Health & Wellness - Steven P. Timmons [CITYSunTimes October 2009]

timmons

Steven P. Timmons is a compounding chemist and consultant for Mountain View Pharmacy. He holds a B.S. in Biology from Stanford University and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Colorado State University.

Soy For Heart & Bone Health

soy joy A recent report published in The Journal of Nutrition shows soy supports a healthy heart and bones. The new research detailed in the report was presented at the eighth International Soy Symposium.
“The research presented on soy and heart and bone health showed strong rationale for people to include soy in their diets,” says Mark Messina, Ph.D., author of the report and professor of nutrition at Loma Linda University.
The new research showed that when people ate soy, they were able to maintain normal levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.
A good approach to heart health is integrating a variety of heart-healthy foods – like soy, other beans, nuts and certain vegetables – together into a healthy lifestyle.
In addition to maintaining a healthy heart, full-fat soy foods are also good sources of an essential omega-3 fatty acid, which independently supports a healthy heart.
Plus, because many soy foods are low in saturated fat and cholesterol free, they can support healthy cholesterol levels when used in place of many of the more traditional sources of protein in the U.S. diet that tend to be high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
Soy foods may also help maintain a healthy heart independent of their effects on cholesterol, such as sustaining a healthy blood pressure. The new research also found that higher soy intake was associated with supporting strong bones.
Adding soy to your diet can be simple – look for edamame, tofu, soy milk or whole soy food products like SoyJoy. Soy has gained in popularity in recent years, making it available in most supermarkets as well as specialty stores like Whole Foods and Sprouts.
For more information, visit nutrition.org or soyjoy.com.

CITYSunTimes Web Exclusives October 2009
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HEALTH & WELLNESS

WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW, CAN’T HELP YOU

Fat Soluble Vitamins & Cardiovascular Health

By Steven P. Timmons

Within the last decade, the idea of raising the recommended levels of vitamin D3 supplementation has grown in popularity to the point where most health professionals agree that the old recommendation of 400 IU per day is inadequate. While mainstream medicine is now often recommending 1,000 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D3, many scientists and doctors are recommending levels of 4,000 to 10,000 IU per day as a more natural and beneficial level, not only for preventing osteoporosis, but to attempt to prevent many forms of cancer and to minimize the likelihood of peripheral arterial disease, which eventually leads to atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis. In fact, 10,000 IU approximates the amount that would be made naturally from the normal amounts of sun exposure expected in people who wear less clothing in tropical regions.
Vitamin D3 has been shown to have many beneficial effects on decreasing vascular inflammation, and a deficiency in vitamin D has been linked to increases in coronary artery disease, hypertension, atherosclerosis and many other forms of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Supplementation with vitamin D has been shown to decrease C reactive protein, Tumor Necrosis factor alpha, natriuretic peptides, parathyroid hormone and other markers of CVD.
For several years, we have recommended higher doses of vitamin D3 at our pharmacy and also suggested the use of vitamin K2, another fat soluble vitamin, as a beneficial vitamin supplement for cardiovascular health, mainly because of studies that showed that vitamin K2 was essential for the action of Gla proteins such as osteocalcin and the matrix-Gla proteins, which prevent the calcification of soft tissues throughout the body, especially the blood vessels and the heart muscle (myocardium).
The idea that vitamin K can actually support vitamin D synergistically in its role as a cardiovascular vitamin has been recently heralded by scientists such as C. Masterjohn and by Lara Pizzorno in her recent review articles for Longevity Medicine Review.
The main reason that some medical experts do not recommend higher doses of Vitamin D3 supplementation is because doses above 50,000 IU per day may increase the danger of soft tissue calcification. For those who are worried about too much vitamin D, it is interesting that vitamin K2 appears to prevent the possibility of such calcification from occurring. Vitamin K2, through its effect on Gla proteins, helps to ensure the elasticity of the arterial walls, helps to decrease calcification of the coronary arteries and may even help prevent varicosities in veins by helping to carboxylate the matrix-Gla proteins in the body. Other forms of vitamin K do not have the same effect.
Vitamin A is another fat soluble vitamin. Vitamin A, among other benefits, helps to control the interaction of vitamin D and vitamin K, preventing vitamin D from depleting vitamin K, and further stabilizing the balance of calcification in arterial walls.
I can only hope that by supplementing all of the fat soluble vitamins at the appropriate levels the focus in cardiovascular medicine will shift to preventing disease, allowing us to avoid the side effects of more toxic symptomatic therapies.

HEALTH & WELLNESS Web Exclusive | CITYSunTimes October 2009