Every 32 seconds, someone in the United States dies of heart disease. It is the leading killer of both men and women, claiming approximately a million lives each year. Heart disease is also the leading cause of death worldwide. While its toll on human life is staggering, so is its economic impact on society. Currently, heart and blood vessel diseases cost a whopping $ 164.3 billion a year to treat.
If you"re concerned about beating our nation"s number-one killer and. who isn"t? you"ll be excited about the power and promise of pyruvate.
Pyruvate appears to protect the heart in at least three possible ways. One is that supplementation may reduce levels of LDL cholesterol (the artery-clogging variety) in the body. In a study of forty middle-aged, obese subjects who followed a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet (similar to what the average American eats) for 6 weeks, the pyruvate-supplemented group reduced their LDL cholesterol by 4 percent, whereas no such change occurred in the placebo-supplemented control group. Of course, this is just a single study more evidence is needed to confirm pyruvate"s possible cholesterol-lowering effect but a promising study nonetheless.
The older you are, since the body"s supply of pyruvate naturally declines as you age.
In addition to LDL cholesterol, another culprit in heart disease is ischemia, a lack of oxygen to the heart that injures heart tissue and can lead to a heart attack. If tissue is labeled "ischemic," this means it lacks a blood supply.
In one study, researchers gave pyruvate to rats whose hearts had been damaged by ischemia. What they found was intriguing: Pyruvate significantly improved the hearts" recovery after supplementation, compared with nonpyruvate-treated hearts. There are two possible explanations for this heart-protective effect. First, the researchers found that pyruvate reduced the formation of superoxide free radicals a type of free radical that is particularly harmful to the mitochondria in heart cells. Second, pyruvate nearly halted the release of purines from the heart muscle in the treated hearts. Purines are naturally occurring substances in the body. Their release is a signal that the heart muscle has been damaged. There is some anecdotal (unscientific) evidence that pyruvate may heal ischemic heart tissue in humans, but scientific studies are needed to verify this.
In another animal study, pyruvate was shown to improve cardiac function by increasing the amount of blood pumped by the heart, strengthening its ability to contract, and building up the amount of oxygen in the veins.
Of course, much more research into pyruvate"s effect on the heart is needed to further document its preliminary promise.
The same researchers at the University of Pittsburgh who conducted the pioneering research on pyruvate have also looked into its effect on tumor growth in animals. They implanted rats with breast cancer cells and administered supplemental pyruvate. Pyruvate reduced tumor weight by 40 percent and metastasis (spreading of the tumor) by 42 percent. The tumors also shrank in size. The reasons for these effects are unknown, although the explanation could ultimately lie in pyruvate"s ability to fend off free radicals. But more studies are needed to shed light on pyruvate"s possible role in treating cancer.
Without a doubt, pyruvate is an exciting supplement. The question is: How much should you take?
The fat-fighting doses of pyruvate used in most of the experimental studies are quite high (28 to 100 grams a day). Using therapeutic that pairs pyruvate with another energizing nutrient, creatine. Such a combo would be of great benefit to athletes and exercisers who want to extend their endurance and increase their training intensities.
You can purchase pyruvate in health food stores and pharmacies, or order it from any reputable mail-order supplement company. It is best to buy a product bearing a "MedPro" label. This indicates that the supplement contains a higher amount of pyruvate and is purer. In appendix C, you"ll find information on the cost of various pyruvate supplements.
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