Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
The Benefits of Beets Hx Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Everyone has heard about beets. Beet powder, beet chews and even beet juice! It’s everywhere you look! But what really are the benefits of using beet supplements? Why is the tart cherry in the Beets …
Congestive Heart Failure Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Our next topic is something that may seem uncommon but is actually more common than you would think. This is congestive heart failure. When people refer to having a “weak heart” they are referring to congestive heart …
Boosting Energy and Supporting Heart Health all with Ribose Complex
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
One of my favorite products for heart health is called Ribose Complex. This is an amazing and complete formula for keeping our heart healthy. Ribose Complex contains D-Ribose, Alcar, Malic Acid, DMG, Rhodiola, Coq10, Bromelain, Protease and Stevia.
Let’s start with D-Ribose. What exactly is D-Ribose or Ribose? Ribose is a type of sugar that is a part of ATP, which is the energy molecule our cells. What this basically means is that Ribose helps boost the energy in our cells. In fact studies have found that Ribose helps boost energy in the heart for those with coronary artery disease. Other studies have found that Ribose helps to increase the hearts energy after a heart attack. Ribose has also been found to improve heart function in those with congestive heart failure. Other studies have found Ribose can help the chambers of the heart to have enhanced function aka the heart works better. Lastly studies have found that Ribose improves overall heart function in those with heart disease.
Alcar is an amazing supplement you may have heard of for memory and brain health. But did you know it is also good for our heart health? Several studies show that L-Carnitine can help improve symptoms of poor circulation including peripheral vascular disease. Studies also show it can help with symptoms of angina. L-Carnitine has also been found to help decrease our risk of a second heart attack or the risk of heart failure after a first heart attack. Lastly, it has been found to help improve overall heart function in those with heart failure.
Our next item is called Malic acid. Studies have found Malic acid to be very protective of the heart when there is poor circulation. Sometimes when circulation is restored there can be damage to the cells. This is called reperfusion injury. Studies have found that Malic acid is very helpful in this situation. Other studies have found that Malic acid can be very helpful for heart disease.
DMG is another important ingredient in Ribose complex. DMG has been found to help improve heart function. Other studies have found that DMG can help with our cholesterol, triglycerides and even homocysteine.
The next item is a well-known herb called Rhodiola Rosea or just Rhodiola. Studies have found that Rhodiola is very helpful in improving heart health when there is reperfusion injury due to poor circulation or even when there is damage due to a heart attack. Rhodiola has also been found to help with arrhythmia as well as lowering blood fat. It has also been shown to lower the risk of blood clots. If you have listened to our radio show then you will know that this is a favorite of both Dr. Amanda Williams and Dr. Claire Arcidiacono!
Coq10 is one of the most recommended products for heart health. Studies have found that that those who started taking Coq10 within 3 days of a heart attack are less likely to have another heart attack or even experience chest pain. For those who have congestive heart failure according to studies Coq10 may help with the symptoms. Several studies indicate that Coq10 may help lower high blood pressure. Other studies indicate Coq10 can help recovery after having heart surgery. I could go on and on but I think you can tell that Coq10 is a winner when it comes to heart health. In my clinical experience it is very helpful in people who are looking to help keep their heart healthy.
The next 2 items are Bromelain and Protease. These are both proteolytic enzymes. This type of enzyme in general may be helpful for the heart because they have an ability to fight against clots. You can image them acting like packman eating up the clots.
Lastly we have Stevia. Interestingly stevia is very good for our heart. Stevia is interesting because studies show it is good at lowering LDL and increasing HDL! Any item that helps with our cholesterol is important for our overall heart health.
Overall, I find Ribose Complex to be an amazing formula for overall heart health. It is important to keep our heart healthy before we have a problem. Very often we get calls that start with “I have a family history of heart disease”. In that case I reach for Ribose Complex first since it contains so many ingredients to help our heart. Additionally, since it is a powder it is very easy to use. It can be mixed in water, juice and even smoothies! Don’t make smoothies? That’s fine! It can also be used in things such as applesauce or even yogurt.
Our next topic will be congestive heart failure, also known as a “weak heart”
Sources
1. https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/ribose-uses-and-risks
2. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/d-ribose#TOC_TITLE_HDR_4
5. https://blog.davincilabs.com/blog/what-is-dmg-and-7-common-uses
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8898776/
10. https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/stevia-side-effects
What is a Myocardial infarction or Heart Attack? Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND What exactly is a myocardial infarction or MI? Well in layman’s terms, it is what is known as a heart attack. But what exactly happens during a heart attack? Basically during a …
Sterols Plus Hx: InVite’s Comprehensive Cholesterol Targeting Formula! Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Our product spotlight is one that that I think is an amazing formula for cholesterol. What is this wonderful formula you ask? Sterols Plus Hx! Sterols plus is a combination of things …
The Good and Bad of Cholesterol
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
Cholesterol is a topic that gets plenty of attention. Atherosclerosis is another topic that gets a lot of attention. But what are these things? What is the relationship between them? And perhaps most importantly what is their importance in our life?
Now I’m not going to get too in depth with the details of what cholesterol is and isn’t since there is a plethora of information on this topic at invitehealth.com. But I do want to provide some background information. Now you are probably thinking why does this concern me at all? I am young, cholesterol is a concern for the elderly! Unfortunately, this is becoming less true over time and is becoming something that younger and younger people must contend with. So, let’s start with some background information! Basically, cholesterol is a waxy substance that is found in our blood. Now cholesterol doesn’t just wonder around in our blood willy-nilly. It rides on proteins called LDL or HDL. LDL or the “bad guy” is what brings cholesterol around the body. LDL is considered the bad guy because it deposits cholesterol into our blood vessels and this eventually builds up leading to plaque. But LDL isn’t just dropping cholesterol into our blood vessels for no reason! LDL travels the body looking for blood vessel walls that are damaged and it places the cholesterol over this damage like a band aid. Unfortunately it tends to keep piling cholesterol onto this spot and the cholesterol builds up. Over time this becomes the cholesterol plaque that causes us so many problems.
What are some of the things that can damage our blood vessels leading to cholesterol becoming a plaque in the first place? Well there are a number of things that can do this! These risk factors include smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, lack of activity, poor diet and too much alcohol. Having high cholesterol and abdominal obesity are also risk factors. Unfortunately the only way to know your cholesterol is high is to get blood work. There aren’t signs that would indicate that your cholesterol is too high.
What does HDL do? HDL picks up the excess cholesterol and takes it back to the liver. In simple terms it puts it back into storage. Lastly on your blood work is something called triglycerides. This is another type of fat that increase the risk of heart disease. Now before you start to think that all cholesterol is bad, I want to point out that cholesterol is important for building our cells, making certain vitamins, and even provides the building blocks for hormones and neurotransmitters! Even our brain depends on cholesterol.
What is atherosclerosis? In this disease there are lesions in the walls of our arteries. Now these lesions can lead to our blood vessels becoming narrow due to the buildup of plaque aka cholesterol that has been deposited. Just as an aside plaque is more than just cholesterol, it also contains fat, calcium and cholesterol all combined. Now do you remember my blog on poor circulation? Well atherosclerosis is one of the things that can lead to poor circulation.
The risk factors for atherosclerosis and high cholesterol are very similar. Having high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and having a poor diet are all risk factors. But why is this important? As I said at the start of this blog cholesterol build up starts very young. It is a prime example of something that you should work on before it becomes a problem. Cholesterol is also a risk factor for almost every type of heart disorder including atherosclerosis, which in turn is a huge risk factor for heart diseases such as poor circulation, coronary artery disease, stroke, heart attack and even kidney disease! So what can you do if have a family history or even personal history of high cholesterol? Turns out there is a lot you can do!
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