Introducing a More Powerful WIN CoQ10™

Vitaelin Nutraceuticals today introduced the new and improved WIN CoQ10™ packs a powerful punch with its new size.

WIN CoQ10™ contains the most advanced, form of CoQ10 available, ubiquinol, which plays a vital role in energy production. Additionally, this ubiquinol form is an active antioxidant protecting the body’s cells from damage caused by oxidative stress and free radicals. Experience new sustained energy and promote your overall health with WIN CoQ10™ .

WIN CoQ10™ is a nutritional supplement containing ubiquinol, the reduced form of coenzyme Q10, which has been shown to help lower blood pressure and improve symptoms related to heart disease and may help improve brain functioning. Additionally, WIN CoQ10™ may help restore coenzyme Q10 which can be lost when taking certain medications to lower cholesterol levels, such as statins, and dietary supplements containing red yeast rice. Maintaining coenzyme Q10 levels are essential as coenzyme Q10 is a critical component of energy metabolism at the cellular level. WIN CoQ10™ 's protective effect on the heart may slow the aging of cells associated with the cardiovascular system.

WIN CoQ10™ 's 100% natural, high-absorption formula is far superior to most CoQ10 supplements because they primarily consist of ubiquinone which isn’t as easily absorbed by the body. Studies show WIN CoQ10™ absorption rate is 8 times higher than supplements with ubiquinone and maintains higher levels of CoQ10 in the blood over time. It took 2400mg of ubiquinone to reach the same level of CoQ10 in the bloodstream with only 300mg of WIN CoQ10™ 's ubiquinol formulation.

WIN CoQ10™ may:

• Support and maintain energy production
• Promote heart health
• Help prevent free radical damage
• Help protect against oxidative stress
• Maintain healthy, normal blood pressure
• Help manage the entire circulatory system
• Promote a healthy immune system
• Maintain healthy neurological function

Studies show WIN CoQ10™ formula additionally supports periodontal tissue well-being, musculoskeletal health and the body’s natural defense system.

Now More Powerful
WIN CoQ10™ now includes a new, patent-pending crystal free technology, WIN-CFT™, which provides a clearer appearance and improves CoQ10’s absorption rate within the body. The solution featuring D-Limonene oil helps better protect ubiquinol from oxidization. When oxidization does occur, ubiquinol crystallizes resulting in a cloudy, opaque appearance. By keeping the CoQ10 solubilized, things start to look much clearer and the required amount of oil solution is halved, providing us with a smaller soft gel, all while improving CoQ10 bioavailability within the body.

WIN CoQ10™ now also contains a versatile antioxidant called alpha lipoic acid (ALA) to help extend CoQ10’s energy production benefits.Though its appearance is a little different, the new and improved WIN CoQ10™ is still filled with 50 mg of the most advanced, high-absorption form of CoQ10 available with WIN-CFT™ maximizing its absorption rate.

• For more information and to order, click here.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any specific disease or class of diseases.

Obesity Driving America's Healthcare to a Tipping Point

The Obesity Society, a leading scientific organization dedicated to the study of obesity, and other steering committee members of the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, and two former US Surgeons General, join together today to develop effective recommendations to urge policymakers to act on the inclusion of obesity as the largest and most urgent driving factor in healthcare reform.

The two most recent Surgeons General of the United States, David Satcher MD, PhD and Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH, respectively 16th and 17th US Surgeons General, jointly urged policymakers to take direct action on obesity and its associated chronic diseases by including obesity as a key element in healthcare reform.

"Health reform will succeed only if we address obesity and the chronic diseases it causes," said Robert Kushner, MD, President of The Obesity Society. "Obesity is the number 1, most serious health issue facing the country. It is also the largest single driver of our increasing healthcare costs and we need to address it now."

More than one third of US adults -- more than 72 million people -- and 16 percent of US children are now estimated to be overweight or obese. Obesity and overweight are associated with several chronic health risks and conditions, including: diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, some types of cancer, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, and gallbladder disease. Furthermore, the medical costs of obesity are now estimated at more than $147 billion per year.

The Obesity Society supports the four targeted recommendations for effective healthcare reform issued by the STOP Obesity Alliance at the meeting held today at the Newseum in Washington, DC:

• Standardized and effective clinical interventions, flowing from evidence-based guidelines, such as those approved by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), that include acknowledging the health benefits of five to ten percent sustained weight loss to
  aid and support those individuals who are currently overweight or obese achieve improved health.
• Enhanced use of clinical preventive services to monitor health status and help prevent weight gain, especially for individuals who are already overweight and are at risk of becoming obese.
• Effective, evidence-based community programs and policies that encourage and support healthy lifestyles, focus on health literacy, address health disparities, and represent a significant investment in population-based prevention of obesity.
• Coordinated research efforts to build the evidence for all three of the above elements, continuously improving quality of care, bolstering our understanding of what does and does not work in various settings, and helping to translate the scientific research into practice
  recommendations for real-world clinical settings and communities.

"These recommendations are designed to improve the dialogue and interventions around obesity. Successful reform will address clinical treatment, prevention, community programs and research to reverse the medical burden of obesity," said Dr. Kushner. "Lending our support to the STOP Obesity Alliance recommendations will also bring us one more step closer to providing a health system that can effectively lessen the grip of obesity on our society."

For more information:

• OBESITY, Halting the Epidemic by Making Health Easier (Centers for Disease Control)
• Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, NHLBI.
• Eric A. Finkelstein, Justin G. Trogdon, Joel W. Cohen, William Dietz, [Health Affairs 28, no. 5 (2009): w822-w831 (published online 27 July 2009; 10.1377/hlthaff.28.5.w822)]

Large clinical trial fails to show beneficial effects of statins in patients with Chronic Heart Failure.

Statin should not be considered for patients with heart failure (HF) of non-ischemic etiology, because lipid (cholesterol) lowering drugs do not translate into any clinically meaningful benefit for patients with heart failure (HF).

This is one of the unexpected outcomes from a large scale Italian study (Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'Infarto Miocardico Heart Failure or GISSI-HF study) involving 6,975 patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II-IV HF of any cause and with any left ventricular ejection fraction who were randomized to receive daily supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids 1 g (805-882 mg eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in the average ratio 1:1.2) or placebo. In addition, 4,574 patients of the same group were also randomized to receive Crestor, (rosuvastatin calcium, 10 mg daily, Astra Zeneca) or placebo.

Trial design
The GISSI-HF trial was designed to investigate the effects of omega-3 fatty acids and statin therapy on mortality and morbidity in patients with chronic heart failure (HF).

Trial results
The results of this trial were presented by dr Luigi Tavazzi of the Fondazione Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia in Italy during the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2008 in Munich, Germany and simultaneously published in The Lancet (1, 2)

Based on the results of the GISSI-HF study, the investigators concluded that the prescription of Crestor, which is indicated to reduce elevated total cholesterol, LDL-C, ApoB, non-HDL-C and triglyceride levels and to increase HDL-C in patients with primary hyperlipidemia and mixed dyslipidemia, or any statin to patients with heart failure (HF) of non-ischemic etiology should not be considered. The primary reason for their conclusion is that the use of the lipid (cholesterol-) lowering drugs does not translate into any clinically meaningful benefit for patients with heart failure (HF). The data showed that 29% of people taking Crestor died from any cause against 28% of those given a placebo.

In other words, patients given Crestor proved just as likely to die early or be admitted to hospital with cardiovascular problems as those on standard therapy alone. Therefore, the investigators concluded that physicians can confidently stop statins in patients already taking them if convinced of the drug's futility or if they are concerned over multiple drug use. On the other hand doctors may be reassured that they can safely use statins in this population.

This is the second clinical trial for heart failure in which Crestor failed, suggesting that statins don't improve survival in patients with the chronic heart condition.

CORONA-study
The conclusions this study confirm the results of another medical study, the CORONA- trial (Controlled Rosuvastatin Multinational Trial in HF), published in 2007 in the New England Journal of Medicine, which researched the effect of Crestor in older patients (averaging 73 years of age) with moderate to severe systolic heart failure of ischemic origin who had already received extensive treatment with other drugs for cardiovascular disease (4).

Although Crestor reduced LDL-C (low density-lipoprotein) and C-reactive protein (CRP), it had no significant effect on cardiovascular outcomes as measured by the primary endpoint composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarct or stroke. The investigators in this study failed to find any benefit from statin treatment in this patient population and concluded that ‘statins as a class may not be efficacious in patients with ischemic left ventricular systolic dysfunction who are already receiving evidence-based therapy for heart failure (HF)’.

The CORONA-trial, presented and published in November 2007, included only patients with coronary heart disease, whereas just 40% of patients in GISSI-HF had ischemic HF. After considering the results of both trials, the investigators conclude that the cholesterol-lowering effects of statins do not reduce ischemic events in patients with heart failure and that the apparent pleiotropic effects of statins does not influence HF development (5).

The outcome of the CORONA-trial showed that treatment with Crestor had no significant effect on cardiovascular outcomes. However, it did significantly reduce the number of hospitalizations from cardiovascular causes and from heart failure (HR).

Commenting on the results of both trials, dr Gregg Fonarow of the of the Ahmanson-UCLA (University of California) Cardiomyopathy Center in Los Angeles, USA said that ‘these two well-conducted clinical trials establish that, although statin therapy lowers concentrations of LDL-C, is well tolerated and seems reasonably safe, it does not produce meaningful improvements in survival in patients with chronic heart failure.’(3)

Sources

1. GISSI-HF investigators. Effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in patients with chronic heart failure (the GISSI-HF trial): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2008; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61241-6. Available online at: http://www.thelancet.com.
2. GISSI-HF investigators. Effect of rosuvastatin in patients with chronic heart failure (the GISSI-HF trial): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2008; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61241-6. Available online at: http://www.thelancet.com.
3. Fonarow GC. Statins and n-3 fatty acid supplementation in heart failure. Lancet 2008; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61239-8. Available online at: http://www.thelancet.com.
4. Kjekhus J, Apetrei E, Barrios V, et al. Rosuvastatin in older patients with systolic heart failure. N Engl J Med 2007; DOI: 10.1056.nejmoa0706201. Available online at: http://www.nejm.org
5. Hjalmarson Å Controlled Rosuvastatin Multinational Trial in Heart Failure (CORONA)-Results of an outcomes trial in patients with ischemic heart disease and heart failure. American Heart Association 2007 Scientific Sessions; November 5, 2007; Orlando, FL, Late-breaking clinical trials 2.

Large clinical trial shows benefits of Omega-3 in patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Good news: taking daily omega-3 fatty acids supplements (n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids or PUFAs) may improve survival prospects and reduce mortality among patients with chronic heart failure (HF).

This is one of the unexpected outcomes from a large scale Italian study (Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'Infarto Miocardico Heart Failure or GISSI-HF study) involving 6,975 patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II-IV HF of any cause and with any left ventricular ejection fraction who were randomized to receive daily supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids 1 g (805-882 mg eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in the average ratio 1:1.2) or placebo. In addition, 4,574 patients of the same group were also randomized to receive Crestor, (rosuvastatin calcium, 10 mg daily, Astra Zeneca) or placebo.

Trial design
The GISSI-HF trial was designed to investigate the effects of omega-3 fatty acids and statin therapy on mortality and morbidity in patients with chronic heart failure (HF).

Trial results
The results of this trial, boosting the health-giving reputation of omega-3 fatty acids fish oil supplementation, were presented by dr Luigi Tavazzi of the Fondazione Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia in Italy, during the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2008 in Munich, Germany and simultaneously published in The Lancet (1,2).

The investigators conducting the trial were especially glad to report positive results for patients with chronic heart failure (HF), an exceptionally difficult to treat condition in which the heart struggles to pump blood effectively, which causes shortness of breath and other serious problems. They found that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids greatly benefitted this group of patients.

Patients were followed for almost four years (average 3.9 years). The supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids resulted in a 1.8% absolute risk reduction, which translated into a 9% reduction of mortality. The results also show a 2.3% absolute reduction in all-cause death or hospital admission for cardiovascular reasons, which translated in an 8% reduction of admission to the hospital for cardiovascular causes.

‘Real world meaning’
Translating these percentages to ‘real world meaning’, the chairperson of the GISSI-HF steering committee, dr. Tavazzi, explained that the absolute risk reductions achieved with omega-3 means that 56 patients would need to be treated over a 4-year period to prevent one death, while 44 would need to be treated to avoid a death or a hospital admission for cardiovascular causes.

In his conclusion he said that ‘Although this moderate benefit was smaller than expected, we should note that it was obtained in a population already treated with various recommended therapies, was consistent across all the predefined subgroups, and was further supported by the findings of the per-protocol analysis.’

Benefits after 2 year
An interesting aspect of the study is that the benefits of supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids only became clear after about 2 years of treatment. Commenting on this remarkable aspect, dr Michel Komajda of the Pitie Salpetriere Hospital and the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, in Paris, France, one of the other investigators in this trial, explained that ‘Mortality curves for treated and placebo groups only started to diverge after two years of follow-up’.

He further explained that while current European and U.S. treatment guidelines focus on the role of omega-3 in preventing heart disease wider guidance to include treating heart failure could be warranted.’ The benefit was statistically significant and at present physicians have little further to offer patients with heart failure. Therefore, I am sure that those of us who have responsibility for drawing up the next CHF guidelines will pay a lot of attention to the results of this trial.’

This sentiment was echoed by dr Gregg Fonarow of the of the Ahmanson-UCLA (University of California) Cardiomyopathy Center in Los Angeles, USA. In an editorial in The Lancet (3) dr Fonarow stated that despite the fact that ‘many questions remain about the mechanism of action, optimum dosing, and formulation, supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 fatty acids) should join the short list of evidence-based life-prolonging therapies for heart failure (HF).’

Clear benefits of omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-3 fatty acids have in the past been linked to a range of health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart attacks, strokes, Alzheimer's disease and depression. One explanation is that omega-3 fatty acids are thought to help by stabilizing the electrical signals of the heart, as well as reducing blood fat levels. Furthermore, researchers believe that omega-3 fatty acids could possibly exert favorable effects on inflammatory processes, such as reductions in endothelial activation and cytokine production, as well as influence platelet aggregation, blood pressure, heart rate, ventricular function, and autonomic tone.

The advantage of omega-3 fatty acids supplementation is that it is cheap, well-tolerated and does not interfere with other medications, making it an attractive option for patients with chronic heart failure (HF) even if the clinical benefits are relatively moderate. This advantage was confirmed by dr Tavazzi who spoke of an ‘Effective, safe, simple, and cheap’ treatment option.

Long term effects
The GISSI-HF study showed that long term treatment with low-dose omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a significant reduction of total mortality of 21% in patients who survived a recent myocardial infarct (starting treatment within 3 months from symptom onset). The analysis of the causes of death showed that, among all cardiac causes, the most affected by omega-3 fatty acids was sudden cardiac death. Other experimental, epidemiological, as well as small size human studies confirm these findings and support the hypothesis that omega-3fatty acids can exert antiarrhythmic or antifibrillatory effects.This conclusion can be relevant for heart failure patients because nearly half of the deaths of patients with chronic heart failure (HR) are classified as sudden cardiac deaths. Analysis of the trial data showed that in patients with left ventricular dysfunction or heart failure enrolled in the trial, the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on all-cause and sudden mortality were similar to those observed in the total population of the trial.

The researchers believe that findings of this study should also be taken as a message to the public to eat more fish to keep their hearts healthy.

Official study title: A Large Scale Clinical Trial Testing the Effects of n-3 PUFA and Rosuvastatin on Mortality-Morbidity of Patients With Symptomatic Congestive Heart Failure

For more information about omega-3 fatty acids, visit Vitaelin Nutraceuticals at http://vitaelinhealthcenter.com/

Sources

1. GISSI-HF investigators. Effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in patients with chronic heart failure (the GISSI-HF trial): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2008; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61241-6. Available online at: http://www.thelancet.com.
2. GISSI-HF investigators. Effect of rosuvastatin in patients with chronic heart failure (the GISSI-HF trial): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2008; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61241-6. Available online at: http://www.thelancet.com.
3. Fonarow GC. Statins and n-3 fatty acid supplementation in heart failure. Lancet 2008; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61239-8. Available online at: http://www.thelancet.com.
4. Kjekhus J, Apetrei E, Barrios V, et al. Rosuvastatin in older patients with systolic heart failure. N Engl J Med 2007; DOI: 10.1056.nejmoa0706201. Available online at: http://www.nejm.org
5. Hjalmarson Å Controlled Rosuvastatin Multinational Trial in Heart Failure (CORONA)-Results of an outcomes trial in patients with ischemic heart disease and heart failure. American Heart Association 2007 Scientific Sessions; November 5, 2007; Orlando, FL, Late-breaking clinical trials 2.