What Really Causes Heart Disease + One Cheap Fix
Chronic Scurvy = Heart Disease: Two-time Nobel laureate Linus Pauling proposed that long-term vitamin C deficiency weakens blood vessel collagen, leading to small cracks in arterial walls – essentially a mild, chronic form of scurvy[1][3].
The body responds by producing sticky lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) particles to plaster over the cracks like an internal Band-Aid, forming atherosclerotic plaques[2]. In Pauling’s view, plaque is not the disease itself but the body’s repair mechanism to prevent arteries from rupturing due to structural weakness[2][3]. High-dose vitamin C (with proline and lysine) was found to strengthen collagen and even reverse plaque buildup, addressing the root cause rather than just symptoms[2][3].
- Endothelial Damage and “Risk Factors”: The true common denominator in cardiovascular disease is damage to the endothelial lining (just one cell thick) of arteries. Many so-called risk factors – oxidized LDL, high blood sugar, smoking toxins, fluoride, etc. – all inflict injury on this delicate lining, inciting inflammation and plaque formation. For example, research shows fluoride can trigger oxidative stress and endothelial inflammation, leading to artery stiffness and calcification[8]. Likewise, homocysteine (from B-vitamin deficiencies) and oxidative free radicals can weaken collagen and impair nitric oxide, accelerating arterial damage[2]. In short, anything that chronically irritates or inflames the endothelium contributes to atherosclerosis. Plaques preferentially form at high-stress spots (e.g. branch points or coronary arteries near the heart) where mechanical forces make endothelial integrity most critical[2][3]. Understanding heart disease as a response to injury shifts focus to preventing endothelial damage in the first place, rather than solely lowering blood lipids.
- Calcium, Magnesium, and Hydration Balance: Beyond chemistry, heart function involves bioelectric and mechanical factors. Excess calcium with inadequate magnesium can cause the heart muscle and artery wall to “cramp” – akin to a charley horse in your coronary arteries. Magnesium naturally helps blood vessels relax; deficiency in this mineral is known to promote arterial spasms and arrhythmias[4]. Many sudden cardiac deaths may involve acute coronary vasospasm triggered by magnesium deficiency, not just plaque rupture. Likewise, dehydration increases blood viscosity and makes the heart work harder[5][4]. The body’s water isn’t just a passive fluid: it forms an organized “hydration shell” or exclusion zone (EZ) water next to vessel walls that carries charge and assists blood flow. Pioneering work by Dr. Gerald Pollack reveals that structured water in capillaries can drive blood like a second pump, using infrared energy to separate charges and propel liquid – meaning the heart is more a vortex regulator than a simple pressure pump[6]. When we’re optimally hydrated and exposed to natural light/infrared, this mechanism lightens the heart’s load. Conversely, poor hydration and lack of sun impair this “free energy” circulation, forcing the heart to strain.
- Nutrition as Information – Beyond Isolated Chemicals: Albert Szent-Györgyi, who won the 1937 Nobel Prize for discovering vitamin C, noted that the anti-scurvy power of whole foods (like paprika or citrus) exceeded that of pure ascorbic acid. He later found the missing link: flavonoid co-factors (once dubbed “vitamin P”) in plant foods that greatly enhance vitamin C’s effects[10]. This suggests nutrition works as a synergy of compounds and energetics, not just single molecules. In other words, vitamins carry a “vital force” – information and structure from living systems – that cannot be fully captured by a lab-made chemical alone. This perspective resonates with emerging science on biofields and morphogenetic fields (an invisible “aether” of biological information), wherein living organisms draw on an order-making field to maintain and restore health. Life consistently strives for increased order (negative entropy), defying what pure chemistry would predict – perhaps due to this guiding field or blueprint. Heart disease, then, is not just a biochemical event but a breakdown of biological order – one that can be prevented or reversed by supplying the body with the right informational nutrients (like natural vitamin C complex) and removing disrupters.
- Statins and the Conventional Paradigm – A Pyrrhic Victory: Mainstream treatment focuses on cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. Statins do produce a modest reduction in cardiovascular events, but the benefits are far smaller in absolute terms than often advertised. For example, in people without prior heart disease, five years of statin therapy yields only about a 1–2% absolute reduction in heart attack risk and no clear impact on overall mortality[7]. This means ~60–100 people must take a daily statin for years for one heart attack to be prevented. Meanwhile, side effects are significant: an estimated >10% of users experience muscle pain or weakness, some develop liver or kidney stress, and statin-induced diabetes is a documented risk (roughly one extra case per 100 patients in some trials)[7]. There are even concerns that long-term statin use may impair immune function or raise cancer risk in certain individuals[7], since cholesterol is vital for cell membranes and hormone production. Importantly, statins’ small benefits likely stem from anti-inflammatory effects (they lower vascular inflammation/CRP) rather than cholesterol reduction alone. By damping down the immune/inflammatory response, they may slow an aggressive plaque’s growth – essentially treating a symptom of arterial injury, not the root cause. This is a bit like suppressing a fire alarm instead of putting out the fire. In the short term, it can appear beneficial (less inflammation, slightly fewer events), but the underlying nutritional fire (e.g. collagen weakness from vitamin C deficit) still smolders. Indeed, when high-risk patients correct deficiencies and inflammation through diet and supplements, the addition of a statin offers little to no mortality benefit[7].
The Problem With the Old Story
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the #1 global killer, yet our understanding of its true causes and cures is evolving. For decades, the public has been taught that cholesterol “clogs” arteries and that lowering LDL-cholesterol (often with medications) is the magic bullet to prevent heart attacks. This cholesterol-centric model, however, has failed to fully explain or eradicate heart disease – billions of statin prescriptions and low-fat diets later, CVD is still rampant. Increasingly, researchers and integrative thinkers are looking deeper: beyond cholesterol numbers to the health of the arterial wall, the quality of our connective tissue, and even the biophysical state of our blood and water. What if high cholesterol is more of a symptom than the root cause? What if the true culprit is a breakdown in the integrity and energy of our vascular system?
This comprehensive article explores “the truth” about cardiovascular disease causation and cures by synthesizing insights from orthomolecular medicine, cutting-edge biophysics, and holistic nutrition. We will delve into the groundbreaking work of Linus Pauling – a two-time Nobel laureate who in his later years became convinced that heart disease is essentially a manifestation of long-term vitamin C deficiency (chronic scurvy)[1][3]. Pauling’s theory, initially ridiculed by some, has gained support from recent studies and offers a unifying explanation tying together cholesterol, plaque, and even genetics. We’ll explain how vitamin C and collagen are central to arterial health, and how the body ingeniously uses a cholesterol particle, lipoprotein(a), to patch up weak blood vessels when vitamin C is lacking[2].
Next, we examine the broader landscape of arterial damage: how endothelial dysfunction – caused by everything from oxidative stress, toxins and toxicants (e.g. fluoride) to mineral imbalances – sets the stage for atherosclerosis. You’ll discover why plaque tends to form in certain areas (like coronary arteries) and the way modern life contributes to an “atherogenic” environment through chronic inflammation, hyperglycemia, heavy metals, and even chronic dehydration.
Moving beyond biochemistry, we introduce a fascinating dimension of heart health: the role of structured water and bioelectrical forces in circulation. Is the heart really just a pump? Or could it be a vortex generator working in tandem with the exclusion-zone water lining our vessels to circulate blood? Pioneering work by Dr. Gerald Pollack suggests that the blood may flow even without a heartbeat, driven by energies from light and water structure[6]. This has profound implications: a well-hydrated body bathed in natural infrared energy might keep blood moving with less effort, whereas a dehydrated, energy-deficient state forces the heart to labor harder. We’ll explore Dr. Tom Cowan’s assertion that “the heart is not a pump” in the conventional sense, and what that means for preventing heart failure and hypertension.
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