Medical treatment, regular exercise and dietary changes can be used to prevent atherosclerosis from getting worse and stabilize plaque, but they are unable to reverse the disease. Larger studies provide new evidence that calcification and arterial blockages are reversible. You've probably heard of the term “hardening of the arteries,” which is the same thing as calcification. Calcium forms hard crystals in the blood vessel wall.
Our laboratory studies have shown that calcium deposits in the arteries form because muscle cells in the blood vessel wall begin to transform into bone-like cells when they age or are sick. Some foods produce plaque, while others clean your arteries, help you lose weight and prevent plaque build-up. I have used this combination with countless patients in my clinic who have plaques that clog the carotid arteries. Although it's not possible to remove plaque from artery walls without surgery, it can stop and prevent plaque build-up in the future.
Patients with atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries (those that supply blood to the heart) may experience angina, shortness of breath, and even a heart attack. These studies consistently show that the combination of French maritime pine bark and centella asiatica extracts slows and can reverse the progression of atherosclerosis. To assess the impact of pine bark and centella asiatica extracts on the progression of atherosclerotic plaque in stent arteries, 160 patients with partial arterial obstruction due to atherosclerotic changes (as determined by ultrasound) were grouped into one of three treatment groups. Some of the best evidence that coronary artery disease is reversible comes from autopsies performed on people who experienced prolonged periods of starvation during World War II.
In those who used pine bark + centella, there was a significant 10% decrease in the number of calcifications, a remarkable result. A large part of my practice consisted of inserting stents to keep the coronary arteries that were occluded with atherosclerotic plaque open. Since then, I have combined interventional cardiology with the search for lifestyle-based methods and supplements to stabilize and reverse plaque build-up. I routinely observe plaque reversion in patients taking the combination of pine bark and centella extract.
The same research team evaluated the effectiveness of the combination of pine bark and centella in asymptomatic atherosclerotic patients with coronary artery calcifications. If you're at risk of coronary calcification, your doctor may prescribe medications to lower low-density lipoproteins (LDL) known as bad cholesterol (e.g., statins) or to increase high-density lipoproteins (HDL) known as good cholesterol (e.g., niacin). If you're looking for foods that help clear your arteries, garlic may not be high on your list, but it's one of the best sources of the medical compound allicin, which has therapeutic benefits. In addition to new published studies, a cardiologist observes a reduction in arterial plaque in patients taking two plant extracts.
They are also a great source of vitamin K and are high in nitrates that help lower blood pressure and improve the health of the cellular linings of the arterial walls.
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