Exercise part of your New Year resolution?

Exercise, or getting more fit, always tops the list as one of the most popular new year’s resolution. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most difficult for people to keep. This may partly because of training the wrong way, or overtraining, especially at the outset.

Increasing your odds

The best way to increase your odds of keeping your resolution is to exercise properly. Proper exercise prevents overtraining, but also just as importantly, maximizes the health benefits.

Interval training is the way to go. It makes for shorter work outs, decreases over training, increases fat loss while preserving muscle mass, and is better for your cardiovascular system.

For example, a study in Medicine and Sport Sciences in 2001 compared a group that did exercises at 50% of maximum output, vs a group that did 2 minutes at 95% output and 3 minutes at 25% output. The interval group improved their overall fitness by 13% and burned 160 more calories after the workout even though they burned the same amount during the exercise. The interval group lost more fat also.

Now going for 2 minutes at 95% output would be too much for most people. The best type of exercise would be tapered up.

My recommendations

The cardiovascular rehabilitation program I have for patients involves Exercise with Oxygen Therapy (or sauna with oxygen therapy) and chezone treatments (a combination of chelation and ozone therapy). The exercise component with oxygen involves inhaling oxygen at 10 L per minute while doing an interval exercise program.

The interval looks like this:

1. short warm up period of 5 minutes

2. 1 minute at the upper end of heart rate target

3. 30 seconds at maximum output (eg a sprint)

4. 4 minutes at the lower end of heart rate target

5. Rinse, lather, repeat, for a total of 20-30 minutes.

The reason why older patients, or patients with cardiovascular disease, get more benefit with the inhaled oxygen is that studies have shown there is an improved delivery of oxygen to the tissues over exercise alone. The increased oxygen tension decreases swelling and fluid accumulation at the capillaries, where oxygen leaves the blood and gets to the tissues. In effect, the sludge in the capillary environment that acculumates with age and poor fitness decreases.

For a New Year’s resolution of exercise, the above 5 steps is a good start. If there’s any chest pain or history of heart disease, the third step, with a sprint, should be left out.

So the above 5 steps works for most starting an exercise program. It is best to check with your doctor first when starting the exercise program, and to leave out step 3 if just starting out. In my office I use a phase angle measurement to get a baseline and monitor progress in health and body composition. Also, my patients typically would get an exam and baseline EKG.

If there is cardiovascular illness, then adding in the chezone (chelation and ozone) treatments should be done. And if patients are too ill to exercise, then I will put them in the infrared sauna while they breathe in pure high flow oxygen. This is all done 2-3 times a week for a number of weeks.

To calculate your heart target range: Upper end is 75-80% of: HRmax = 205.8 – (0.685 × age). Lower end is 50-60% of HRmax. Heart rate targets based on age are fundamentally flawed but this formula gives the best approximation if you are starting to exercise and need some guidance.

Web site updates:

Use of Iscador / mistletoe in cancer and recurrence prevention

www.pannaturopathic.com

Eric Chan, ND

A biochemical reason why H1N1 hurt some more than others… and how to fight it

The journal Critical Care just came out with a study that found a biochemical marker that may explain why some people became severely ill with H1N1 flu, whereas most others had mild illness. Clinically, we knew that those with pre-existing lung diseases, such as asthma, were at increased risk for severe illness. But some without any lung disease still became severely ill, requiring ICU care.

Critical Care came out with the finding that those who were hospitalized were far more likely to be producing excessive amounts of a chemical called IL 17, a cytokine. You may have heard that many get severely ill from the H1N1 flu because of a “cytokine storm” that causes the immune system to fight so aggressively in the lungs that they fill with fluid. It seems IL 17 is one of the mediators of this.

Here’s the kicker though: sufficient, or optimal levels of vitamin D likely would prevent this cytokine storm. The Journal of Immunology in 2009 published that the active form of vitamin D in the blood prevented the production of IL 17. At this point, knowing your blood level of vitamin D (a test called 25OH vitamin D) is important, because you need to have optimal levels of vitamin D.

If your body is starving for vitamin D, the first thing it does with low amounts is to help calcium and bone metabolism. If yoru body has “middle levels” then the vitamin D that is not needed for calcium health goes to supporting innate immunity, or first line defense of immunity. It is only the “high” or “optimal” levels that the vitamin D then spills over and is able to suppress an excessive immune response, including blocking IL 17 production. Middle levels of vitamin D may only give a more robust immune response, and do nothing to prevent a cytokine storm from H1N1.

The only way to know your level is to get your blood level checked. Some of my patients need 1000 IU a day to get to and maintain optimal levels, I need about 8000 IU.

If you do get ill with a respiratory illness though, Frank Shallenberger MD has descrbed a technique with using a nebulizer to aerosolize hydrogen peroxide in very dilute concentration. Not the 3% you find in the drugstore, but the 0.03% used in an IV. A google search on his name and nebulized hydrogen peroxide will give you his original article. I have done this treatment myself with good success and a few of my patients have even purchased a nebulizer with a bag of IV hydrogen peroxide 0.03% to treat themselves if they are ill.

Eric Chan, ND

www.pannaturopathic.com

Top 5 Swine Flu Prevention

With Labor Day holiday today, the health news that has dominated not only the Health section of the newspaper, but often the Business section as well as the front page, is the possibility of swine flu re-emerging as a threat. Swine flu is able to target the young, and like any virulent infectious disease, spread is more likely in crowded environments, including classes at high school and university that start tomorrow.

No one really knows if swine flu will fizzle out this flu season, or if it will progress into an even more virulent, and more aggressive illness that may affect 30% or more of the population. The WHO already is preparing for the worst, as since the flu is in multiple regions of the world, the flu is already considered a pandemic. The real question is whether the flu outside of Mexico will remain relatively mild, or if it will mutate into a more serious and aggressive illness that affects young and old alike.

Prevention is a hot topic, and I have been receiving inquiries from the Richmond and Vancouver naturopathic patients that I see, as well as from relatives all around the world. In fact, a close relative of mine recently was infected with laboratory confirmed swine flu in Hong Kong.

In fact, in a private naturopathic physician discussion group, prevention was one of the most discussed topics.

Without further adieu, here are the top 5 naturopathic measures for swine flu prevention:

1. Hygiene

Without doubt, frequent handwashing, hand sanitization with alcohol-based rubs, and limiting spread of secretions by coughing into the elbow are the most important measures one can take. Staying home when ill and learning to cough into the elbow limits spread to others. Frequent handwashing that covers all surfaces of the hand, fingernails, wrists, and forearms (or use of alcohol based rubs when soap and water are unavailable) reduce chances of infection for yourself. Maintaining at least 1 meter from others when possible, and using a N95 mask if frequently within that distance around those who are ill, also protect yourself.

2. Colostrum

A 2007 study compared 1 capsule of colostrum to the flu vaccine. There were 4 groups in total, including flu vaccine only, colostrum only, both, or no intervention.

Even better, the first part had healthy volunteers, and the second part of the study used patients who had advanced cardiovascular disease.

Treatment lasted 2 months.

The colostrum only group fared the best, with 1/3rd the cases compared to the other three groups.

The colostrum only group had 13 cases.
The colostrum + vaccine group had 14 cases.
The group without any medicine had 41 cases.
The flu vaccine group had 57 cases.

In the second part of the study, the colostrum did similarly well with 1/2 the number of cases as the other groups.

3. Vitamin D

Even the very conventional Public Health Agency of Canada is looking into the effect of vitamin D status on the flu, including swine flu. They are interested in whether higher blood levels of vitamin D protect against the flu, and if patients do get the flu, do higher blood levels of vitamin D mean that the symptoms are less severe.

Instead of going through all the research with vitamin D and infection, it might be best to refer you to John Cannell MD’s site at www.vitamindcouncil.org – note that Dr Cannell recommends the H1N1 vaccine, whereas I believe that should be discussed with your physician or naturopathic physician first.

My general recommendation to my adult patients is to take levels that will raise the blood level of 25OH vitamin D to above 135 nmol/L.

4. Chinese medicine herbs

A study out of the larget infectious disease hospital in China, Ditan Hospital in Beijing, reported that they have been achieving a 75% success rate in treating swine flu in 117 patients. Note that throughout the web, a single formula (below) is being promoted as the formula used. In reality, patients were treated according to traditional chinese medicine diagnosis, giving an individualized formula.  The formula on the internet (below as “prevention”) was released by the hospital to the general public to use as prevention.

Prevention formula:

Lonicera Japonica Thund (honeysuckle flower)-3 grams,
Isatis Indigodica- 3 gms,
Mentha Haplocalyx Brip (mint).-3 gms
Glycyrrhiza Glabra(licorice)-3 gms. (can cause high blood pressure)
I would bet that treatment in the hospital used one of three very popular chinese patent formulas for infection; either Yin qiao, Gan Mao Ling, or Zhong Gan Ling. I use Zhong Gan Ling widely in my own practice for infection and this is the one that I store in the office and at home.

5. Intravenous vitamin C / peroxide / ultraviolet blood irradiation

At the first sign of an illness, one of the above therapies should be started. Usually 2-4 treatments are needed for a serious illness or infection. Ultraviolet blood irradiation has the most research for infection, which is summarized by Robert Rowen MD here. I tend to prefer using intravenous vitamin C first, unless there is a contra-indication that prevents use of 75-100 g.

And there you have it… just in time for back to school and soon enough, flu season.

Updates to my clinic website www.pannaturopathic.com

An updated page for patients on intravenous vitamin C in cancer

A page on the usefullness and limitations in blood tests that screen for cancer

Homo toxicus

CBC’s documentary series “The Lens” aired a program last night titled Homo toxicus. The program detailed a woman who had her blood tested for environmental contaminants, and found over 110 chemicals including PCBs and known carcinogens. The program investigated the woman’s search to see whether or not these chemicals were playing a role in her health problems, including poor fertility.

The link to the trailer is here, though I do not know when the program is to be repeated.

In testing my own patients, I consider both serum and whole blood tests for chlorinated pesticides, PCBs, and volatile solvents.

Why run a Volatile Solvent Test?

Overexposure or chronic exposure to volatile solvents damages the central nervous system and causes chemical-driven liver and kidney damage. Benzene, in particular, has a severe toxic effect on the hematological system and is a recognized human carcinogen. Other solvents contribute to atrophy of skeletal muscles, loss of coordination, vision problems, and depression of the central nervous system.

Why perform chlorinated pesticide exposure testing?

Chlorinated pesticides have been identified in over 98% of all persons studied, have an affinity for lipid-rich tissues, and are stored in various organs and adipose tissues. These toxins also bioaccumulate in our bodies, increasing our toxic body burden over time, are powerful mitochondrial toxins, and may be the root cause of many chronic illnesses. Identifying this body burden is why pesticide exposure testing is important.

The primary toxic effect of this family of pesticides is at the site of nervous tissue and muscle membranes. These poisons are absorbed across the gut and interfere with nerve impulse transmissions. In humans, this interference normally shows up as chronic neurological problems including mood disorders and difficulties with learning and memory. These poisons have also been shown to cause fatigue, obesity, diabetes, certain cancers, immune dysregulation, allergies, heart disease, and a host of other problems.

Why perform polychlorinated biphenyl testing?

A PCB burden affects children more than adults. PCBs are most often passed to children through breastfeeding and trans-placental transfer. PCB exposure in children can impede neurobehavioral and immune system development. These impediments may cause delayed neurobehavioral development such as motor skills, short-term memory, and lower scores on intelligence, psychomotor, and behavioral tests. A lowered immune system can create many problems in children including allergies, sensitivities, and chronic infections.

Source: Metametrix lab testing

In reality, chemical toxicity is usually a clinical diagnosis, independent of the labs. You can find an increased amount of these chemicals in many patients, simply due to the polluted environment we live in. Some patients are gravely ill and improve with detoxification even though their system has relatively low amounts of these chemicals, and other patients can have high levels without acute or current illness.

Treatment is a good detoxification program which involves sauna, exercise, metal chelators, ozone colonic and blood treatment, intravenous vitamin C. The detoxification program usually lasts 4 weeks (I will be posting a page on this at www.pannaturopathic.com soon.

Clinically, you have to consider which patients are most likely to have their chronic illness significantly contributed to by the chemical toxicity. Detoxification can always be supportive, but it is most likely to be a main treatment that gives the most benefit in conditions such as:

• asthma
• chemical sensitivities (of course) that lead to chronic headaches, brain fog, fatigue
• patients who are seemingly allergic to “everything”

www.pannaturopathic.com

Green tea slows prostate cancer

Population based, green tea is the most popular beverage world-wide, and with good reason. I have written before on the benefits of the calming amino acid theanine and the health benefits of the plant chemical EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) that is present in high amounts of matcha tea, and now there is another study showing the benefits of yet another compound in green tea, this time in prostate cancer.

In this study, Philadelphia-based researchers tested a trademarked extract from green tea called Polyphenon E.

They were looking for a number of biomarkers – molecules – including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) which are indicators of developing cancer.

They also looked for prostate specific antigen (PSA) – a protein only found in the prostate. Levels can rise if cancer is present.

‘12 cups’

The study included 26 men, aged 41 to 72 years, who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and who were scheduled for radical prostate surgery.

Patients took four capsules containing Polyphenon E for an average of 34 days, up until the day before surgery – the equivalent of around 12 cups of normally brewed concentrated green tea.

The study found a significant reduction in levels of HGF, VEGF and PSA, with some patients demonstrating reductions of more than 30%.

Most anti-cancer research in green tea has focused on the EGCG compound, and the trademarked extract Polyphenon E seems to be important as well (likely has EGCG as a component). The advantage of taking the beverage over the capsule is that you do not need a capsule for each green tea compound, you get the whole food. And in this case with prostate cancer, a respectable 12 cups is not difficult once you acquire a taste for this beverage.

I still prefer matcha for its higher content of EGCG and of theanine, though it is higher in caffeine as well, which can be troublesome for some caffeine sensitive patients.

What’s the other evidence on green tea?

1. Genital Warts: a green tea ointment was able to clear warts in 24-60% of patients after 16 weeks treatment
2. Reduced cancer risk: increased consumption is associated with reduced bladder, esophageal, stomach, and pancreatic cancer
3. Reduced cholesterol: another compound called theaflavin (also present in black tea) reduced cholesterol. Population based data indicates that higher consumption of green tea is associated with lower cholesterol as well.
4. Low blood pressure: consumption reduces postural associated symptoms. Unfortunately, nothing special related to green tea here. It seems to be the caffeine that is helpful.
5. Reduces risk of Parkinson’s: again an association between increased green tea consumption and decreased or delayed Parkinson’s disease. In men the effect of the tea was more pronounced at more cups (5 to 30) cups, and in females increasing doses did not seem to be related to the protective effect.
6. Diabetes risk reduction: adults who drank 6 or more cups had roughly a third less risk. Again this is an association, so it might be that those who are prone to drinking green tea tend to have healthier diet and lifestyles than those who don’t. However, there is sufficient biochemical reason as to why green tea probably exerts a separate medicinal effect.

www.pannaturopathic.com

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with more plaque build up in arteries

A recent study in type I diabetics gives us another reason, other than swine flu to make sure our vitamin D levels are optimized. 375 patients with type I diabetes were studied and their vitamin D levels measured. When the levels were below 25 nmol/L (SI, Canadian units) these patients were almost 3 times as likely to develop calcified plaque blockages in their arteries than those who had levels above 75 nmol/L. Further, deficiencies were likely to cause progression of the calcified blockages.

Interestingly, this vitamin D deficiency made patients more likely to have plaque build up even in comparison to sugar control, age, and male sex.

A similar correlation was found in patients undergoing hemodialysis due to kidney disease. Vitamin D deficiency was associated with increased hs-CRP (inflammation in the blood vessels), and increased calcified plaque in the arteries.

Here’s the best part: a third study looked at patients who had no symptoms but were found to have calcified plaque in their arteries by calcium scoring (I prefer EBT or electron beam tomography for calcium scoring of the arteries in my patients). The patients were treated with a statin drug, niacin (vitamin B3), omega 3 fish oils, and vitamin D (to get levels to 125 nmol/L). 44% had reductions in their plaque levels (reversing the build up in the arteries), 49% had slowed growth, and only 3/45 patients had plaque growth more than 30%.

www.pannaturopathic.com

Fasting sugar is not the best marker for pre-diabetes

I query most of my patients during the initial exam and history as to whether or not they have any diabetes in the family. Often I am told that they do, and that they themselves “have been tested” for diabetes and are fine. This almost always means that they have had a fasting glucose measurement which was normal.

A fasting sugar level that is elevated confirms diabetes. If the level is between 5.7-6.0, it may not be diabetes but rather, pre-diabetes. Still, I never believed that a fasting sugar level was sufficient to assess the relative risk of developing diabetes in the next 3-5 years. I have always used a fasting insulin in combination with fasting sugar to get a better functional idea of how the body is handling sugar. I wrote about sugar, diabetes, and insulin resistance here.

Simplistically, the higher the fasting insulin, the harder your body is trying to lower the blood sugar. The sugar might be normal, but your body may be having trouble keeping it normal. There is evidence that high insulin levels increase cardiovascular risk, cancer risk, and contribute to chronic fatigue issues.

Now, in the journal Lancet, June 2009, another good study has been published confirming this. This study showed that a fasting sugar might show a prediabetic condition 3 years prior to diabetes. However, measuring insulin resistance showed increase resistance 5 whole years prior to the onset of diabetes. That is a lot of time to intervene and avoid drug therapy.

With such a simple inexpensive test, for those who have diabetes in the family, are overweight, or have other risk factors, it is well worth checking in order to quantify risk and to follow with lifestyle changes, nutritional support, and other therapies (such as exercise and oxidative therapies).

www.pannaturopathic.com

Back at it…

After a long delay due to being too busy at home – I am back to semi-frequent posting.

The news this morning has stated that the World Health Organization is preparing to declare the Swine Flu a pandemic. The preparations they are speaking of are more to avoid a panic amongst the general public.

The World Health Organization is preparing to declare a swine flu pandemic, officials hinted Tuesday, saying that the goal now is to prevent countries and populations from panicking.

“One of the critical issues is that we do not want people to panic if they hear that we are in a pandemic situation,” Feiji Fukuda, WHO’s acting assistant director-general, said in a media call Tuesday.

“We know the virus is spreading and we are now seeing activity picking up in a number of countries. We know that we are getting closer to probably a pandemic situation,” Fukuda said.

(CanWest)

The media, as of a few weeks ago, has stopped stoking fear in the public with the mass-reporting of every new swine flu incident.

From a naturopathic standpoint, prevention involves hygiene and immune support.

1. Wash hands frequently and before consuming foods or touching mucus membranes
2. Use effective disinfectants appropriately
3. Optimize your vitamin D levels and check with a blood test called 25-OH vitamin D3 (calcidiol)
   1. The journal Archives of Internal Medicine in February of this year reported that those with the lowest vitamin D levels in blood were more likely to have a recent upper respiratory infection that those with the highest levels of vitamin D (and the highest levels in that study were not all that high at all)
4. with hygiene, consider nasal rinses with a dilute saline solution (Neti pot, or NeilMed available at most pharmacies)
5. Consider immune supporting herbs such as ginseng formulas (Adreset) and Astragalus
6. Get plenty of sleep
   1. The journal Nature Reviews, Neuroscience has this to say:
      1. Good sleep is necessary for physical and mental health. For example, sleep loss impairs immune function, and sleep is altered during infection. Immune signalling molecules are present in the healthy brain, where they interact with neurochemical systems to contribute to the regulation of normal sleep. Animal studies have shown that interactions between immune signalling molecules (such as the cytokine interleukin 1) and brain neurochemical systems (such as the serotonin system) are amplified during infection, indicating that these interactions might underlie the changes in sleep that occur during infection. Why should the immune system cause us to sleep differently when we are sick? We propose that the alterations in sleep architecture during infection are exquisitely tailored to support the generation of fever, which in turn imparts survival value.
7. Stress can raise cortisol and suppress proper immune system surveillance – increase “anti-stress” activities such as moderate exercise, yoga
8. If you feel yourself starting to become ill, consider
   1. intravenous vitamin C
   2. Home-based constitutional hydrotherapy

www.pannaturopathic.com

Chemical toxicity in the news…

Drycleaning in the water

A small town near a military base outside of Quebec City has found out recently that there has been a leak of a chemical into their water supply for the last few years. The chemical, TCE or trichloroethylene, is a probably carcinogen.

From the Globe and Mail:

QUEBEC — Marie-Paule Spieser lost her best friend to a rare form of liver cancer in September of 2000. As an experienced nurse in her mid-40s, Ms. Spieser knew something had to be wrong.

Her friend’s husband had also been diagnosed with cancer and it seemed nearly every household in the neighbourhood where she lived was stricken with some form of the disease.

Then a few weeks later, just before Christmas, Ms. Spieser along with the 4,000 other residents of Shannon, a small town located just outside the Valcartier military base near Quebec City, learned that their water supply had been contaminated for years with the chemical solvent trichloroethylene, or TCE, a probable carcinogen.

The link between the chemical and the cancer cluster in that town has not been proven, and there is now a class-action law suit involving 1300 people.

Trichloroethylene is used in drycleaning, and is one of the reasons to consider reducing the frequency of drycleaning. A simple carbon filter, such as Brita, can remove trichloroethylene and other chemicals from drinking water.

Health Canada has added 8 more chemicals to a “toxic” list

Of relevance to human health include looking on the ingredient list of cosmetics for thiourea, which European and US groups state should be investigated as a possible carcinogen. Pigment yellow 34 and red 104 contain chromium and lead, and are foudn in some plastics.

This is a similar list to where the plastic chemical BPA was added to. I wrote in one of my first posts, before the widespread news, on how BPA in plastics should be a concern,

The Environmental Working Group has an excellent site on chemical toxicity and exposure in everyday products. They have a page on tips for reducing BPA exposure. Simply, using inert materials for cooking and storing foods and liquids is most prudent, sticking with materials such as stainless steel and glass.

Keeping yourself clean

Exercise is one of the best methods of detoxification. Cardiovascular exercise for 20-30 minutes, enough to bring on marked sweating, can help to mobilize and excrete stored chemicals from fat. Sauna therapy works on the same principle, and can provide for more rapid detoxification.

Ginger and green tea are two natural compounds that increase fat excretion in the stool. The liver is responsible for clearing fat soluble toxins. Once it has been processed, the metabolites and toxin byproducts are excreted into the urine or the stool. The problem with excretion in the stool is that there is a high rate, greater than 95%, reabsorption of bile from the stool, back to the liver, bringing toxins back into the system. Increasing the amount of fat and bile that stays in the stool increases the amount of chemical excretion. Ginger and green tea can double the amount of excretion that stays in the stool.

A 3 week detoxification program, including a special diet and a medical food that promotes the detoxification process in the liver, can be done as well. This is a bland diet that reduces toxin intake to the liver, and is calorie reduced to help with mobilization of toxins from fat. The medical food has nutrients that help the liver process the toxins much more efficiently than normal. Usually a baseline blood panel is done, along with a few in office measurements in order to measure progress.

www.pannaturopathic.com

A few updates to the web page:

Lyme disease treatment

Chronic lyme disease is an overlooked area of treatment for some cases of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. It is a complex illness that requires intensive treatment to improve. Symptoms of unexplained neuropathy (nerve pain / symptoms), muscle pain, arthritis, and fatigue warrant investigation.

Multiple chemical sensitivity

Multiple chemical sensitivity describes a syndrome in which patients react to many chemicals, even if present in very low amounts which do not bother most people. These patients symptoms of asthma, itchy eyes, rash, fatigue and headache from exposure to low doses of multiple chemicals.

Chronic fatigue syndrome treatment

This page describes an effective treatment protocol for those who meet the criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome.

Headline: fish oils no benefit; Actual study: fish oil reduces cardiac death!

News is always meant to be the information equivalent of “junk food” – giving instant satisfaction with very little real nutrition. This is why headlines (in Vancouver too!) are meant to capture and pique your interest and then give something to talk about over at the water cooler. This makes most Vancouver naturopaths irritated.

Unfortunately, this type of mentality has spread over to news stories that are about natural health products. One of the most unequivocal axioms of nutrition and health is that good fats are good for you, and especially that fish oil is good for your heart. And thus, when a study is published in the BMJ that reviews the effects of fish oil, it receives press in the most sensational way.

The headlines read: “Benefits of fish oil supplements questioned” and “Study questions fish oil benefits” and “Fish oils Hold no benefit for arrythmia patients” - which leads the casual observer to believe that fish oils don’t help heart disease patients. Only the last headline gave one of the conclusion of the study.

Directly quoted from the actual study:

We observed a significant 20% reduction in deaths from cardiac causes. This is similar to previous systematic reviews that included studies of dietary intake of fish oil either by increased intake or supplementation, which showed a significant reduction in cardiovascular events (including strokes). Most of these events were, however, related mainly to a reduction in deaths from coronary events with a reduction in risk ranging from 24% to 36%.^{8 22 23 24} Experimental studies have proposed that fish oil helps to stabilise the atherosclerotic plaque through several mechanisms

A 20% reduction in cardiac deaths didn’t make the news. Unfortunately, the only thing that made the news was that fish oil does not manifest its benefit through reducing abnormal heart rhythm. It manifests its benefit by stabilizing plaque in arteries.

Related links from my website:

Fish oils, Vioxx, and heart disease: how they are linked
Studies on chelation therapy as a natural treatment for heart disease
Aggressive natural therapies for coronary artery disease
Plaquex and phosphatidyl choline for heart disease and removing plaque
Why I love treating heart disease

www.pannaturopathic.com