAS score, the more calcium has accumulated, indicating more advanced coronary artery disease. Compared to angiography and treadmill tests, Ultrafast CT is the most precise diagnostic technique available today to detect coronary artery disease already in its early stage. This diagnostic test allows detection of deposits in coronary arteries long before a patient notices any angina pectoris or other symptoms. Moreover, since it measures directly the deposits in the artery walls, it is a much better indicator for a person’s cardiovascular risk than any measurements of cholesterol or other risk factors in the bloodstream.

We studied 55 patients with various degrees of coronary artery disease. Changes in the size of the coronary artery calcifications in each patient were measured over an average period of one year without Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program, followed by a period of one year with the vitamin program. In this way, the heart scans of the same person could be compared without and with the vitamin program. This study design had the advantage that the patients served as their own controls. The dosages of essential nutrients given were about the amounts listed in the right column of the vitamin table at the beginning of this book.

The results of this landmark study were published in the Journal of Applied Nutrition in 1996 (see reference listing at the end of this book). The most important findings are also presented here. This study measured for the first time how aggressive coronary artery disease grows until eventually a heart attack occurs. Without Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program, the coronary calcifications increased at an exponential rate, with an average growth of 44% every year. Thus, without vitamin protection, coronary deposits add about half their size every year.

When patients started Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program, this trend was reversed and the average growth rate of coronary calcifications actually slowed down. Most significantly, in patients with early stages of coronary heart disease, this essential nutrient program stopped further growth of coronary heart disease within one year. Thus, this study also gives us valuable information about the time it takes until Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program shows its natural healing effect on the artery wall. While for the first six months the deposits in these patients continued to grow, although at a decreased pace, the growth essentially stops during the second six months on this vitamin program. Of course, any therapy that stops coronary artery disease in its early stages prevents heart attacks later on.

It is not surprising that there is a delay of several months until the healing effect of Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program on the artery wall becomes noticeable. Atherosclerotic deposits develop over many years or decades, and it takes several months to control this aggressive disease and start the healing process. More advanced stages of coronary heart disease may take still longer before the vascular healing process is measurable. To answer these questions, we are continuing this study.

Can already existing coronary deposits be reversed in a natural way? The answer is yes. In individual patients we documented natural reversal and complete disappearance of early coronary artery deposits within about one year. The ongoing study will tell us how long the natural reversal takes in patients with advanced coronary artery disease.

The complete natural disappearance with Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program documents that this vitamin program contains the essential ingredients to start a natural healing process of the artery wall.

In patients with early coronary heart disease, this healing of the artery wall can lead to the complete natural removal of atherosclerotic deposits (see above).
In patients with advanced coronary artery disease, Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program can stabilize the artery walls, halt the further growth of the coronary deposits, and reverse them, at least in part; thus contributing to the prevention of heart attacks.

Improving Human Health World-Wide

Our clinical study marks a major breakthrough in medicine and will lead to health improvements for millions of people throughout the world. For the first time, the following clinical results were documented:

• Without vitamin therapy, coronary artery disease is a very
  aggressive disease and the deposits grow on average at a
  staggering rate of 44% per year.

• Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program is proven to halt coronary
atherosclerose cause of heart attacks, already in its early stages.

• Thus, there now exists an effective natural therapy to prevent and to
   reverse coronary heart disease naturally – without angioplasty or
   bypass surgery.

• Every man and every woman in any country of the world can
   immediately take advantage of this medical breakthrough.

• During the next decades, deaths from heart attacks and strokes will
  be reduced to a fraction of their current toll and cardiovascular
  disease will essentially be unknown to future generations.

This Study Calls for Immediate Action:

• Every reader of this book should make use of this life-saving
  information and forward it to friends, colleagues and to the
  community.

• Doctors and other health professionals should inform their patients.

• Health insurance companies and health maintenance organizations,
  as well as public health strategies should take immediate advantage
of this medical breakthrough.

How Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program Can Help Patients With Coronary Heart Disease

These pages document letters from coronary heart disease patients who have followed Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program. This essential nutrient program improved the health of these patients and their quality of life beyond anything possible before. Please share this important information with anyone you know who suffers from cardiovascular disease.
.

Dear Dr. Rath:

In August, 1990, at the age of 20, I was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy. My doctors informed me that my only hope for survival would be a heart transplant. In November 1990, I was transported to the hospital for heart transplant surgery.

As part of my post-operative treatment, I go into the hospital for an annual heart catheterization. Up until January 1995, my heart caths were fine. In January, 1995, I had a heart catheterization and my cardiologist found four blockages; three (coronary artery) vessels were approximately 90% occluded (blocked) and the fourth vessel was approximately 60% occluded. I had also gained one hundred pounds since the transplant and my cardiologist was furious. I was instructed to begin a strict low-fat diet immediately.

In May, 1995, I was introduced to your cardiovascular vitamin program. I had lost 30 pounds on my low-fat diet and began using your formulas. I had a repeat catheterization in November, 1995.

The results were phenomenal!! This cath showed that the three occlusions previously at approximately 90% were reduced by approximately 50% and the fourth occlusion previously at approximately 60% had no obstruction at all. The other exciting news was that I had also lost an additional 50 pounds for a total of 80 pounds!! All of this occurred in six months. These formulas have dramatically improved my life!

Sincerely, J.B

Dear Dr. Rath:

I was very excited about the possibility of improving heart function and reversing heart disease due to atherosclerosis after reading your books this past February. I have familial hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol) and had a myocardial infarction six years ago at age 40.

I started following your cardiovascular vitamin program in February this year, along with a fiber formula. Within the first month, I started feeling less tired and was able to keep on going without exhaustion or angina. Within two months, the pain in my lower left leg due to poor circulation (atherosclerosis) disappeared. My heart feels like it’s just on overdrive - just purring along - no longer pounding in my chest.

My annual physical in May was quite interesting. I never told my doctor I was doing anything different, but he shared with me that my ECG looked normal! I asked my doctor about possibly lowering my heart medication (calcium antagonist, beta-blocker). He said that, based on my examination, he would take me off all this medicine if I lost 17 more pounds of weight. I had already lost 12 pounds since February, so I see losing 17 pounds just a matter of time.

I have supplemented your vitamin program with additional vitamin C, L-proline, and L-lysine. I do not know if my atherosclerosis will ever be 100% reversed, but I do know that whatever progress your program has done for me so far has already improved my condition and has impacted my overall quality of life.

I will continue your cardiovascular health program the rest of my life, and recommend it to any concerned about their health.

I thank God for your research.

Sincerest regards, R.R.

Dear Dr. Rath:

I am a 57 year old male who had a heart attack on November 20, 1986. I was told by my cardiologist that I had incurred a myocardial infarction of a small artery in the lower portion of my heart. It was determined that angioplasty or some other surgical procedure was not relevant or pertinent. The after effects were reduced energy and stamina, angina pectoris and other related symptoms typical to this condition. Since that time, I have been on a calcium antagonist medication. Follow up angioplasty procedures were performed in October 1987 and February 1993. Evidence of noticeable change in my condition was limited to some increase in the partial blockage in other major coronary arteries.

I began following your cardiovascular vitamin program last October. This April another angioplasty was performed on me by a cardiologist who is highly respected and has many years of experience in this specialty area. He has performed several thousand of these procedures; however, he was amazed at what he observed in my case. He found the previously blocked artery to have 25% to 30% blood flow and no advancement in the partial obstruction (blocking) of other arteries. His comment was, “Your arteries look great, I don’t know what you are doing, but keep doing it.” He further commented that this was only the second time he had observed an artery opening up that was previously blocked, without some surgical procedure.

I have experienced remarkable improvement in my general health through a reduction in the incidence of angina, chest pressure, shortness of breath and increased energy and endurance. I truly believe your cardiovascular health program will extend my life and eliminate what appeared to the inevitable need for cardiac by-pass surgery some time in the future. Your program has dramatically improved my life and I am very grateful.

Sincerely, L.T.

Europe: More Vitamins, Less Heart Disease

One of the largest studies about the importance of vitamins in the prevention of cardiovascular disease was conducted in Europe. It is a well-known fact that cardiovascular diseases are more frequent in Scandinavia and northern European countries as compared with Mediterranean countries. Professor Gey, from the University of Basel in Switzerland, compared the rate of cardiovascular disease in these countries to the blood levels of vitamin C and beta carotene, as well as cholesterol. His findings were remarkable:

•     People in northern European countries have the highest rate of
      cardiovascular disease and, on average, the lowest blood levels of vitamins.

•     Southern European populations have the lowest cardiovascular risk and
      the highest vitamin blood levels.

•     An optimum intake of vitamin C, E and A had a much greater impact
      on decreasing the risk for cardiovascular disease than lowering of
      cholesterol levels.

This study finally provides the scientific answer to the “French Phenomenon” and to the low rate of heart attacks in France, Greece, and other Mediterranean countries. The decisive factor for the low cardiovascular risk in these countries is an optimum intake of vitamins in the regular diets of these regions. Certain dietary preferences, such as the consumption of wine and olive oil, rich in bioflavonoids and vitamin E, seem to be of particular importance.
Vitamin E and Beta Carotene Also Decrease Your Cardiovascular Risk
Optimum dietary intake of vitamin E and beta-carotene also significantly reduce the cardiovascular risk. In several large-scale clinical studies, the importance of these vitamins for optimum cardiovascular health has been documented:

The Nurses’ Health Study included more than 87,000 American nurses, ages 34 to 59. None of the study participants had any signs of cardiovascular disease at the beginning of the study. In 1993, a first result was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It was shown that study participants taking more than 200 units of vitamin E per day could reduce their risk for heart attacks by 34%, compared to those receivng only 3 units, corresponding to the average daily intake of vitamin E in America.

The Health Professional Study included over 39,000 health professionals, ages 40 to 75. At the beginning of the study, none of the participants had any signs of cardiovascular disease or diabetes, or elevated blood cholesterol levels. The study showed that people taking 400 units of vitamin E per day could reduce their risk for heart attack by 40%, compared to those taking only 6 units of vitamin E per day. In the same study, an increased intake of beta-carotene was also shown to significantly decrease the cardiovascular risk.

The Physicians Health Study included over 22,000 physicians, ages 40 to 84. From this study in patients with existing cardiovascular disease, published by Dr. Hennekens in 1992, it was shown that in those patients, 50 mg of beta carotene per day could cut the risk for suffering a heart attack or stroke in half.
The following table summarizes the results of these last clinical studies:

•    Vitamin C Intake lowers cardiovascular risk by 50%, documented in 11,000
     study participants over 10 years.

•    Vitamin E supplementation lowers cardiovascular risk by one-third,
     documented in 87,000 study participants over 6 years.

•    Beta carotene supplementation lowers cardiovascular risk over 30%,
     documented in more than 87,000 study participants over 6 years.

•    No prescription drug has ever been shown to be as effective as these
     vitamins in preventing heart disease.

Background Information for Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program and Cardiovascular Disease

What Is Atherosclerosis?

The pictures on this page are cross-sections from coronary arteries of patients with coronary artery disease. These pictures provide a look inside these arteries through a microscope. The dark ring you notice is the original blood vessel wall as it would be found in a newborn baby. The gray area within this dark ring is atherosclerotic deposits which developed over many years.It is important to understand that the atherosclerotic deposits in Picture A have developed over many years. In contrast, the additional blood clot in Picture B develops within minutes or seconds. Effective prevention of heart attacks has to start as early as possible by preventing atherosclerotic deposits. Atherosclerosis is not a disease of advanced age. Studies of soldiers killed in the Korean and Vietnam wars showed that up to 75% of the victims had already developed some form of atherosclerotic deposits at age 25 and younger. The picture below shows a coronary artery of a 25-year-old victim of a traffic accident. This coincidental finding shows how far atherosclerosis can advance in young adults – without causing any symptoms.

The main cause of atherosclerotic deposits is the biological weakness of the artery walls caused by chronic vitamin deficiency. The atherosclerotic deposits are the consequence of this chronic weakness; they develop as a compensatory stabilizing cast of Nature to strengthen these weakened blood vessel walls.

	Why Animals Don’t Get Heart Attacks
	According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, each year more than 12,000,000 people die from the consequences of heart attacks and strokes. Amazingly, while cardiovascular disease has become one of the largest epidemics ever to haunt mankind, these very same heart attacks are essentially unknown in the animal world. The following paragraph from the renowned textbook of veterinary medicine by Professor H. A. Smith and T. C. Jones documents these facts: “The fact remains, however, that in none of the domestic species, with the rarest of exceptions, do animals develop atherosclerotic disease of clinical significance. It appears that most of the pertinent pathological mechanisms operate in animals and that atherosclerotic disease in them is not impossible; it just does not occur. If the reason for this could be found it might cast some very useful light on the human disease.” These important observations were published in 1958. Now, almost four decades later, the puzzle of human cardiovascular disease has been solved. The solution to the puzzle of human cardiovascular disease is one of the great advances in medicine. Here is the main reason why animals don’t get heart attacks: With few exceptions, animals produce their own vitamin C in their bodies. The daily amounts of vitamin C produced vary between 1000 mg and 20,000 mg, when compared to the human body weight. Vitamin C is the cement of the artery wall, and optimum amounts of vitamin C stabilize the arteries. In contrast, we human beings cannot produce a single molecule of vitamin C ourselves. Our ancestors lost this ability generations ago when an enzyme which was needed to convert sugar molecules (glucose) into vitamin C became defunct. This change in the molecules of inheritance (genes) of our ancestors had no immediate disadvantage since, for thousands of generations, they relied primarily on plant nutrition such as cereal, fruits and others, which provided the daily minimum of vitamins for them. Nutritional habits and dietary intake of vitamins changed considerably in this century. Today, most people do not receive sufficient amounts of vitamins in their diet. Still worse, food processing, long-term storage and overcooking destroy most vitamins in the food. The consequences are summarized in the picture above. The single most important difference between the metabolism of human beings and most other living species is the dramatic difference in the body pool of vitamin C. The body reservoir of vitamin C in people is on average ten to 100 times lower than the vitamin C levels in animals
	How Does Vitamin C Prevent Atherosclerosis?
	Vitamin C contributes in many different ways to the prevention of cardiovascular disease. It is an important antioxidant and it serves as a cofactor for many biochemical reactions in the body cells. The most important function of vitamin C in preventing heart attacks and strokes is its ability to increase the production of collagen, elastin, and other reinforcement mole cules in the body. These biological reinforcement rods constitute the connective tissue, about 50% of all proteins in our body. Collagen has the same structural stability function for our body as iron reinforcement rods have for a skyscraper building. Increased production of collagen means improved stability for the 60,000-mile-long walls of our arteries, veins, and capillaries. The Scientific World Knows the Facts The close connection between vitamin C deficiency and the instability of body tissue was established long ago. The following page is taken from the world-famous textbook on biochemistry by Professor Lubert Stryer of Stanford University. While the vitamin C-collagen-connection is firmly established, the paramount importance of this connection for heart disease has apparently been overlooked or neglected.

Defective Hydroxylation is one of the Biochemical Lesions in Scurvy

The importance of the hydroxylation of collagen becomes evident in scurvy. A vivid description of this disease was given by Jacques Cartier in 1536, when it afflicted his men as they were exploring the Saint Lawrence River:
“Some did lose all their strength and could not stand on their feet...others also had all their skins spotted with spots of blood of a purple color: then did it ascend up to their ankles, knees, thighs, shoulders, arms and necks. Their mouths became stinking, their gums so rotten, that all the flesh did fall off, even to the roots of the teeth which did also almost all fall out.”

The means of preventing scurvy was succinctly stated by James Lind, a Scottish physician, in 1753: “Experience indeed sufficiently shows that as greens or fresh vegetables with ripe fruits, are the best remedies for it, so they prove the most effectual preservatives against it.” Lind urged the inclusion of lemon juice in the diet of sailors. His advice was adopted by the British navy some 40 years later.

Scurvy is caused by a dietary deficiency of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Primates and guinea pigs have lost the ability to synthesize ascorbic acid and so they must acquire it from their diets. Ascorbic acid, an effective reducing agent, maintains prolyl hydroxylase in an active form, probably by keeping its iron atom in the reduced ferrous state. Collagen synthesized in the absence of ascorbic acid is insufficiently hydroxylated and, hence, has a lower melting temperature. This abnormal collagen cannot properly form fibers and thus causes the skin lesions and blood vessel fragility that are so prominent in scurvy.

Atherosclerosis Is an Early Form of Scurvy

While these facts were known 250 years ago, they are still not applied in medicine today. The next figure summarizes the fact that the main cause of heart attacks and strokes is a scurvy-like condition of the artery wall.

Left column A: Optimum intake of vitamin C leads to an optimum production and function of collagen molecules. A stable blood vessel wall does not allow atherosclerotic deposits to develop. Optimum availability of vitamin C in their bodies is the main reason why animals don’t get heart attacks.

Right column C: The right column of this figure summarizes the events in scurvy. Total depletion of the vitamin C body reserves, as they occurred in sailors of earlier centuries, leads to a gradual break-down of the body’s connective tissue, including the vessel walls. Thousands of sailors died from hemorrhagic blood loss through leaky blood vessel walls within a few months.

Center column B: Atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease are exactly between these two conditions. Our average diet contains enough vitamin C to prevent open scurvy, but not enough to guarantee stable reinforced artery walls. As a consequence, millions of tiny cracks and lesions develop along the artery walls. Subsequently, cholesterol, lipoproteins, and other blood risk factors enter the damaged artery walls in order to repair these lesions. With chronically low vitamin intake, however, this repair process continues over decades. Over many years this repair overcompensates or overshoots and atherosclerotic deposits develop. Deposits in the arteries of the heart eventually lead to heart attack; deposits in the arteries of the brain lead to stroke

Vitamin C Deficiency Causes Atherosclerosis - The Proof

It is possible to prove that too low a dietary intake of vitamin C alone, without any other factors involved, directly causes atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. To prove this, we had to conduct an animal experiment with guinea pigs, exceptions in the animal world because they share with humans the inability to produce their own vitamin C. Two groups of guinea pigs received exactly the same daily amounts of cholesterol, fats, proteins, sugar, salt, and all other ingredients in their diet, with one exception – vitamin C. Group B received 60 mg of vitamin C per day in their diet, compared to the human body weight. This amount was chosen to meet the official recommended daily allowance for humans in the U.S. In contrast, group A received 5,000 mg of vitamin C per day compared to human body weight.

These pictures document the changes in the artery walls in these two groups after only five weeks. The first picture shows the differences in the arteries of the two groups.The vitamin C deficient animals of Group B developed atherosclerotic deposits (white areas), particularly in the areas close to the heart (right side of picture). The aortas of the animals in Group A remained healthy and did not show any deposits. The following pictures show the same artery walls examined under a microscope. The artery sections from animals with high vitamin C intake (A) show an intact cell barrier between the bloodstream and the artery wall. The almost parallel alignment of the collagen molecules in the artery wall makes stability visible. In contrast, the arteries of the vitamin C deficient animals (Group B) have lost the protection (defective barrier cell lining) and stability (fragmented collagen structure) of their arteries. For comparison, a picture of the coronary arteries from a patient with coronary artery disease was added (Picture C).

A New Understanding of the Nature of Heart Disease

The Natural Reversal of Cardiovascular Disease

The basis for the reversal of atherosclerosis is the initiation of a healing process in the artery wall that has been weakened by chronic vitamin deficiency. Besides vitamin C, which stimulates production of collagen molecules, other constituents of Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program are also essential for this healing process. The figure on the adjacent page summarizes the protective functions of this essential nutrient program.

In the middle of the figure is the picture of a microscopic cross-section of the atherosclerotic deposit of a human coronary artery. The white area above the plaque represents the area where normally the blood flows. The lipoproteins (fat molecules) in the center of the deposits are stained black with a specific staining technique. Two of these lipoprotein (a) molecules (one lipoprotein (a) and one LDL molecule) among thousands of lipoprotein molecules in this plaque are schematically magnified. These lipoproteins have been deposited inside the artery wall for many years.

Around the core of the plaque a local “tumor” forms from muscle cells typical for the artery wall. This “muscle cell tumor”is another way by which the body stabilizes the vitamin-deprived artery wall. The deposition of lipoproteins from the bloodstream and the muscle cell tumor in the artery wall are the most important factors that determine the size of the plaque and, thereby, the growth of coronary heart disease. Any therapy that is able to reverse these two mechanisms of atherosclerosis must also reverse coronary heart disease itself. The ingredients of Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program synergistically affect both mechanisms in the following ways:

1. Stability of the artery wall through optimum collagen production. The collagen molecules in our body are proteins composed of amino acids. Collagen molecules differ from all other proteins in the body by the fact that they make particular use of the amino acids lysine and proline. We already know that vitamin C stimulates the production of collagen in the cells of the artery wall. An optimum supply of lysine, proline, and vitamin C is a decisive factor for the optimum regeneration of the connective tissue in the artery walls and, therefore, for a natural healing of cardiovascular disease.

2. Decrease of the “muscle cell tumor” in the artery wall. With an optimum supply of essential nutrients, the muscle cells of the artery walls produce sufficient amounts of functional collagen, thereby guaranteeing optimum stability of the wall. In contrast, vitamin deficiency leads to the production of faulty and dysfunctional collagen molecules by the arterial muscle cells. Moreover, these muscle cells multiply themselves, forming the atherosclerotic “tumor.” My colleague, Dr. Aleksandra Niedzwiecki and her colleagues investigated this mechanism in detail. They found that vitamin C, in particular, can inhibit the growth of the atherosclerotic “tumor.” In the meantime, other studies have shown that vitamin E also has this effect.

3. “Teflon” protection of the artery wall and reversal of fatty deposits in the artery walls. Lipoproteins are the transport molecules by which cholesterol and other fat molecules circulate in the blood and are deposited in the artery walls. For many years, it has been thought that the primary transport molecule responsible for the deposition of fat in the artery walls is LDL (low-density lipoprotein, or “bad cholesterol”). Today, we know that the most dangerous fat transport molecules are not LDL molecules, but a variant, called lipoprotein (a). The letter (a) can stand for “adhesive” and characterizes an additional sticky protein which surrounds the LDL molecules. By means of this sticky protein the lipoprotein (a) molecules accumulate inside the artery walls. Thus, it is not the cholesterol or LDL-cholesterol level that determines the risk for cardiovascular disease, it is the amount of lipoprotein (a) molecules. In the next chapter I will discuss this new risk factor in detail.
The primary therapeutic aim to prevent fatty deposits in the artery wall is therefore to neutralize the stickiness of the lipoprotein molecules and to prevent their attachment to the inside of the artery walls. This can be achieved by means of “Teflon” substances for the artery walls. The first generation of these “Teflon” agents has been identified. They are the natural amino acids lysine and proline. They form a protective layer around the lipoprotein (a) molecules, which has a twofold effect: preventing the deposition of more fat molecules in the artery wall and releasing lipoprotein molecules that had already been deposited inside the artery walls. Releasing fat molecules from the atherosclerotic deposits leads to a natural reversal of cardiovascular disease. Molecule by molecule is released from the atherosclerotic plaques into the bloodstream and transported to the liver, where these molecules are burned. It is important to understand that this is a natural process, and complications that frequently accompany angioplasty and other mechanical procedures do not occur.

4. Antioxidant protection in the bloodstream and artery walls. An additional mechanism accelerating the development of atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes, is biological oxidation. Free radicals, aggressive molecules occurring in cigarette smoke, car exhaust, and smog, damage the lipoproteins in the bloodstream and also the tissue of the artery walls. By doing so, they further extend the size of atherosclerotic plaques. Vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, and other components of Dr. Rath’s Vitamin Program belong to the strongest natural antioxidants, protecting the cardiovascular system from oxidative damage.

The reversal of fatty deposits in the artery wall is a process common in Nature. Bears and other hibernators, for example, use it regularly. During several months of winter sleep (hibernation) these animals do not eat, and therefore get no vitamins in their diet. Moreover, during hibernation the vitamin C production in their bodies decreases to a minimum. As a consequence, fat molecules and other factors from their blood are deposited in the artery walls and lead to a thickening of these walls. In spring, after these animals arise from hibernation, their vitamin supply increases dramatically from their diet and from their body’s vitamin production. With this increased vitamin supply, the fatty deposits in the artery walls of these animals gradually reverse, and the artery walls retain their natural stability and function.

The solution to the puzzle of human cardiovascular disease is another striking example how a close look at Nature can help us to find solutions to human diseases.