By Michael Mooney
March 28, 2012
This is a quick list of dietary supplements that have quality published studies showing that they reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
I put this page up to provide an idea of what one might take if one chooses to do things that can promote the risk of cardiovascular disease, such as was recently shown in a study from Harvard that said that ANY consumption of red meat increased the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease while shortening lifespan.
While I normally provide references to every key point, in the interest of limited time, I will come back to this page and flesh out the references later.
So here's a short list of dietary supplements and dosages that can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, not in any specific order.
1. Omega-3 fish oil fats - 1,000 mg to 3,000 mg net EPA and DHA/day. Omega-3 fats improve numerous functions that benefit cardiovascular health. While the capsule might be a 1,000 mg capsule, look at the ingredients panel to see how much EPA and DHA each capsule contains. Add that up to see the net amount it gives you per capsule. I take 4,000 mg/day, because it stops my long-term chronic atrial fibrillation. 3,000 mg/day ALMOST stops it. Lower doses don't stop it.
2. Vitamins C (1,000 mg or more/day) and E as d-alpha tocopherol (400 to 800 IU/day);
3. Liposomal vitamin C. Liposomal vitamin C is absorbed into cells so well that lower doses work better than higher doses of tabletted vitamin C. I take one gram twice a day, knowing that it works better than the 7 grams of tabletted vitamin C a day that I was taking. The liposomal component is made of lecithin, which has been shown to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and total cholesterol.
4. Antioxidants, in general: CoQ10 - 100 mg/day or more, resveratrol 300 mg/day, alpha lipoic acid - 100 mg/day;
5. Lecithin - this old health food supplement has been shown to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol >42% and total cholesterol >40% for hypercholesterolemic patients.
6. A strong multivitamin. SuperNutrition "full-potency" and "advanced" multivitamin formulas that require six tablets a day, because they contain higher potencies of B-vitamins, including 1,000 mcg of folic acid that reduces homocysteine, 1000 mg of vitamin C, 400 to 800 IU of vitamin E acid and higher potencies of other heart-healthy nutrients.
7. Folic acid - 1,000 mcg/day. Lowers homocysteine. Elevated homocysteine is associated with cardiovascular inflammation;
8. Vitamin D3 - 5,000 IU/day or more. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with cardiovascular disease. Several factors increase the chances that we need to take more than 2,000 IU. 1.) If you are physically bigger, especially if you have a lot of bodyfat, it takes more vitamin D to saturate the tissues in your body. 2.) Being older. A 70-year old converts vitamin D into its active form in the body about 25% as well as a 20 year old. 3.) Darker skinned people also need higher doses. One study showed that African-Americans were 3.5 times more likely to be vitamin D deficient than Caucasians. Dark skin makes about one sixth as much vitamin D from sunlight exposure as white skin. A good goal is to find the dose that brings your "OH-vitamin D" blood test to between 40 and 60 ng/mL. I take 11,000 IU/day, which brings my OH-vitamin D blood test up to an ideal 59 ng/mL;
Disclaimer: The information contained in this web site is for educational purposes only, and is in no way a substitute for the advice of a qualified medical doctor, registered dietitian, certified nutritionist, or exercise physiologist. When you ask any healthcare professional to help you make your decisions about your personal healthcare, I recommend that you show them the information you find here because they may not be aware of it and the scientific studies that support it. Appropriate medical therapy and the use of pharmaceutical compounds should be tailored for the individual as no two individuals are alike. I do not recommend self-medicating with any compound as you should consult with a qualified medical doctor, preferably one who is knowledgeable about nutrition and complementary medicine who can determine your individual situation. Any use of the information presented in this publication for personal medical therapy is done strictly at your own risk and no responsibility is implied or intended on the part of the contributing writers, or the publisher.
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