Raising HDL: Pantethine and Carnitine

HDL raising diet and antioxidants are key to reversing plaque of heart disease, not lowering cholesterol. HDL removes oxidized LDL, the cause of heart disease.

Pantethine is a precursor of pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5). According to the government, pantethine lowers LDL and triglycerides and raises HDL. HDL removes oxidized LDL and removes plaque from artery walls. Pantethine is available in health food stores and online.

Normal heart function is dependent on carnitine. Low carnitine level is common in many heart illnesses, meaning in these illnesses the liver is not making the optimal amount of carnitine. Carnitine improves heart muscle use of oxygen and energy, lowers triglycerides, and raises HDL. The liver makes carnitine from the amino acid lysine. The heart uses the LPC form of carnitine more rapidly than other forms of carnitine. Carnitine is a big deal in the nutrition world.

Avoiding Lowering HDL

Trans fat is hydrogenated vegetable oil. Trans fat lowers HDL. Trans fat is found in large amounts in French Fries (fast food), doughnuts, shortening (like Crisco), cheap margarine (none in butter), potato chips, and candy bars. Hydrogenated vegetable oil is the crack (cracking noise) in crackers and cookies. In general, to avoid trans fats avoid fried foods and choose baked, broiled, or steamed foods.

Trans fat is made by overheating vegetable oil and adding certain chemicals in order to add hydrogen atoms to the chemical structure of the vegetable oil molecules. The process saturates the vegetable oil molecules with hydrogen atoms, making the vegetable oil saturated fat. The process also makes the vegetable oil high in free radicals. Trans fats lowers HDL and raises free radical level - just like smoking. Trans fat, hydrogenated vegetable oil, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, and vegetable lard are all the same thing.

Fortunately the pressure is on to remove trans fats from all food products. Some fast food companies will have little or no trans fats in their food by the end of the year. Since January of 2006, all food labels must list the trans fat content of the product. You want the number of grams of trans fats to be very low, preferable less than 1.0 grams per serving.

According to a Harvard University study:

“By our most conservative estimate, replacement of partially hydrogenated fat in the U.S. diet with natural unhydrogenated vegetable oils would prevent approximately 30,000 premature coronary deaths per year, and epidemiological evidence suggests this number is closer to 100,0000 premature deaths annually.”

Avoiding Trans fat means choosing food products made with vegetable and other plant oils. Unfortunately the plant oil often substituted for trans fat is the saturated fat Palm oil from the fruit of the palm tree - one of the the fruits orangutans live on. So palm farmers first remove the forest the orangutans live in, grow palm, the orangutans try to eat from the palm tree farm, the farmers kill the orangutans. Don’t buy products with Palm oil.

HDL

HDL is known as “good cholesterol”. HDL is not cholesterol, it is a lipoprotein. HDL is a globular shell shaped protein-lipid complex (lipoprotein) and carries harmful molecules to the liver for dismantling, including, oxidized LDL, excess LDL, plaque buildup on artery walls, and triglycerides. Simply put, HDL is garbage pick-up service for the body. A healthy HDL level is considered to be 60 mg/dL. Less LDL is less work for HDL. A healthy HDL level is more important and more helpful than a low LDL level. According to the government, “Recent studies have shown that high levels of HDL are associated with a reduced risk for heart disease and stroke and that low levels (less than 35 mg/dL), even in people with normal levels of LDL, lead to an increased risk for heart disease and stroke.”

Recently it’s been learned that most (80% in some studies) centenarians (people who live to 100), have livers that make a lot of large HDL molecules, and have little or no heart disease, or at minimum, heart disease hadn’t developed enough to kill them in over 100 years. HDL level of centenarians when they were in their 70s is as high as 140mg/dL and by 100 years old between 55 and 100mg/dL, when normally HDL level would drop to only 20-30mg/dL at these older ages. Very high HDL is not the norm, it’s the lucky exception, like 20-15 vision, photographic memory, etc., enabling these people to maintain a higher level of health in an unhealthy environment.

It’s not that people in the US and other countries have abnormally low HDL, it’s that people in the US and other countries eat foods that push HDL level down and raise free radical level. People with high HDL are able to carry off more ox-LDL to the liver and some how correct plaque buildup already on artery walls. In short, with free radicals kept to a minimum and HDL lowering foods removed from the diet, HDL picks up more ox-LDL before ox-LDL comes in contact with an artery wall (causing plaque buildup).

In a simple analogy, free radicals are zombie makers. Free radicals turn LDL into zombie LDLs (ox-LDL). HDL kidnaps zombie LDLs and brings them to the liver for dismantling and removal from the body. Obviously the solution is to keep free radical creation low and find ways to increase HDL to an optimal level.

LDL

LDL is poorly named “bad cholesterol”. LDL is not cholesterol. LDL is not bad and is completely necessary for the body. LDL is a globular shell shaped lipoprotein and carries cholesterol to cells. Cells use cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, bile, cell membranes, brain tissue, etc. LDL does not cause plaque buildup, Oxidized LDL causes plaque buildup. When oxidized LDL comes in contact with an artery wall it damages the artery wall. The damage starts series of chemical reactions in an effort to repair the artery wall with plaque. Continuous damage to artery walls causes continuous use of plaque to repair the damage.

If HDL is low, LDL molecules will circulate longer, increasing chances it will become oxidized by free radicals, increasing the chance LDL molecules will come in contact with an artery wall.

Almost No Heart Disease

The French have a very low rate of heart disease even though they eat plenty of protein and fat. It’s called the “French Paradox”. It’s believed the phytochemical resveratrol (trans-resveratrol) found in the red wine they often drink, red wine, is what protects the French from heart disease. Resveratrol is also found in the Chinese herb Hu-Chang and in lower amounts in grape juice and peanuts.

Some scientist say resveratrol is not a strong or special antioxidant at all and doesn’t prevent heart disease, but rather it’s the strong antioxidant quercetin in red wine that prevents heart disease. Another source says resveratrol and quercetin are poorly absorbed so their antioxidant value doesn’t really matter, and that these two and other phytochemicals made by plants influence cell signaling pathways and gene expression which increases maintenance of the body.

In any event, the fact remains, something in red wine, likely to be the antioxidant value or other quality of resveratrol and or quercetin, prevents prevents plaque buildup. Taking a supplement of resveratrol and quercetin certainly can’t hurt.

Lipids

There are several types of lipids including sterols, fatty acids, glycerides, phospholipids, fat soluble vitamins, and steroids. Just the first two are covered here.

Sterols

Cholesterol is a sterol. Realize that even if no cholesterol was eaten and the “best” cholesterol-lowering drugs were taken, if free radicals are not kept low, free radicals will continue to oxidize many of the cholesterol containing LDL molecules continually made by the liver. Cholesterol lowering drugs do not stop free radicals from oxidizing LDL. So fixating on cholesterol without paying attention to free radicals, antioxidants, and HDL guarantees continuing problems with plaque buildup.

Fatty Acids

Fatty acids are either saturated, polyunsaturated, or monounsaturated.

Saturated fatty acids (saturated fat) are found mostly in animal food. There are only a few plant sources of saturated fat, including palm kernel oil and coconut oil. Trans fat is made by chemically changing vegetable oil into a saturated fat. Trans fats are listed on food labels as trans fats. Saturated fat, especially trans fats, lowers HDL.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids are used by the body to make cell membranes. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are found in vegetable oils (including margarine). Recent findings show that free radicals are created when polyunsaturated oils are cooked, so it’s best not to cook with polyunsaturated oils. Trans fats are already free radical laden.

Monounsaturated oils include olive oil. Free radicals are not created when saturated fat and monounsaturated fats are cooked. The best two to cook with are olive oil and, believe it or not, butter.

Avoiding heart disease would include getting enough omega 3 using omega 3 supplements and omega 3 containing vegetable oils, but avoiding cooking with vegetable oils. It’s likely the current move in progress by food manufacturers away from trans fats to sunflower seed oil (a polyunsaturated fat) will be changed again to olive oil and some “best” saturated fat.

Homocysteine

As blood homocysteine level increases, buildup on artery walls increases. Supplements of folic acid, vitamin B-6 and B-12 lowers homocysteine. These nutrients reduce plaque buildup in people with homocysteine levels both above and below 14 micromol/L. A homocysteine level of 9 micromol/L may be the starting point at which supplements of these nutrients should be taken to keep homocysteine down.

Homocysteine is an amino acid in food protein but is not used by human biochemistry. Vitamin B-12, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), and folate (folic acid) are necessary for changing homocysteine to the amino acid methionine, an important amino acid for humans. A deficiency of these nutrients prevents homocysteine from being changed to methionine, causing homocysteine level to increase. A supplement of betaine can further reduce homocysteine.

Taking a B6/B12/Folate supplement is currently NOT recommended following stent implantation for individuals with normal homocysteine levels.

Children with the genetic disorder homocystinuria have a mutation of the “MTRR” gene causing a very high homocysteine level, and some die at a very young age of advanced atherosclerosis and other conditions. A genetic error in folate metabolism (MTHFR) causes a folate deficiency which results in increased homocysteine level.

Niacin and Cholesterol

Niacinamide and niacin are often cited as a way to lower cholesterol. Some sources say niacinamide doesn’t lower cholesterol but niacin does. Niacinamide is a form of niacin that doesn’t cause a niacin flush, making it easy to take mega doses of niacin. The dosage niacinamide is normally sold in can cause depression, absentmindedness, forgetfulness, and feeling spacey.

Nicotinic acid is the only form of niacin that should be taken for any reason and cannot be taken in high enough doses to lower cholesterol without causing the same side effects as niacinamide. As little as 50mg of niacin can cause a niacin flush. Unless dealing with food intolerances, 25-50 mg of niacin (nicotinic acid) every other day is about the most anyone would need for nutritional supplementing.

How Clogged Arteries Cause a Heart Attack

When plaque buildup reduces the interior diameter of an artery by 70% of its original diameter (30% open), heart muscle pains (angina) occur due to lack of oxygen due to lack of blood flow. Lack of oxygen to heart cells often causes heart attacks.

In response to reduced oxygen from narrowed arteries, the heart will pump faster than it normally would (hypertension) to increase blood flow in order to deliver the normal volume of oxygen-containing blood to cells. Faster heart beat means excessive wear and tear on the heart. As plaque buildup thickens, the heart has to work even harder to supply the normal amount of oxygen to cells. Too much physical activity without enough oxygen slowly kills heart muscle cells (and other cells) and can also cause a heart attack, which kills even more cells.

Plaque buildup can rupture causing blood clots to form on top of the plaque. The clotting can build and block the flow of blood and cause a heart attack. The clotting can also break off from the plaque and flow to the brain and block blood vessels in the brain, causing a stroke.

Plaque can continue to build until plaque is built completely across the artery.

Stents

When buildup of plaque in an area of an artery significantly reduces blood flow, a metal mesh covered balloon like device is inserted where the buildup is located. The balloon is inflated reopening the artery and the metal mesh locks into its open position to hold the buildup back. The metal mesh often causes inflammation and damage resulting in continuous scarring. A stent coated with a medication designed to prevent clotting around the stent reduces scarring. A recent study found that many people are dying from medicated stents.

Plaque Buildup and Veins

Heart disease occurs in arteries but does not occur in veins. It would seem that the reason is because the blood in arteries contains oxygen and the blood in veins does not contain oxygen, but ox-LDL does circulate through veins and does not cause damage to interior vein walls and therefore no plaque buildup. In by-pass surgery, veins are removed from legs and arms and used to replace clogged arteries. Veins do not develop plaque, but when veins are used as arteries they can and do develop plaque buildup.

Dental Plaque

The bacteria that causes gingivitis and periodontitis moves to other places in the body including arteries, causing or accelerating heart disease.

Unexpected Causes of Cardiovascular Disease

There are other causes of cardiovascular diseases, including infectious agents such as Chlamydia, pneumonia, and Helicobacter pylori (cause of ulcers), and others are being discovered all the time.

Terminology

There are a confusing number of diseases and conditions related to the heart and arteries. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a term for all diseases and conditions of the heart and all of the blood vessels (arteries and veins). Some types of cardiovascular diseases cause other types of cardiovascular diseases.

Heart Disease is a term for all diseases and conditions of the heart, although on this site “heart disease” refers to atherosclerosis. Vascular Disease is a term for all diseases of arteries and veins. Heart disease is often used in place of the term cardiovascular disease.

Arteriosclerosis is thickening and hardening of arteries. There are several types of arteriosclerosis: atherosclerosis, arteriolosclerosis (which includes hyaline and hyperplastic arteriolosclerosis), and Monckeberg’s arteriosclerosis.