Heart disease is the number one killer of men who are otherwise living an energetic, productive life. Often the first symptom of Heart (Cardiovascular) Disease is a Heart Attack resulting in sudden death from blockage of one of the Coronary Arteries supplying blood to the heart itself. The primary cause is a rupture of a plaque formation within the artery wall that causes a sudden clotting of the blood in the artery, blocking blood flow.
The buildup of plaque in arteries, particularly of the heart, is a complicated process, but for decades it has been blamed on elevated levels of Cholesterol with aging. And the number one strategy to prevent this has been to force lower production of cholesterol, and the LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) that transports it in our blood. Most our cholesterol is produced by our liver, as well as the LDL that carries it and other forms of fats like Triglycerides that ride along with it. We are born with LDL cholesterol levels of roughly 25 ng/dl. That goes up as we grow in size into adulthood (more cells that need it to live).
However, something goes haywire in midlife if we have a lifestyle, genes or both, that leads to insulin resistance of the liver, which then starts making excess cholesterol and more and smaller LDLs to package it into. The smaller LDLs are more readily damaged, and become invasive to our artery walls, and the plaque-building process starts. Immune cells are called in to take up the LDLs and transport them back to the liver for elimination, but get overwhelmed, bloated and become part of the plaque. At some point in this process the plaque may rupture like a big pimple, producing a massive blood clot, blocking an artery and part of the heart, brain or lungs dies from lack of blood/oxygen.
Enter Berberine, a natural inhibitor of an enzyme (PCSK9) that takes down LDL receptors on cell walls leaving higher levels of LDLs in the blood hence faster plaque buildup and potential heart disease. Straight Berberine is only 1% absorbable, but Liposomal berberine is taken up by cells as much as 45 times higher, making it a very good natural PCSK9 inhibitor, shown to lower LDL by about 40% more that the usually prescribed statin will. It also increases HDL production in men, further improving removal of LDL from artery walls, reducing plaque levels in arteries. It also is very effective at lowering arterial inflammation levels, making existing plaque more stable and less likely to rupture.
I developed coronary artery disease and at 60 needed a quad bypass operation to restore blood flow to the heart. 14 years later two of those bypass grafts closed up and required stents to reopen them, and now 10 years later, I’m still pretty functional. But my total cholesterol is still above 200 ng/dl and LDL is about 130 ng/dl on a statin drug. Earlier this year I bought a bottle of Lipo-berberine and taking 1/day of the 250mg soft-gels, got it under 100 ng/dl for the first time in adulthood. Then I forgot about it.
Now I’m starting a new effort using 3 – 150mg capsules per day to measure the benefit. Here is a link to the most advanced suppler of Lipo-berberine I have found: RenuebyScience.com. For any products on their site I have arranged for a discount code FRANK10 to be applied at checkout for a 10% discount.
To Your Greater Health and Fitness,
Frank
Frank Wilhelmi – Retired/consultant electronic engineer researches and reports practical strategies for optimizing health and fitness into advanced age. “I have a passion for living life to the fullest, and helping others to do the same.” A rapidly growing body of knowledge now enables us to extend our health and fitness decades beyond popular expectations.