Multiple layers of heart protection found in one simple, inexpensive vitamin
Considering heart disease is the No. 1 killer of Americans, it makes sense to think that preventing it is no easy task. However, it’s not as difficult as you might think. And today, I’m going to share with you one ridiculously simple intervention that can start shrinking your risk today!
Recent research shows that ample amounts of daily vitamin C can go a long way toward protecting you from this dreaded disease.
And if you already have a condition that threatens your heart — such as diabetes or high blood pressure — the findings from this new research can potentially save your life.
A delicate lining that does powerful work
Your heart is only as healthy as your endothelium — the thin lining of your blood vessels. And while it may be thin, there’s actually quite a lot going on within it.
For instance, endothelial cells regulate the activity of neutrophils — the white blood cells essential for supporting your immune response and fighting off infection.
The endothelium also produces nitric oxide (NO), which is an indispensable vasodilator — that is, it relaxes your blood vessels and makes them more flexible. This results in smoother blood flow and better blood pressure, which significantly reduces your risk of heart disease.
So right off the bat, it’s easy to see how endothelium damage can create major problems throughout your cardiovascular system — including your heart. And one of the primary causes of endothelial damage is excess blood sugar.
That’s why diabetes poses such a terrible threat to heart health. And this is exactly where vitamin C comes into play…
Vitamin C offers up several significant benefits
Your body uses cholesterol to repair endothelial damage. (Yes, the “villainous” cholesterol is actually trying to protect your arteries and save your life!) But over time, cholesterol buildup can cause atherosclerosis — the hardening of arteries that prompts cardiovascular diseases.
But as Dr. Fred Pescatore points out in his Ultimate Heart-Protection Protocol, vitamin C can actually heal the damage caused by excess blood sugar.
To make his case, Dr. Pescatore cites a landmark study in which researchers analyzed 50 clinical trials that included more than 1,000 participants. Results showed that vitamin C — in daily doses of 500 mg or more — improves endothelial health.
Most impressively, vitamin C significantly improved endothelial function in people with several other serious conditions including atherosclerosis, heart failure, and diabetes.
Dr. Pescatore points out another significant finding from this study: The nitric oxide effect.
He says, “Before now, experts believed vitamin C’s endothelial benefits came from its role as an antioxidant. By mopping up free radicals, it extinguished endothelium-damaging inflammation. But according to this recent research, it appears that vitamin C can also boost nitric oxide efficiency.”
When it comes to vitamin C, dosage is key
Vitamin C’s ability to protect and heal your heart goes well beyond your blood vessels’ thin lining.
Dr. Pescatore notes one study where patients with heart failure who had low C levels were more likely to have sky high C-reactive protein — a marker that signals inflammation, and an often-overlooked heart disease risk factor.
In the study, heart failure patients with the lowest vitamin C levels were twice as likely to die from heart problems within just one year.
But to reap the heart protective benefits of vitamin C, Dr. Pescatore reminds us that dosage is vitally important.
He says, “The study on endothelial health stipulated that the dose has to be above 500 mg to yield significant heart health benefits. And in reality, 500 mg is a conservative dose. Because humans are one of the only mammals that can’t produce vitamin C internally. So we must get it strictly from our diet or through supplementation.”
To make that happen, Dr. Pescatore recommends eating plenty of foods rich in vitamin C, including:
- Bell peppers
- Broccoli
- Cantaloupe
- Kale
- Strawberries
- Tomatoes
And he adds, “I also recommend taking 3,000 mg of vitamin C every day, in three divided doses of 1,000 mg each.”
Vitamin C may be the best place to start with heart support. And the good news is it’s just one of the many key beneficial supplements Dr. Pescatore discusses in his Ultimate Heart-Protection Protocol. Click here to find out how this online learning tool can help protect your heart, or to enroll today.