Cardiovascular disease is a word that encompasses a vast range of ailments and conditions that affect the heart, and circulatory system. It can include the hardening and stiffening of the arteries, called arteriosclerosis, the chlolesterol deposits that build up in our arteries, a condition known as artherosclerosis and a range of resulting problems such as heart attack, blood clots, stroke, poor blood circulation and gangrene.
This host of conditions and ailments is scary enough to make one fear the prospects of getting old and gaining weight or worse developing high blood pressure and a high cholesterol level, two of the pre-markers of possible cardiovascular disease.
There are a number of theories as to the cause of this widely ranged disease. Some attribute it to built up strain and emotions such as anger and anxiety. Others hold that cardiovascular disease is caused by too much low-density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol and not enough high-density lipoprotien or good cholesterol. This has been the dominating theory for years and it does have a connection to cardiovascular disease, but in the past forty years there has been growing evidence for another cause of cardiovascular disease, homocysteine.
Homocysteine is the by-product of the breakdown of protein we take in from our food. Normally the body uses a vitamin known as folic acid to help convert this compound into another form, such as methionine. In some cases it is possible not to have enough folic acid in the system to convert homocysteine, or for there to be another problem hindering the conversion process. This results in a build-up of homocysteine in the blood.
Homocysteine is toxic to the lining of the blood vessels. A build up of it in the blood can lead to scarring of the inside of the blood vessels. Over a long period of time this scarring can result in a stiffening and hardening of the blood vessels and it can even damage the heart. Does this sound familar? It should. This stiffening of the blood vessels is almost exactly like the description of arteriosclerosis.
Research has observed that patients with arteriosclerosis have elevated levels of homocysteine in the blood. And an estimated ten percent of the risk of coronary heart disease as of 1999 was due to elevated homocysteine levels. There are a variety of studies that link elevated homocysteine levels to cardiovascular disease. A study released in 1995 showed that there was a forty percent increase in risk of arteriosclerotic heart disease for each increase of four micromoles per liter of homocysteine in the blood.
A chronic low level deficiency of folic acid can possibly have long term and drastic effects as the homocysteine in the blood continues to build or damage the lining of the blood vessels. The recommended daily intake of folic acid for adults is four hundred mcg. This amount of folic acid can be taken in by eating lots of dark green leafy veggies, fortiefied breakfast cereals, and other foods with folic acid. By taking ensuring that the minimum level of folic acid is present in the diet every day it is possible to help reduce the risks of developing cardiovascular disease.
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Author Vincent Platania represents the Rawleigh Products.W.T. Rawleigh founded Rawleigh Products in the late 1800s to create a line of products that possessed both strength and quality. Visit http://www.rawleigh-products.com
Folic Acid and Heart Disease
