Dear Mr. Fonorow:
I keep bugging with questions. I apologize for that and thank you for your time. I bug you because you are the only one who gives me clear answers without obfuscation.
I recently suffered blockage in my heart. I am taking statins. I am also taking Tower Technologies Heart Tech. I know there are a lot of anecdotes about how Vit E and Vit A do not hurt the heart. This as living proof from people who have been taking it over 10 years or so. But I am also becoming aware of lot of high-quality research material out there:
1) A number of research papers show Vitamin E to be harmful for the heart. Furthermore Linus Pauling did not have it in his formula either. Any thoughts on these research? When I asked Tower they were merely negative about such papers rather than providing some positive insight.
2) There are also a number of such research on Vit A and how large doses are bad.
3) Finally does mega doses of Vit C cause tooth ache or create tooth problems?
Apologize for this many questions.
Best Regards
Great questions and I am happy to give my opinion, for what it is worth.
First, you do know that statins deplete the body of CoQ10 - an enzyme required inside cells to produce energy. The heart normally has the highest concentration of CoQ10. In my opinion, statins are the among the worst substances to give to heart patients, but their adverse affect can be mitigated by taking 150 to 300 mg CoQ10, with meals.
The simple answer to your general question is that the game is "rigged" due to the large amount of money involved with medical care. Inexpensive competition is routinely attacked. Furthermore, doing internet searches will uncover a great deal of misinformation. I suggest taking the time to read Linus Pauling's book HOW TO LIVE LONGER AND FEEL BETTER. Reading this book will teach you a great deal, not the least of which is the importance of vitamin E for heart health.
The World Health Org. (WHO) discoveredin a large epidemiological study, (this according to CoQ10 author Sinatra) that low levels of vitamin E are highly predictive of heart attack. Low serum vitamin E is something like 70% better predictor of a heart attack than either high cholesterol or high blood pressure. This finding has been effectively "buried."
Pauling in his book has an entire chapter devoted to Vitamin E and the heart. This is why it is in the Tower formula. (I have knowledge of multiple family experiences of relatives who ran out of vitamin E, decided not to replace it, and then two weeks later suffered a heart attack.)
Those "damaging" studies re vitamin E that you refer to are hard to believe, but even if believed, they are not all that damaging as the dosages studied are always extremely low. People can get more in their food. If you have a particular study that seems convincing to you,let me know and we can pick it apart. They rarely stand up to close inspection.
Linus Pauling recommended 25,000 vitamin A daily, and it is probably a key ingredient in the Tower forumla. Kids in the third world are routinely given shots of between 100,000 iu and 500,000 iu, to save their lives.
In my experience, taking 6000 mg of vitamin C or more eliminates the formation of dental carries ( cavities) in most people.