The H Factor Solution

Patrick Holford, James Braly

Description

Elevated homocysteine is a powerful, independent risk factor in more than 100 major medical conditions, including heart disease, strokes, and Alzheimer's disease. The authors discuss factors that contribute to high homocysteine, tell how to detect it if it's too high, and explain how to dramatically lower it.

Sujets

• Santé et bien-être
• Santé du quotidien
• Santé au quotidien
• Santé au quotidien
• Fitness
• Health
• Alzheimer's disease
• Healthy Living

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 15 juin 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781591206156
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Heartfelt Acclaim for The H-Factor Solution
“Homocysteine is not just another risk factor to be added to the general equation. It is believed to be one of the major causes of heart disease today.
If you want to keep your heart healthy then you need to know the facts about homocysteine. This book tells you all you need to know and more.”
—EVE KNIGHT, BRITISH CARDIAC PATIENTS ASSOCIATION

“Homocysteine is the new cholesterol. It’s potentially your most important health statistic. This could be the most important medical breakthrough this century so far.”
—CHRIS STEELE, GP, RESIDENT GP ON ITV’S THIS MORNING

“This book covers the exciting developments of the story of homocysteine in current clinical nutrition and medicine. The authors have examined with commendable clarity the controversy which inevitably surrounds any such cutting-edge subject.”
—DR. JOHN MARKS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL STUDIES AT GIRTON COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND

“This is a terrific book!”
—JONATHAN V. WRIGHT, M.D.
THE

FACTOR
SOLUTION
* (Homocysteine, the Best Single Indicator of Whether You Are Likely to Live Long or Die Young)
J AMES B RALY , M.D.
& P ATRICK H OLFORD
The information contained in this book is based upon the research and personal and professional experiences of the authors. It is not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician or other healthcare provider. Any attempt to diagnose and treat an illness should be done under the direction of a healthcare professional.
The publisher does not advocate the use of any particular healthcare protocol but believes the information in this book should be available to the public. The publisher and authors are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of the suggestions, preparations, or procedures discussed in this book. Should the reader have any questions concerning the appropriateness of any procedures or preparation mentioned, the authors and the publisher strongly suggest consulting a professional healthcare advisor.
Basic Health Publications, Inc.
8200 Boulevard East
North Bergen, NJ 07047
1-201-868-8336
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Braly, James.
The h-factor solution : homocysteine, the best single indicator of whether you are likely to live long or die young / James Braly & Patrick Holford.
   p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
  ISBN-13 978-59120-615-6
  ISBN-10 1-59120-042-3
1. Homocysteine–Pathophysiology. I. Holford, Patrick. II.Title.
  RC632.H65B73     2003
  616.07'1–dc21
2003010563
Copyright © 2003 James Braly, M.D., and Patrick Holford
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.
In-house editor: Carol Rosenberg
Typesetter: Gary A. Rosenberg
Cover design: Mike Stromberg
Printed in the United States of America
10    9    8    7    6    5    4    3    2    1
Contents
Acknowledgments
A Note from Dr. Kilmer McCully
Foreword by Jonathan V. Wright, M.D.
Introduction
Part One—The Homocysteine Story
1. The Health Secret of Homocysteine
2. What Is Homocysteine?
3. Ten Reasons to Lower Your Homocysteine
Part Two—How’s Your Homocysteine?
4. Homocysteine—Your Most Vital Statistic
5. The Homocysteine Scale—From Sick to Superhealthy
6. The Risk Factors for High Homocysteine
7. How to Measure Your Homocysteine Level
Part Three—Medical Conditions Linked to High Homocysteine
8. Live to a Healthy
9. Heart Attacks and Strokes
10. Cancer
11. Diabetes and Thyroid Problems
12. Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease
13. Depression and Schizophrenia
14. Complications of Pregnancy and Infertility
15. Chronic Pain and Inflammation
16. Digestive Disorders
Part Four—The H-Factor Solution: Diet and Lifestyle
17. Eat High-Quality Protein and Fruits and Vegetables
18. Foods and Beverages to Avoid
19. Reduce Stress—and Stop Smoking!
20. Dieting Don’ts and Correcting Estrogen Deficiency
Part Five—H-Factor Supplements
21. Eat Right and Take Supplements
22. Supplementing with Folate
23. Supplementing with Vitamin B 12
24. Vitamins B 6 and B 2 , Zinc, and Magnesium—The Homocysteine Busters
25. TMG, SAMe, and Choline—The Premier Methyl Donors
26. The Synergy Principle—Why Multiple Nutrients Work Better
27. A Gentle Word of Caution about Supplements
A Review: Twelve Solutions for Superhealth
Appendices
A. The Biochemistry of Homocysteine
B. 100-Plus Medical Conditions Associated with High Homocysteine
Resources for Testing and Lowering Homocysteine
Recommended Reading
Notes
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
This book would not have been possible without the help and support of many people—especially our families for putting up with the early mornings and late nights. We would specifically like to thank John Graham and his team at YorkTest, York, England, for their help with case histories and Susannah Lawson for her help with editing, researching, and referencing. We would also like to thank our publisher, Norman Goldfind at Basic Health Publications, for his unwavering patience and expert guidance; Carol Rosenberg at Basic Health for her excellent editorial input; as well as my son, Zack, and his mother, Rachel, for their support, encouragement, and enthusiasm. And, finally, we would like to express our deep admiration and thanks to Dr. Kilmer McCully for having the insight, courage, and perseverance to research the homocysteine hypothesis tirelessly against all odds, and Dr. Craig Cooney for his invaluable insight into the fundamental importance of homocysteine and methylation in health and disease.
A Note from Dr. Kilmer McCully
In The H-Factor Solution , Dr. James Braly and Patrick Holford offer a current, easily accessible and complete assessment of the importance of homocysteine in the maintenance of health and prevention of disease. The book contains sound recommendations for dietary improvement and nutritional supplementation aimed at minimizing the risk of the many disease conditions that are connected to elevation of homocysteine.
The homocysteine field has expanded rapidly over the past decade, amounting to 8,000 articles in the current database and increasing at the rate of three to four articles per day from clinics and laboratories worldwide. The H-Factor Solution admirably summarizes and discusses the many recent advances in understanding the key role of homocysteine in conditions ranging from birth defects to degenerative diseases of aging. At present, more than 100,000 subjects are currently enrolled in more than twenty-five clinical trials worldwide. The results of these trials will provide evidence that lowering homocysteine by dietary improvement and nutritional supplements will decrease morbidity and mortality from vascular diseases and other degenerative diseases of aging.
In 1962, investigators in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, discovered homocystine , a chemical derivative of homocysteine, in the urine of children with mental retardation and dislocation of ocular lenses. These cases of homocystinuria are caused by inherited deficiency of a vitamin B 6 -dependent enzyme that facilitates metabolism and excretion of excess homocysteine in the urine. While attending a human genetics conference in 1968, I first heard of a rare case of presumed inherited homocystinuria that had been published in 1933. This was a fascinating case of carotid arteriosclerosis and stroke in an eight-year-old boy with mental retardation and dislocated ocular lenses. This archival case was uncovered in 1965 by pediatricians who had discovered homocystinuria in a niece of the boy. In reviewing the pathological findings of the 1933 case, I confirmed the diagnosis of carotid arteriosclerosis with thrombosis and stroke. I also demonstrated scattered arteriosclerotic plaques in the arteries throughout his body. Several months later in 1968, I studied another case of homocystinuria and cystathioninuria, caused by deficiency of an enzyme requiring vitamin B 12 and folic acid. This case of a two-month-old boy revealed severe rapidly progressive arteriosclerotic plaques in arteries throughout his body. Because of the difference in metabolism between the case from 1933 and the new case, I was able to conclude that homocysteine causes arteriosclerosis by a direct effect of the amino acid on the cells and tissues of the arteries. My analysis and publication of these cases in 1969 suggested a new approach to understanding the underlying cause of arteriosclerosis in the general population. The “homocysteine theory of arteriosclerosis” suggests that elevation of blood homocysteine is a key factor in the pathogenesis in subjects without these rare diseases of amino acid metabolism.
In the years following the publication of the “homocysteine theory of arteriosclerosis,” many studies in experimental animals, in cell cultures, in biochemical preparations, in human trials, and in epidemiological studies have established homocysteine elevation as a key factor in the cause of arteriosclerosis and degenerative diseases of aging. Through the efforts of investigators worldwide, the importance of homocysteine in a wide variety of disease processes has been documented.
Abnormalities of gestation, birth, growth, and development, autoimmune diseases, genetic abnormalities, drug toxicity, hypothyroidism, kidney failure, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases have all been tied to abnormalities of homocysteine, as described in The H-Factor Solution. This book is an excellent guide to using these wide-ranging discoveries in maintenance of health, prevention of disease, and extension of healthful life span.