Nitric Oxide-The Miracle of Nature! Cardiovascular disease is a huge public health problem in the United States and around the world. Since the turn of the 20th century, cardiovascular disease has been the #1 killer in the United States for every year except 1918, when the flu epidemic took the number one slot. In the United States, a person dies from heart disease every 34 seconds and there are over 6 million hospitalizations every year due to cardiovascular disease. So certainly from both an individual perspective and a public health perspective, cardiovascular disease is a problem of epic proportions. The well-recognized risk factors associated with heart disease are elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, overweight, diabetes, and genetics. While none of us can do anything about our genetics, each of the other risk factors is modifiable by medication, dietary changes, and lifestyle changes such as increasing exercise and stopping smoking. All of the risk factors known to increase the chances of developing heart disease damage the endothelium, or the lining of the arteries, through inflammation and the build-up of plaque. The arteries become less flexible and the diameter of the arteries is reduced, so less blood can flow through them. As a result of the arteries becoming less flexible, the blood pressure goes up to push more blood through the arteries, and this, in turn, damages the arteries even further. It becomes a vicious cycle. We also know that damaged endothelium makes less nitric oxide (NO); nitric oxide is very important for the maintenance of healthy blood vessels. So this is another vicious cycle. More damaged arteries make less NO, become more at risk, make even less NO, and so on. Fortunately we know there are many things we can do to decrease our risk of heart disease. We know that nutritional changes and exercise can make a significant improvement. We also know that reducing blood pressure can improve the endothelium and help reverse the cycle of endothelial damage and decreased nitric oxide. Increasing levels of nitric oxide by taking Kyäni NitroFX or Kyäni NitroXtreme is a powerful way to improve cardiovascular health. By consuming lots of fruits and vegetables, you can also increase the production of nitric oxide. Interestingly, we know that exercise also increases nitric oxide production. Dr. Louis Ignarro, who was one of the recipients of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his role in the discovery of nitric oxide, said “Nitric oxide is the body’s way of protecting against cardiovascular disease.” Lower Blood Pressure = Reduced Risk Of Heart Disease There is excellent documentation in the medical literature showing that lowering blood pressure really does reduce the risk of heart disease. One excellent study published in January 2011 showed that higher levels of systolic blood pressure represent a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease and its complications in middle-aged and older women. The investigators estimated that 36% of serious cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes are preventable by lowering blood pressure in women. This compares to only 24% of preventable events in men by the same intervention. Of the three major risk factors that account for 85% of the modifiable risk for heart disease (blood pressure, cholesterol, and smoking) these researchers felt high systolic blood pressure was the most important. Another study from the University of California at Irvine showed that high blood pressure causes inactivation of NO through the production of free radicals that scavenge or mop-up the nitric oxide in the arteries. Physical Exercise and Nitric Oxide There is a very interesting study from Emory University, the University of Colorado, and Johns Hopkins that was published just last year. This study showed that nitric oxide generated during physical exercise is stored in the bloodstream and the heart in the form of nitrite and nitrosothiols (in which nitrites are linked to a sulfur molecule). Because the nitric oxide is a gas that disappears very quickly, the ability to produce more stable nitric oxide intermediates is key to providing protection against a subsequent heart attack. These researchers looked at mice and found that after four weeks of running on a wheel, they were protected from having a blocked coronary artery and that the amount of heart muscle damaged by the blockage was less after the mice had exercised. The mice were still protected a week after the wheel was removed from their cages. The levels of an enzyme that produces nitric oxide in the endothelium, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) was elevated in the mice that had been exercising. Levels of eNOS stayed high in heart tissue for a week after exercise stopped. Levels of nitrite and nitrosothiols in the blood and heart tissue were also elevated a week after exercise ceased. There is another molecule that seems to be important for the benefits of exercise. This is the beta-3-adrenergic receptor, which allows cells to respond to the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine. If the mice were lacking this receptor, they did not acquire any of the benefits from voluntary exercise. Apparently when the beta-3- adrenergic receptor is stimulated, one of the effects is the activation of eNOS. Enhancing Nitric Oxide Production Kyäni NitroFX and Kyäni NitroXtreme are superb sources of nitrates and nitrites. These molecules serve as a reservoir of NO precursors that your body can call upon whenever they are needed to enhance the production of NO and improve circulation. Mechanisms Of Heart Disease Prevention By Nitric Oxide NO may help prevent heart disease and stroke through multiple mechanisms. These include: 1) Enhancing the flexibility of the blood vessels, making it possible for the blood to circulate with less pressure from the heart. 2) Controlling platelet function. You have probably heard from Dr. Burke about the importance of NO in inhibiting clot formation. 3) Reducing arterial plaque. If there is more nitric oxide in the blood stream, it reduces the inflammation in the endothelium that leads to plaque. 4) Reduction of total cholesterol. Recent research has shown that persons who stimulate their levels of nitric oxide may be able to reduce the doses of their cholesterol-lowering medication. Nitric Oxide And Aging We know that as a person ages, nitric oxide levels tend to decline. This correlates with damage to the endothelium during the aging process, as a result of lifestyle issues such as inadequate exercise and high-fat diet. The levels of eNOS decline with age, so our ability to produce NO from arginine and citrulline is diminished. One really great piece of news is that we are still able to enhance circulating levels of NO by taking a nutritional supplement such as Kyäni NItroFX and Kyani NitroXtreme. Our ability to benefit from the NO produced in this way does not diminish as we get older.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 09:32:07 +0000
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