Supplements For Toning Your Blood Vessels

Several supplements have been found beneficial in maintaining or restoring normal blood-vessel tone.

Vitamin C. By itself, vitamin C can also improve blood vessel tone. In a study of patients with heart disease, researchers found that 2,000 mg of vitamin C protected against endothelial dysfunction after a high-fat meal. Similarly, 1,000 mg of vitamin C blunted the endothelial dysfunction caused by elevated blood levels of homocysteine.

L-Arginine. This amino acid is the precursor to nitric oxide, one of the key regulators of endothelial function. Nitric oxide increases endothelial flexibility, and studies have found L-arginine supplements (6 to 15 grams daily) helpful in angina pain and congestive heart failure. Lower doses, such as 2 grams (2,000 mg) daily can help treat erectile dysfunction. L-arginine works the same way as prescription drugs for erectile dysfunction -- that is, by increasing nitric oxide levels and improve blood-vessel tone. Vitamin C may further improve the activity of L-arginine.

Garlic. Long revered for its health benefits, garlic is rich in antioxidants and increases nitric oxide production. In a study of 15 men with coronary heart disease, researchers found that 2.4 grams of aged garlic extracts reduced endothelial dysfunction by 44 percent.

Alpha-Lipoic Acid. This antioxidant has long been used in Europe to treat symptoms of diabetic nerve disease. In a recent study at the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, researchers reported that 300 mg of alpha-lipoic acid improved enthothelial function by almost 50 percent, and the antioxidant also enhanced the benefits of a drug used to treat heart disease.

Flavonoids. Flavonoids are a family of more than 5,000 potent antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables. In a recent study, Mary Engler, Ph.D., R.N., found that blood-vessel tone improved after subjects consumed 1.6 ounces of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate daily for two weeks. The improvements appeared related specific to increases in epicatechin, one of the antioxidant flavonoids in dark chocolate.

In sum, the health of your total circulatory system has a major effect on your overall risk of developing heart disease. Research on endothelial function has clearly shown that eating deep-fried foods can have a disastrous effect on your blood vessel tone. In contrast, healthier foods and certain supplements can help you stay buff inside. And who wouldn't want to be buff?

A Nutritional Approach To Immunity

Supplements shore up defenses during cold and flu season
The human body is continually protecting itself from the outside world. To shield itself from harmful environmental stimuli, the body employs its cells, biochemicals, organs and tissues. The complex interaction of these physiological systems produces immunity. Some of these systems have dual roles: The digestive system, for example, not only extracts and absorbs nutrients from foods but also destroys pathogenic organisms that may be present in foods. Other immune system components are more focused: White blood cells are specifically designed to destroy invading organisms.

One of the immune system's more extraordinary features is its ability to respond to the environment. When a threat is encountered, the immune system can mount an attack specifically designed to neutralize it. This is demonstrated most clearly in the antigen-antibody interaction. Antigens are proteinlike substances that identify living matter, much like biochemical name tags. When a white blood cell encounters another living organism--a bacterium, virus or normal human cell--it checks the name tag. When the system is working properly, if the tag says anything other than "self," the white blood cell considers the organism a hostile invader. Other immune cells are alerted and information gleaned from the antigen is used to design antibodies precisely configured to destroy both the antigen and the organism that carried it into the body.

Defects in any of the components of the immune system can impair its ability to recognize and neutralize invading organisms and thus increase susceptibility to infectious disease.