Before continuing, there is a perfectly fair question posed by some readers that should be addressed here.  The question is “How do I know your pro-cholesterol  information is more valid than the other sources I am exposed to that you claim are little more than demonizing propaganda created by pharmaceutical companies for a profit motive?”  This is an excellent question and the simple fact is that you dont know.  It falls upon you the reader to closely examine the sources that are cited and the arguments presented to decide for yourself what is actually true.

Another of the benefits Dr. Ravskov cites in his paper, The Benefits of High Cholesterol, is enhanced immune function.  In it he states, “Many studies have found that low cholesterol is in certain respects worse than high cholesterol. For instance, in 19 large studies of more than 68,000 deaths, reviewed by Professor David R. Jacobs and his co-workers from the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, low cholesterol predicted an increased risk of dying from gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases.^” (Jacobs D and others. Report of the conference on low blood cholesterol: Mortality associations. Circulation 86, 1046–1060, 1992.)  And he continues, “Most gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases have an infectious origin. Therefore, a relevant question is whether it is the infection that lowers cholesterol or the low cholesterol that predisposes to infection? To answer this question Professor Jacobs and his group, together with Dr. Carlos Iribarren, followed more than 100,000 healthy individuals in the San Francisco area for fifteen years. At the end of the study those who had low cholesterol at the start of the study had more often been admitted to the hospital because of an infectious disease. This finding cannot be explained away with the argument that the infection had caused cholesterol to go down, because how could low cholesterol, recorded when these people were without any evidence of infection, be caused by a disease they had not yet encountered? Isn´t it more likely that low cholesterol in some way made them more vulnerable to infection, or that high cholesterol protected those who did not become infected? Much evidence exists to support that interpretation.” (Iribarren C and others. Serum total cholesterol and risk of hospitalization, and death from respiratory disease. International Journal of Epidemiology 26, 1191–1202, 1997.  And, Iribarren C and others. Cohort study of serum total cholesterol and in-hospital incidence of infectious diseases. Epidemiology and Infection 121, 335–347, 1998.)

Nevermind that we now know cholesterol levels are completely inadequate at predicting the likelihood of a heart attack(and are not the primary cause). How much is it worth to have muscle pain, be unable to sleep and unable to attain or maintain an erection, among other things? We may not be able to answer that value question but the pharmaceutical industry certainly can.  Lipitor had 13 billion dollars in sales in 2006. That is how much it is worth to the company Pfizer that manufactures lipitor.   And therein may lie the only real value to be ascribed to lipitor;making money for the drug companies.

Why is this? Here in the U.S., an elaborate scheme of media manipulation, control, and financial incentive has been set forth to deliberately and systematically deceive the public into thinking that only pharmaceutical drugs can treat disease.  Not only is this reckless and greedy, but it is simply untrue.

This article came in particularly useful in an ongoing debate I have been having with a British professor, David Briggs about whether or not animals have heart attacks.  I have been engaging in this discussion at a group we have in facebook called ‘eradicating heart disease.’  The discourse between us began when he wrote on the discussion board within the group that Dr. Rath was a quack and a charlatan and had caused all kinds of problems in South Africa with unsubstantiated claims regarding AIDS and cancer.  I pointed out that none of that had anything to do with animals and heart attacks and so the discussion began.

In our debate, Mr Briggs defended his claim that animals have heart attacks by doing a google search on heart attacks and animals and presenting to me some studies with animals and heart attacks in the title.  One such study read, “Intravenous infusion of mesenchymal stem cells enhances regional perfusion and improves ventricular function in a porcine model of myocardial infarction.” He was then studious and gracious enough to point out to me that,  “Porcine model of myocardial infarction”, means pigs with heart attacks.  I am of course, being a little facetious here, his comment really kind of annoyed me in presuming that I did not know what that phrase meant but anyway… I digress, suffice it to say that professors(and humans in general) can sometimes be a little condescending and presumptuous.

At first glance, this would seem rather disconcerting for me since this is definitely a science article discussing the treatment of  heart attack damage in pigs using stem cells. But when you read just a few sentences further into the initial study description you find something else.  It reads, “In a closed-chest pig model, the LAD coronary artery was occluded for 75 min by angioplasty balloon inflation .”  I will repeat for posterity, ” was occluded for 75 min. by angioplasty balloon inflation.” This means they modeled heart attack damage by intentionally blocking the artery for 75 minutes using an angioplasty balloon.  So this didnt really count as a true ‘heart attack’ since it was manmade.  I told the professor about this. He seemed unimpressed and offered some more links for me to scrutinize.

Mr. Briggs  only counter argument was that his father was an esteemed and decorated British veterinarian and his professional opinion was that animals do have heart attacks, “but not like in humans”.  I have asked Mr. Briggs what his father meant exactly by this qualification, “but not  like in humans” and  I am waiting for an explanation from the professor.  I think “but not like in humans”, means ” not to the same degree or as often as humans”.  If this is what the professor’s father means then it appears that the title Animals Don’t Have Heart Attacks should be changed to Animals Very Rarely Have Heart Attacks, While Humans Commonly Do. In spite of this, the best, feasible explanation for this huge difference in heart attacks between animals and humans is still the vitamin c, collagen, cholesterol connection.

So the professor’s arguments are wearing thin and I hope he is close to converting to the truth about heart disease. The technicality mongering and outright mistakes by the professor allude far more to his myopic and desperate adherence to false disease pathologies than they dismantle the Vitamin C, collagen, cholesterol connection.

Conventional medicine is largely confined to treating the symptoms of this disease. Calcium antagonists, beta-blockers, nitrates, and other drugs are prescribed to alleviate angina pain. Surgical procedures (angioplasty, bypass surgery) are applied to improve blood flow mechanically. Hardly any conventional medicine targets the underlying problem: the instability of the vascular wall, triggering the development of atherosclerotic deposits.

Cellular medicine provides a breakthrough in our understanding of these causes as well as effective prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease. The primary cause of coronary heart disease and other forms of atherosclerotic disease is a chronic deficiency in vitamins and other essential nutrients in millions of vascular wall cells. This leads to instability of the vascular walls, to lesions and cracks, to atherosclerotic deposits, and eventually to heart attacks or strokes. Since the primary cause of cardiovascular disease is a deficiency of essential nutrients in the vascular wall, a daily optimum intake of these essential nutrients is the primary measure to prevent atherosclerosis and to help repair wall damage.

Scientific research and clinical studies have already documented the particular value of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, lysine, proline, and other ingredients of Dr. Rath’s vitamin program in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and improving the health of patients with existing cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Rath’s vitamin program comprises selected essential nutrients to help prevent cardiovascular disease naturally and to help repair existing damage…[Dr.Rath's] recommendation for patients with cardiovascular disease: start immediately with this natural cardiovascular program and inform your doctor about it. Follow Dr. Rath’s vitamin program in addition to your medication. Vitamin C and E are natural “blood thinners.” If you are on blood thinning medication you should talk to your doctor about the vitamins you take so that additional blood tests can be performed and your prescription medication may not be decreased.  Do not change any medication without consulting your doctor.

Prevention is better than treatment.  The success of this essential nutrient program in patients with existing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease is based on the fact that the millions of cardiovascular cells are replenished with cell fuel for optimum cell function. A natural cardiovascular program able to correct an existing health condition is, of course, your best choice to prevent this condition in the first place.

This is an excerpt from Dr.Rath’s Why Animals Dont Get Heart Attacks, But People Do. pg. 28-30

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Above all, this book gives you practical recommendations to prevent cardiovascular health problems in the first place. Based on this natural health program, millions of people today ant future generations will not have to wait until cardiovascular problems develop. This natural cardiovascular health program is an effective, safe, and affordable way for men and women of all ages to help prevent cardiovascular diseases.

This book is an authentic report of one of the greatest breakthroughs in medicine. This book is written by the scientist and physician who led this medical advance from its beginning. The last chapters document the decisive discoveries, the development of an entirely new understanding of the origins of heart disease, and the early support by two-timer Nobel laureate Linus Pauling. You will also read how the scientific discoveries of this book triggered one of the largest battles in the history of the United States- the battle for vitamin freedom from 1992 to 1994.  It documents the historic victory millions of Americans gained against the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry: the Nutritional Health and Education Act of August 1994, allowing health information in connection with vitamins to be freely disseminated.

This book has the pharmaceutical companies run amok.  The pharmaceutical companies know: the fact that animals don’t get heart attacks because they make their own vitamin c and the world-wide success of Dr. Rath’s vitamin program will inevitably lead to the collapse of their pharmaceutical markets. The annual market for cardiovascular prescriptions drugs in the U.S. alone is over 100 billion dollars. Unable to fight this scientific truth, the pharmaceutical companies have embarked on a worldwide effort to block the spreading of this book and its information. Towards this end they even formed and international Cartel named “Codex Alimetarius” to outlaw all health claims in relation to vitamins-world-wide for all member countries of the U.N. This book also tells you why, among all countries, the German government is politically spearheading these unethical efforts and how the people in Germany already delivered a decisive blow to the Codex-Cartel.

This is an excerpt from Dr. Rath’s Why Animals Don’t Get Heart Attacks-But People Do. pg. 12-13

Despite these different functions, it is important to understand that all cells use the same carriers of bioenergy and the same biocatalysts for a multitude of biochemical reactions inside these cells.  Many of these essential biocatalysts and bioenergy molecules cannot be produced by the body itself and have to be supplemented in our diet on a regular basis. Vitamins, certain amino acids, minerals, and trace elements are among the most important essential nutrients for optimum function of each cell. Without optimum intake of these essential nutrients, the function of millions of cells becomes impaired and diseases develop.

Unfortunately, conventional medicine still does not recognize the decisive role of vitamins and other essential nutrients for optimum cellular function and for optimum health. The modern concept of cellular medicine changes that fundamentally. In a few years, the daily supplementation with Dr. Rath’s vitamin program will be a matter of course for everyone, just like eating and drinking.

The most profound impact of cellular medicine will be in the area of cardiovascular health because this is the most active organ system of our body and therefore has the highest consumption of essential nutrients.

Cells of the blood vessel walls: The endothelial cells form the barrier or protection layer between the blood and the blood vessel wall;moreover, these cells contribute to a variety of metabolic functions, such as optimum blood viscosity. The smooth muscle cells produce collagen and other reinforcement molecules providing optimum stability and tone to the blood vessel walls.

The cells of the heart muscle: The main role of heart muscle cells is the pumping function to maintain blood circulation. A subtype of heart muscle cell is specialized and capable of generating and conducting biological electricity for the heartbeat.

The blood cells: Even the millions of blood corpuscles circulating in the blood stream are nothing other than cells.  They are responsible for transport of oxygen, defense, scavenging, wound healing, and many other functions.

This is an excerpt from Dr. Rath’s Why Animals Don’t Get Heart Attacks-But People Do. pg. 20-22

“The smooth muscle cells produce collagen and other reinforcement molecules providing optimum stability and tone to the blood vessel walls.”  I think it is a cell called a fibroblast that actually does the work of producing collagen.

Dr. Rath summarizes for the first time the medical breakthrough in the area of vitamins and cardiovascular health.

Why animals don’t get heart attacks, but every second man and woman dies from one. Animals don’t get heart attacks because they produce large amounts of vitamin C in their bodies. Vitamin C optimizes the production of collagen and other reinforcement molecules, thereby stabilizes the walls of the arteries and prevents atherosclerotic deposits, heart attacks and strokes. We human beings cannot manufacture a single molecule of vitamin C in our bodies and, in addition, frequently get too little vitamins in our diet. The inevitable consequence is a weakening of the artery walls, and atherosclerosis. Chronic vitamin deficiency is the main cause for epidemic spread of cardiovascular disease.

The scientific breakthrough towards the control of cardiovascular disease. Heart attacks and strokes are not diseases, they are caused by vitamin deficiencies. While today, every second man and woman continues to die from cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and strokes will essentially be unknown in future generations.

The world’s first patented therapy for the natural reversal of cardiovascular disease. Once the artery wall is weakened by vitamin deficiency, millions of fat particles (lipoproteins) are deposited in the artery wall by means of biological “adhesive tapes,” eventually leading to atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes. These atherosclerotic deposits can now be largely prevented and reversed with natural “teflon” agents, which neutralize these adhesive properties.  The first generation of artery wall “teflon” agents are the natural amino acids lysine and proline, which further improve their effectiveness through a combination with other vitamins.  Thus, an old dream of mankind becomes reality: the natural reversal of cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Rath’s vitamin program-the world’s leading cardiovascular health program. Based on these breakthrough discoveries a scientifically based nutritional supplement program was developed-Dr. Rath’s vitamin program. This program includes a selection of essential vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids in combination with a healthy lifestyle. The essential nutrient program was developed as a daily supplement for men and women at any age to protect the cardiovascular system in a natural way. Tens of thousands of people are already following this program for prevention and adjunct therapy. [Dr. Rath] documents the profound health benefits of this program even with the most severe health conditions such as angina pectoris, irregular heartbeat, heart failure, diabetes, high blood pressure, after a heart attack, coronary bypass surgery, angioplasty and many others. Thus, it is not surprising that Dr. Rath’s vitamin program is today’s leading cardiovascular health program with patients in many countries around the world following it.

1) Be aware of the size and function of your cardiovascular system.  Did you know that your blood vessel pipeline system measures 60,000 miles and is the largest organ in your body? Did you know that your heart pumps 100,000 times every day, performing the greatest amount of work of all the organs? Optimizing your cardiovascular health adds years to your life, because your body is as old as your cardiovascular system.

2) Stabilize the walls of your blood vessels. Blood vessel instability and lesions in your blood vessel walls are the primary causes for cardiovascular disease. Vitamin C is the cement of the blood vessel walls and stabilizes them. Animals don’t get heart disease because they produce enough endogenous vitamin C in their livers to protect their blood vessels. In contrast, we humans develop deposits leading to heart attacks and strokes because we cannot manufacture endogenous vitamin C and generally get too few vitamins in our diet.

3) Reverse existing deposits in your arteries without surgery. Cholesterol and fat particles are deposited inside the blood vessel walls by means of biological adhesives. “teflon“-like agents can prevent this stickiness. The amino acids lysine and proline are nature’s “teflon” agents. Together with vitamin C, they help reverse existing deposits naturally.

4) Relax your blood vessel walls. Deposits and spasms of the blood vessel walls are the causes of high blood pressure. Dietary supplementation of magnesium (nature’s calcium antagonist) and vitamin C relax the blood vessel walls and normalize high blood pressure. The natural amino acid arginine can be of additional value.

5) Optimize the performance of your heart. The heart is the motor of the cardiovascular system. Like the motor of your car, millions of muscle cells need cell fuel for optimum performance. Nature’s cell fuels include carnitine, coenzyme Q-10, B vitamins, and many other nutrients and trace elements. Dietary supplementation of these essential nutrients will optimize the pumping performance of the heart and contribute to regular heartbeat.

6) Protect your cardiovascular pipelines from rusting. Biological rusting, or oxidation, damages your cardiovascular system and accelerates the aging process.  Vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and selenium are the most important natural antioxidants. Other important antioxidants are bioflavonoids, such as pycnogenol. Dietary supplementation of these antioxidants provides important rust protection for your cardiovascular system.  Above all, stop smoking, because cigarette smoke accelerates the biological rusting of your blood vessels.

7) Exercise regularly. Regular physical activity is another important step for optimum cardiovascular health. Moderate but regular exercise, like walking or bicycling, is ideal, and can be performed by everybody.

Eat a prudent diet. The diet of our ancestors over thousands of generations was rich in plant nutrition and high in fiber and vitamins. These dietary preferences shaped the metabolism of our bodies today.  A diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fat and sugars  enhances your cardiovascular health.

9) Find time to relax. Physical and emotional stresses are cardiovascular risk factors.  Schedule hours and days to relax as you would schedule your appointments. You should also know that the production of the stress hormone adrenaline uses up your body’s vitamin C supply. Long-term physical or emotional stress depletes your body’s vitamin pool and requires dietary vitamin supplementation.

10) Start now. Thickening of the blood vessel walls is not only a problem of the elderly-it starts early in life. Studies have shown that first blood vessel deposits can develop in the second decade of life. Start protecting your cardiovascular system now. The earlier you start, the more years you will have.

Most carriers of bioenergy in cellular metabolism use components of Dr. Rath’s vitamin program.

Acetyl-Coenzyme A (Acetyl -CoA), the central molecule of cellular metabolism, is indispensable for processing  of all components of food (carbohydrates, proteins  and fats), and for their conversion into bioenergy. Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) is a structural compoenent of this key molecule. A deficiency of vitamin B5 leads to decreased Acetyl-CoenzymeA levels and to a metabolic “jam.” This can result in increased blood levels of cholesterol and other blood fats. Optimum supplementation of vitamin B5 corrects this “jam” and improves the production of cellular energy.

Vitamin B3 (nicotinic acid) is the energy transport molecule of one of the most important cellular energy carriers, called nicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide (NAD). Vitamin C provides the bioenergy to the NAD transport molecules by adding hydrogen atoms(-H) and thereby, biological energy. The energy-rich shuttle molecules NAD-H provide energy for thousands of cellular reactions.  Sufficient supply of vitamin B3 and vitamin C is indispensable for optimum cellular energy.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and vitamin C cooperate in a similar way within each cell as a bioenergy shuttle. Vitamin B2 is a structural component of the energy transport molecule flavin-adenine-dinucleotide (FAD) and vitamin C provides bioenergy for the activation of millions fo bioenergy rich FAD molecules.

The world-wide success of Dr. Rath’s vitamin program is due to the fact that this natural program is scientifiacally based. The exact biochemical composition and many biological functions of the ingredients of Dr. Rath’s vitamin program are known. Thus, the health benefits of this vitamin program are reproducible and millions of people around the world can benefit from them.

For each component of Dr. Rath’s vitamin program there are numerous scientific studies substantiating their great importance for human health… Many fo these biochemical functions and health benefits are already contained in the leading textbooks in biology and biochemistry. Unfortunately, many textbooks in Medicine are still lacking this life-saving knowledge. The leading textbook for cardiologists, Eugene Braunwald’s “The Heart- Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine” does not mention vitamin C one singe time on 2,000 pages of teaching material for future cardiologists.  Now it turns out that this vitamin is the single most important reason why animals don’t get heart attacks-but people do.

Dr. Rath

Dr. Rath’s nutritional formula is based on the fundamentals of nutrition and the body’s own innate ability to heal itself when given the fundamental building block to facilitate that healing.

1) Health and disease are determined on the level of millions of cells which compose our body and its organs

2) Vitamins and other essential nutrients are needed for thousands of biochemical reactions in each cell. Chronic deficiency of these vitamins and other essential nutrients is the most frequent cause of malfunction of millions of body cells and the primary cause of cardiovascular disease and other diseases.

3) Cardiovascular diseases are the most frequent diseases because cardiovascular cells consume vitamins and other essential nutrients at a high rate due to the mechanical stress on the heart and the blood vessel wall from the heartbeat and the pulse wave.

4) Optimum dietary supplementation of vitamins and other essential nutrients is the key to prevention and effective treatment of cardiovascular disease, as well as other chronic health conditions.

The components of Dr. Rath’s vitamin program are an essential part of the biological fuel we have to provide regularly to our bodies. The other biological fuels are well known: Air(oxygen), water, regular nutrition(composed of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates). There is a distinct characteristic setting vitamins apart from air, water, and food: a lack of vitamins and other essential nutrients does not give any alarm signs. Oxygen deficiency, for example, leads within minutes to the alarm sign of suffocation. Water deficiency’s alarm sign is “thirst.” Lack of food causes hunger.

In contrast, a deficiency of vitamins and other essential nutrients, the carriers of energy, do not give any alarm signs in the body. The first sign of a vitamin deficiency is the outbreak of a disease. A total depletion of vitamins, such as in scurvy, leads to death within months. Since we all get small amounts of vitamins and other essential nutrients, we generally do not suffer from total depletion.

Most of us, however, suffer from a chronic deficiency of vitamins and other essential nutrients. Since deficiencies of these essential nutrients do not give any immediate alarm signs, they continue to be unrecognized and masked for many years. In many cases, the first sign of chronic vitamin deficiency is a heart attack or the outbreak of another disease. Thus, since our body does not give us any alarm signs, the best way we can avoid deficiencies in cellular energy is an optimum daily supplementation of the different components of Dr. Rath’s vitamin program.