Why blockages form.
After investigators determined that Lp(a) causes atherosclerosis, the next question for scientists became: "What causes these "fat" molecules to stick to the artery wall?" The Nobel prize winning answer turned out to be amino acid residues -- the so-called Lysine (and Proline) Binding Sites or LBS.
The Lp(a) or "cholesterol" binding sites are really just collagen protein (amino acid) residues that becomes exposed when blood vessels "crack." These exposed residues attract the Lp(a) molecules creating the plaque.
. . . A very important discovery. . .
What if the sticky Lp(a) molecules could be reduced, or were attracted some place other than the damaged arterial wall?
"Knowing that lysyl residues are what causes lipoprotein-(a) to get stuck to the wall of the artery and form plaques, any physical chemist would say at once that the thing to do is prevent that by putting the amino acid lysine in the blood to a greater extent than it is normally." [Linus Pauling, JON, Aug. '94]
Pauling/Rath's invention is to increase the lysine concentration in the blood serum causing Lp(a) to bind with lysine molecules in the blood rendering the Lp(a) inactive.
Today, there are more than 1100 MEDLINE (US National Medical Database) references to Lp(a). These reports confirm the Nobel prize winning research paper of Brown-Goldstein and provide a solid foundation for the Pauling Unified Theory. The fundamental and now generally recognized scientific fact is that Lp(a) cholesterol molecules bind to blood vessel walls via the Lysine and Proline Binding Sites forming atherosclerotic plaques and occlusive cardiovascular disease.
A corollary is that ordinary LDL (so-called "bad") cholesterol is not the primary cause of plaque build-up, any more than calcium.
Massive research now supports the insight of Pauling/Rath, who well ahead of his time in 1994 pointed out, "If you have more than 20mg/dl of Lp(a) in your blood it begins depositing plaques causing atherosclerosis."
The Pauling/Rath U. S. Patent # 5,278,189 is for the prevention and treatment of occlusive cardiovascular disease with vitamin C and substances that inhibit the binding of lipoprotein-(a). The patent provides a method for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, such as atherosclerosis, by administering therapeutically effective dosages of a formula composed of vitamin C, lipoprotein-(a) binding inhibitors (e.g., lysine and proline or their analogs) and antioxidants.
Linus Pauling and Matthias Rath discovered that substances that inhibit the binding of lipoprotein-(a) also cause lipoprotein-(a) to be released from the arterial wall. According to the patent, a binding inhibitor (e.g., lysine or lysine analog) used alone or in conjunction with vitamin C, finds Lp(a) in the blood and binds with it before the molecule can reach the walls of arteries. At high enough concentrations, the lysine in the blood attracts Lp(a) in the existing plaques and will dissolve the plaque.
The inescapable conclusion is that the essential, very low cost and completely nontoxic amino acid lysine, when taken with vitamin C in amounts far larger than one normally consumes in the diet, may reduce or may even eliminate Lp(a) based atherosclerosis in human beings.
The lysine treatment mechanism doesn't depend on the reason the Lp(a) based plaque forms. It really doesn't matter whether the arterial lesions were caused by mechanical stress, a vitamin deficiency, oxidized cholesterol, elevated homo-cysteine, fat in the diet, or even little green men.
Debunking the Cholesterol Myths
(Article on Cholesterol myths by Uffe Ravnskov M.D., PhD.)
". . . a victim of negative press, cholesterol is an essential component of the production of the steroid hormones and in nerve function as well as other essential body processes. First, there is absolutely no evidence anywhere that normal cholesterol floating around in the blood does any harm. In fact, cholesterol is the building block for all your steroid hormones, which includes all the sex hormones and the cortisones. Even slightly low levels of cholesterol are associated with depression, suicide, and lung cancer in older women. . . For most people, eating high cholesterol foods does not raise cholesterol.
Why Does Cholesterol Accumulate in the Arteries?
"Drug company advertising for cholesterol lowering drugs gives the impression that excessive cholesterol in the blood simply deposits on the artery wall, and that lowering cholesterol levels stops that process. . . This is simply not true. High levels of Lp(a) are a healing response to a breakdown of the Collagen that holds arteries together.
What is Collagen?
Collagen is a component of bone and connective tissue and is the most abundant protein in vertebrates. It is organised in water- insoluble fibers of great strength. A Collagen fiber consists of three polypeptide chains wrapped around each other in a ropelike twist, or triple helix. Basically it is what holds us together.
What causes Collagen to break down?
The enzyme that Hydroxylates Proline and Lysine into hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine thus maintaining the normal state of Collagen requires ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) to remain active.
Why do cracks in arteries happen in the heart?
The answer is simple mechanical stress. The heart beats on average 80 times a minute. Now imagine treading on a garden hose 80 times a minute. Eventually it will crack.
Where else do arteries crack?
Another common area is in the Carotid arteries in the neck. Have you ever noticed sudden little pains at the site of the Carotid arteries. Or do you get cramps in the legs while walking uphill because your body can no longer flush away the lactic acid that working muscles give off due to reduced arteries.These are typical signs of blockages and a lack of vitamin C.
At what age do arteries crack?
Autopsies of young Americans who fought in the Korean war showed blockages already forming in the early twenties.
Will lots of fruits and vegetables give me enough vitamin C?
The short answer is no.You will still need to take supplements.
The Myth of the Cholesterol Count
"Another cholesterol myth perpetuated by the drug companies is that everyone with a total cholesterol count over 200 mg/dl should be concerned. This is blatantly false. . .
Drugs do More Harm than Good
"While a cholesterol-lowering drug will usually do a very good job of lowering your cholesterol, there's scant, if any, evidence that it will help you live longer or reduce your risk of heart attack unless you are extremely ill or have just suffered from a heart attack. . . There are no studies that show women benefit from these drugs -- all the studies showing even marginal benefits have been done on men. Nor are there any studies showing that they reduce heart attacks or death in men aged 65 to 75. Since heart disease takes decades to develop, it's highly unlikely that cholesterol-lowering drugs will help anyone over the age of 75. That leaves men aged 35 to 55, but even here the evidence of benefit is slim, and the possible side effects are huge. . .
Wrong horse
"Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and other agencies in support of studies of cardiovascular disease in relation to LDL and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, saturated fats, and unsaturated fats. Very little attention has been paid to vitamin C and other vitamins. I think that these agencies have been betting on the wrong horse.
"It is fortunate that vitamin C is not a drug -- it is an orthomolecular substance, normally present in the human body and required for life, and it has extremely low toxicity. You do not need to have a physician's prescription or the approval of the medical establishment to use it in the best way to improve your health and to prevent heart disease. Your knowledge may even be greater and your judgment better than theirs." --Linus Pauling, How to Live Longer and Feel Better, 1986
Thanks to the work of Linus Pauling and co-workers we know that 10
grams of vitamin C doubles the life expectancy of cancer patients,
and, in some cases effects a complete cure. Its role is even more
pivotal in cardiovascular disease, which is now being postulated as
the long-term consequence of vitamin C deficiency. Just about every
marker of cardiovascular disease, arterial damage, high blood
cholesterol levels, low HDL levels, high levels of oxidized
cholesterol, thick blood are all improved by adequate vitamin C
intake at levels up to 10 grams a day.
Vitamin C increases resistance
to stress, lessens allergic reactions, helps arthritic conditions,
slows down the aging process and improves energy production.
Beneficial effects of vitamin C in human trials tend to increase with
the amount given up to, and above, 10 grams per day. On the basis of
research into vitamin C's effect on disease it would appear
that an intake of somewhere between 1 and 10 grams may be optimal
simply for maintaining optimal function of the immune, endocrine and
cardiovascular system.
Whichever way you look at it the figures come out in the same
ballpark. The optimum intake is likely to be in the region of 1,000
mg (1 gram) to 10,000 mg (10 grams) per day, If you are in the grips
of cardiovascular disease, an infectious or immune system disease, or
cancer the ideal level may be much higher. If you drink excessive
amounts of alcohol, live in a polluted city, have a stressful
lifestyle, take drugs including aspirin, or smoke, your optimal
intake will again be raised. An intake of 200 to 300 mg of vitamin C
per day is required to raise the average smoker's vitamin C level to
that of a non-smoker. An intake of around 50 mg per cigarette
probably affords maximum protection.
Albert Szent Gyorgi, who isolated vitamin C in 1928, recommends 1
gram daily. Dr. Linus Pauling took 10 to 18 grams daily.
The choice is yours.
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