Aspirin vs. Enzymes
by Garry Gordon, M.D., D.O., M.D.(H.)
from The Doctor's Prescription for Healthy Living - Volume 2, Number 3
Over the years, a significant amount of medical research has been performed
on enzymes and their use for circulatory and cardiovascular health. Scientists
worldwide have found that vascular and circulatory disorders respond extremely
well to systemic oral enzymes.
If you ar suffering
from, or at risk for, arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and other coronary
heart disorders, phlebitis, edema, serious varicose veins and other circulatory
problems that affect the various organs, including the brain, lungs, heart,
kidneys, and liver - combination oral enzymes may be an important supplement
regimen for supporting your circulatory health.
Strong Case for Oral
Enzymes: Inflammation and Heart Disease
The role of systemic oral enzymes in heart health is becoming more important
as medical researchers uncover a newly emerging disease pathway in which
uncontrolled inflammation throughout the body can contribute to a wide
range of deadly maladies, including heart disease, stroke, and other circulatory
disorders.
There is now convincing
evidence that inflammation is strongly linked to heart attacks and stroke,
according to Attilio Maseri, M.D., of the Catholic University of the Sacred
Heart, Rome, writing in a recent issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
In that same issue
of the prestigious medical journal, medical scientists from Harvard Medical
School, long involved with the Physician's Health Study, report that curbing
inflammation may be at the "heart" of a sensible cardiovascular
health program. Fortunately, enzymes have already been proven, in many
clinical studies, to safely lower the specific types of inflammation closely
linked to heart disease.
The study results,
reported in 1997 in The New England Journal of Medicine, stem from the
Physician's Heath Study, involving 22,000 male doctors. The study was
halted in 1988 when researchers dicovered aspirin, a classic anti-inflammatory
drug, significantly helped to lower heart disease risk among men. The
findings were so significant that the researchers conducting the study
believed it was no longer moral or ethical to deny the non-aspirin group
this important protective agent.
Not suprisingly, aspirin
is a classic anti-inflammatory agent whose proven benefits include reducing
risk for heart attack and most types of stroke, not to mention its very
low cost to consumers and long-term stability. There is also emerging
evidence that aspirin reduces risk for colon and breast cancer, and possibly
Alzheimer's disease.
Aspirin, however,
does have significant complications with long-term use. I advise my patients
to use aspirin for short-term needs but to always keep in mind that it
is at the top of the list for gastrointestinal tract complications, including
micro-bleeding and ulcers. Eterically coated or buffered aspirin is no
less irritating, claims from manufacturers notwithstanding. There is also
a small but very real risk among aspirin users for hemorrhagic stroke.
Aspirin is without a doubt an important and proven medical tool but not
innocuous.
Doctors Do Not Routinely
Test Imflammation Levels
Most doctors today do not normally think of inflammation as a cause of
heart disease when treating patients, and they rarely measure the body's
inflammation levels. The way to find out the extent to which the body
is undergoing significant inflammation, however, is to perform what scientists
call a C-reactive protein analysis of the blood.
Elevated serum levels
of C-reactive protein are nonspecific but sensitive markers of the acute-phase
response to infectious agents, immunologic stimuli (substances foreign
to the body), and tissue damage as in heart disease. In the Physician's
Health Study, Harvard researchers examined levels of CRP in almost 1,100
men, comparing some 543 who suffered a heart attack with the same number
who hadn't.
Elevated levels of
inflammation throughout the body placed men at a threefold greater risk
for heart disease and a twofold increased risk for stroke. Men who benefitted
most from aspirin had the highest inflammation levels. Yet, dangerous
levels of CRP were found in the high-normal range, especially in cases
where patients are already suffering heart disease symptoms such as angina.
"We have had
some experience with the C-reactive protein molecule," says european
enzyme researcher Rudolf Kunze whose IMTOX company holds two international
C-reactive protein patents. "Although C-reactive protein has a very
low concentration in the blood under normal, healthy conditions, it increases
by 100 fold or more in pathological situations."
"We don't know
whether some prior chronic inflammation leads to atherosclerosis, whether
atherosclerosis causes the inflammation, or whether atherosclerosis and
inflammation run in tandem and accelerate each other," says lead
investigator Paul Ridker, of Harvard. He adds: "Curbing inflammation
is another way to prevent heart disease."
The Harvard researchers
writing in The New England Journal of Medicine make two important points:
People with heart
disease risk, once other known factors have been ruled out, did not need
to have extremely high levels of C-reactive protein to manifest heart
disease risk. Rick increased when C-reactive protein levels were high
within the normal range.
What's more, substances that down-regulate the inflammation of blood and
coronary vessels can help to prevent heart disease. Both aspirin and enzymes
work extremely well, but enzymes have far fewer complications with long-term
use.
The Enzyme Answer
If we can harmonize and re-balance pateints' inflammatory pathways, particularly
levels of C-reactive protein, we can help them to reduce their risk of
heart attacks and stroke. Today, we finally have a safe anti-inflammatory
tool: systemic oral enzymes. The most well researched, thouroughly documented
enzyme mixture today is Wobenzym N from Mucos Pharma GmbH & Co, of
Germany.
Enzymes Proven to
Reduce CRP
We know that enzymes have a particular affinity for rebalancing the body's
levels of C-reactive protein. IMTOX measured this protein in blood samples
of healthy volunteers who took bromelain, papain and trypsin supplied
by Mucos Pharma, which manufactures Wobenzym N. There were marked C-reactive
protein reductions, Kunze reports.
In another study,
Wobenzym N was studied for its use in operative dentistry in a randomized,
placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Prior to surgical dental intervention,
36 patients were prescribed ten tablets of Wobenzym twice daily. In the
control group, 44 patients received placebo. This dosage was continued
until the seventh postoperative day. By day three, C-reactive protein
levels were three fold higher in the control group compared to those patients
receiving Wobenzym N.
Additional evidence
of Enzymes' Benefits for Circulatory Health
Enzymes benefit circulatory health well beyond reducing CRP levels. The
key to blood flow and reduced risk of clots is typically low levels of
fibrinogen. Unfortunately, impeded bile flow, diabetes mellitus, malignant
processes and the natural aging process increase the plasma's fibrinogen
concentration, exerting a negative effect on blood viscosity. Healthy
breakdown of fibrinogen therefore plays a substantial role in improving
circulation in the human body.
Combination enzymes
help to bring fibrin levels back into the optimal range, in part by reducing
the thromboxane concentration or by directly blocking aggregation.
Another way that micro-circulation
is influenced by oral enzymes is by the ability of blood cells to alter
their shape. The red blood cells are forced to adapt their form in order
to pass through the finest capillary vessels. As they age, they lose this
capability, thereby inhibiting or blocking capillary perfusion. Evidence
that enzymes can clearly improve the ability of erythrocytes to alter
their shape has been provided by numerous studies.
Clinical Validation
of Benefits for Circulatory Problems
Dr. Valls-Serra treated 245 patients with enzymes. The enzyme therapy
proved to be very effective for patients with superficial and deep thrombophlebitis.
The researcher observed a substantially better therapeutic outcome with
the enzyme mixture than with conventional anticoagulants and vasoactive
substances.
Denck and Weidinger
also investigated the circulatory enhancing effects of enzymes. They took
25 patients with deep venous thromboses of the legs and assigned them
to one of two groups. The 11 patients in group 1 had suffered from the
condition for an average of eight months. In group 2, the 14 patients
had suffered from deep venous thromboses of the legs for more than two
years. Twenty patients reported a reduction in the tendency to develop
edema. The increase in venous capacity and the possitive effect on venous
function were marked.
Next, Gall verified
the reports of Denck and Weidinger in a placebo-controlled study. Twenty-eight
patients with deep venous thrombosis of the leg took part in this investigation.
The group using the Wobenzym formula had a significant elevation in the
venous capacity and substantially reduced obstruction.
Maehder performed
a field test with patients in private practice. Aside from the usual physical
therapy, 216 patients with pathological venous conditions also received
the enzyme formula. The dose ranged from three to ten tablets three times
daily. The number of days of therapy, edema formation and swelling, pain,
as well as skin symptoms on the afflicted extremity and the ability to
walk were evaluated. The symptoms in 66 patients (30%) were cured and
134 (62%) were free of complaints with a substantial improvement in their
objectifiable symptoms. Only 16 patients (7%) reported no change in their
condition.
Finally, Wobenzym
N has been proven to work in cases of occlusive arterial disease. Rokitansky
combined oral enzymes with the application of ozone in the treatment of
445 patients with occlusive arterial disease. Freedom from complaints
was acheived in 79 percent of these patients with walking difficulties.
Residual claudication remained in 12.4 percent and only 8.1 percent of
the patients were resistant to therapy. Furthermore, it was possible to
reduce the extent of any surgical interventions through this combined
regimen.
The Bottom Line for
Heart Health
Aspirin is extremely well documented. We know that it can reduce risk
for a heart attack or stroke. With Wobenzym, we don't have the same types
of long-term studies relating to heart attack or stroke risk reduction.
However, the scientific and clinical evidenceprovides strong support.
What's more, in my own practice, I emphasize the use of Wobenzym N over
aspirin and have had great results in keeping my patients alive and free
from heart attacks and stroke, without the concomitant risk of ulcers
and hemorrhagic stroke.
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