Atherosclerosis

Diet and Nutrition: (references)

• Eat foods high in fiber (significantly lowers cholesterol)
• Reduce fat consumption, especially saturated fats (animal products) and oxidized fats like those found in fast food places (french fries and other fried foods)
• Eat lots of garlic and onions
• Eat complex carbohydrates, e.g., vegetables, beans, and brown rice and avoid sucrose and all simple sugars (more important than fat reduction)
• Consume more soy protein and less meat
• Eat a diet high in cold water fish
• Avoid hydrogenated oils and trans-fatty acids
• Reduce, but don't eliminate alcohol from the diet, e.g., 1 glass of wine per evening
• Drink more tea and cocoa
• Avoid milk and other dairy products

Vitamins and Minerals: (references)

• Beta-Carotene: 100,000 I.U.
• Vitamin B3 (Niacin): 30 - 1500 mg. TID in divided doses (increase slowly from 200 mg.) Do not use the time released form of niacin for atherosclerosis
• Vitamin B5: 600 - 1200 mg.
• Vitamin B6: 50 mg.
• Folate: 5 - 10 mg.
• Vitamin C: 500 mg. TID
• Vitamin E: 800 - 1600 I.U.
• Selenium: 200 - 300 mcg.
• Manganese: 5 - 20 mg.
• Zinc: 30 mg. TID
• Copper: 2 - 4 mg.
• Magnesium (Aspartate form): 500 - 800 mg.
• Silicon, and other trace minerals
• Chromium Aspartate: 200 - 500 mcg. (can use brewers yeast)

Supplements: (references)

• Coenzyme Q10: 40 - 120 mg. in divided doses
• Bromelain: 500 mg. BID (on an empty stomach)
• L-Carnitine: 3 gm.
• L-Arginine: 2 - 4 gm. BID
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids: 2 - 5 gm. TID
• Omega-6 Fatty Acids: 1 gm. TID
• Glucosamine Sulfate: 100 mg.
• Fiber: 20 - 45 gm. in divided doses accompanied with 12 ounces of water per dose
• Garlic: 400 mg.
• Red Yeast Rice (Monascus purpureus): 1200 mg. with 50 mg. Coenzyme Q10 2 times a day

Botanicals: (references)

• Formula - Medicago sativa (1), Salvia miltiorrhiza (1), Zingiber officinale (1), Crataegus oxycantha (2), Allium sativum (1), *Curcuma longa (1), Ginkgo biloba (1): take 1/4 tsp. TID

• Individual botanicals to be considered for this condtion:
  Allium sativum (Garlic)
  Camellia sinensis (Green tea)
  Capsicum frutescens (Cayenne, Red pepper)
  Commiphora mukul (Guggulu)
  Crataegus oxycantha (Hawthorne)
  Curcuma longa (Tumeric)
  Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo)
  Medicago sativa (Alfalfa)
  Polygonum multiflorum (Fo-ti, He-shou-wu)
  Salvia miltiorrhiza (Dan shen)
  Pausinystalia yohimbe (Yohimbe)
  Zingiber officinale (Ginger)

Homeopathic Remedies: (references)

• General arteriosclerosis:
  
  adren, am-i, arn, ars, aur, aur-br, aur-i, bar-c, bell-p, cact, calc, calc-ar, calc-f, chin-s, chlol, con, crat, cupr, ergot, form, fuc, glon, hed, hyper, iod, kres, lach, lith, man, naja, nat-i, plb, plb-i, polyg-a, sec, sil, solid, stront-c, stront-i, stroph, sumb, tab, thlaspi, thyr, vanad, visc, zinc-p
• Atheroma:
  
  aur-m, bell, brom, calc, calc-f, caps, graph, kali-i, lach, lac-ac, lyc, phos, plb, sil, sulph
• Atheroma in elderly people:
  
  lach

(For an overview of Homeopathy, click here.)   

Other Therapies: (references)

• Some form of daily exercise (walking, cycling, yoga, etc.) increases HDL and lowers cholesterol and LDL
• Reduce stress
• Remove chlorine from drinking water with a reverse-osmosis water filter
• Stop smoking
• Supplement with thyroid hormone if suffering from hypothyroidism
• *Rinse dishes very well - detergent dissolves fatty acids in cell membranes

Recommended Labs:

• Check for atherosclerosis: Lipid Panel, Apolipoprotein A1, Apolipoprotein B, Cardio CRP, Homocysteine
• Rule out diabetes: Fasting Glucose, Fructosamine, Hemoglobin A1c

*  The recommended use of this supplement or therapy is based on a physiological mechanism or empirical data and is not necessarily supported by peer-reviewed research studies.

Copyright 1998 - 2008 by L. Vicky Crouse, ND and James S. Reiley, ND. All rights reserved (ISSN 1527-0661).