Synopsis - There are simple basics that you NEED to know to take effective action to avoid or even rescue a yourself from heart and circulatory disease. This article will get you started on your journey to understanding.

Coronary Disease caused 1 in 5 deaths in the United States -- a staggering 494,382 deaths -- in 2002. At this time there are an estimated 13,000,000 surviving victims of heart attack and other forms of coronary heart disease living in the United States. If you are among these folks or if you are reading this with the desire to avoid being such a statistic this article has something to do with you.

Our system of medicine in this county treats symptoms. Through drugs and surgery this system attempts to handle non optimum health conditions by the introduction of unnatural chemicals (ie drugs) or by removing or "fixing" conditions through surgery. Life style is addressed as a prevention of heart and circulatory disease but the generally accepted ideas (ie. low fat diets, low cholesterol, exercise, etc) are, statistically, not effectively improving upon the incidence of these conditions. As an example, the medical profession, the pharmaceutical industries and the food industries all have propagated the myth that lowering cholesterol is important to good heart health, yet it is true that 70% of heart attack victims that die have low cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a factor in clogged arteries but it is not the cause.

Over the years, Nobel prizes have been awarded to men and women whose contributions to our understanding how the body works have given us some very valuable, and under reported basics. These basics can form the underlying basis to understand and prevent diseases. In their Nobel Prize winning, scientific research these scientists have discovered many basic principles that can help you give your body what it needs to let your body heal itself. Among these, Otto Warburg and Linus Pauling, received theirs for pioneering simple, inexpensive protocols which have been shown to prevent or reverse chronic illnesses such as cancer and heart disease.

Findings of Linus Pauling showed that ascorbate deficiency is irrefutably linked to the world's #1 killer-heart disease. Ascorbate deficiency causes microscopic cracks, or lesions, to develop in arteries. Read on for the explanation. It may be the first time you've heard this.

Science has shown that many of the body's systems require ascorbates to function properly. Those systems, in the absence of ascorbates, will fall into dysfunction and disrepair. Interestingly, most animals on this planet produce ascorbates naturally in their bodies. However this is not true of humans (and other primates), fruit bats, apes and guinea pigs. We humans had a genetic mutation in our ancestry (some studies show about 10,000 years ago) that caused us to lose the ability to create the final enzyme necessary for the hepatic synthesis of vitamin C. This missing enzyme is called GLO (gulano lactone oxidase). Other primates such as gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans also share this same GLO mutation and cannot make vitamin C. Interestingly, all primates share, along with humans, the susceptibility to heart disease. Animals that make vitamin their own vitamin C (more properly called Ascorbate) don't get atherosclerotic heart disease. To survive, humans need exogenous (exterior to the body) sources of daily ascorbate. The recommended dietary allowance of 45 milligrams of ascorbate a day for human adults, now proposed and used by nutritionists, is grossly inadequate to restore Homo sapiens to a normal and necessary mammalian ascorbate physiology. Further, these ascorbates need to be combined with other elements to be best absorbed most naturally in the body. The vitamin C you get over the counter is not adequate.

The collagen matrix, mentioned above, is the most abundant protein in the body. It is the structural protein used to make the connective tissues, the bones, teeth, hair, and arteries. Strong collagen is important for a strong body. Vitamin C is required for the maintenance of collagen. This works because Vitamin C is required for the production of lysyl hydroxylase which is an enzyme responsible for attaching the lysine residues together on adjacent collagen strands. A Vitamin C deficiency results in weakened collagen strands. This weakens the collagen which results in problems in the connective tissues. It begins wide spread problems in the bones, the teeth, the skin and hair, and the arteries.

You probably have heard of scurvy. The sailors in days of old used to get this while at sea and absent any ascorbate sources. The full blown scurvey that they got is basically an advanced level of collagen breakdown. We tend to believe that scurvey was a disease of the past but today most people are suffering from a form scurvey. Any deficiency in ascorbate will cause some degree of this type of breakdown in the body.

This is Key to circulatory health. A major and deadly manisfestation of this sub-scurvey occurs in the arteries. As the arteries crack and degenerate from their lack of ascorbate the body attempts to repair the arteries with atherosclerotic plaque. This is a natural process whereby the body is attempting to repair the arterial damage caused by chronic ascorbate deficiency. This causes a build up of plaque and as a result we've got the clogging of the arteries and art disease.

The typical handling has been bypass surgery or other forms of physical cleaning.

Additionally, not discussed here in full, It was found by Linus Pauling that lysine and praline, along with the ascorbate, are extremely helpful in reversing previous damage. Any clogging you have can be reversed.

There are several other key elements which have been discovered, based upon the excellent and Nobel recognized work of these and other scientists. If we get and keep these factors in place we will better oxygenate our cells; rebuild our collagen matrix, raise and balance the body's pH level; heal and clean out the arteries; regulate the production of hormones; protect the cells against invading viruses; increase energy; rid the body of heavy metals and other toxins; and much more. Health is restored and maintained by giving the body the nutrients it needs; nutrients that give back to the body that with which it was born. Do this, and the body will heal itself.

Remember that only the body can heal itself. All actions, medical or nutritional, are simply factors to support and speed along the body's self healing abilities.

The key boils down to your researching and understanding the simple basics so that you can take responsibility and control over your own health - and then acting to implement what you discover.

The keys to good health are easy to find when you know where to look.

Find out how you can join the 1000's who have taken responsibility for their own health. As a group of dedicated researchers these folks, ranging from engineers and dentists to doctors have joined forces to help themselves and others learn how to apply proven scientific knowledge to achieve ultimate health.

Ken Risley is a professional engineer and health researcher.