Did you catch Dr. Ralph Holsworth’s interview about Nattokinase on the Health Quest Podcast?
“Vitamin K-2 is Critical for Heart and Bone Health”

In this interview, host Steve Langford and Dr. Holsworth discuss the importance of standardized natural nutritional products.

“Though our bones may seem static, our skeletal system is very much alive and constantly reshaping. In our bones, there are continuous opposing forces of bone deconstruction and bone reconstruction that contribute to this dynamic reshaping process. Two major cells attribute to this: osteoblasts (cells that build bone) and osteoclasts (cells that break down bone). As osteoblasts continually incorporate calcium to build bone matrix and osteoclasts break down bone, both cell types are regulated by only a handful of proteins: Gla protein, S protein, and Osteocalcin. The activity of all three of these proteins is dependent on Vitamin K2. “ – nattomk7.com

About Dr. Ralph E. Holsworth, Jr., D.O.

Dr. Ralph Holsworth, Jr. D.O. has been studying the effects of Nattokinase on cardiovascular health for years, and in 2002 presented Nattokinase to the FDA as a medical food.

Dr. Holsworth is a board-certified osteopathic family physician with broad experience treating a wide variety of health conditions.

He is currently practicing emergency, in-patient hospital, and clinical medicine in a rural hospital in Colorado. In addition, Dr. Holsworth is the Director of Clinical and Scientific Research for Essentia Water.

Dr. Holsworth’s interest in cardiovascular conditions led him to the work of Dr. Hiroyuki Sumi, M.D. (a.k.a. Dr. Natto) who, in 1980, discovered the fibrinolytic effects of Nattokinase, an extract from a traditional Japanese food called natto (fermented soybeans). Since then, numerous studies, including human trials, have proven the effectiveness of Nattokinase at treating blood clots, improving blood viscosity, and lowering blood pressure. Having met with Dr. Sumi to collaborate and expand on the clinical and laboratory research, Dr. Holsworth submitted Nattokinase to the FDA in 2002 as a medical food.

Cardiovascular Health
One of the most vital and important parts of your body is your heart and vasculature (blood vessels), yet often it is taken for granted the most. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 600,000 Americans lose their lives to heart disease every year1. Heart disease is considered to be the number one, most common cause of death for both men and women in the United States, and over 900,000 people have heart attacks per year1.

History
Natto is a Japanese dish made of fermented soybeans2. Rich in cultural history, this traditional dish was found to provide great health benefits. Further studies revealed that specific proteins called Nattokinase, helped people lower their blood pressure3. Natural occurring microbes called Bacillus subtillis natto produce Nattokinase4, which is a potent fibrinolytic enzyme.

How It Works
Eating a high-fat western diet, rich in cholesterol can cause an increase in Low-Density Lipoproteins (LDLs) inside your circulatory system. These LDL particles then begin to accumulate in the media region of your arteries and become oxidized by your own cells. Your body initially tries to clear oxidized LDL in blood vessels by immune cells (macrophages), cause local inflammation, and cause other cells (smooth muscle cells, T cells, etc…) to migrate to the location and help stabilize the region by secreting fibirin (creating what is known as a fibrous cap).

Nattokinase being a fibronolytic enzyme (once orally consumed) circulate through the blood vessels and degrade plaque formations3,8, thus breaking down blood clots and relieving blood pressure and blood flow3,8. Here at Vesta, we even have our own human clinical data showing evidence of our Nattokinase NSP-2™ lowering blood pressure and breaking down clots.

Free Radicals, Oxidative Stress, and Cardiovascular Health
The standard way to treat heart attacks (myocardial infarctions) is to treat them through restoring blood flow (reperfusion) by using thrombolytic agents5. Often times this standard way of reperfusion can cause additional injury to the heart and this is often called “reperfusion injury.”5 Also mentioned earlier, cardiovascular disease is often associated with the production of free radicals and oxidative stresses.6

Cardiovascular tissue (heart and arteries) is vulnerable to these free radicals and oxidative stresses, and this caused a collaborative research project between a university in China and Korea to look into a better method of taking care of “reperfusion injuries.”7 The research group showed through both biochemical approaches, live animal simulations, and on live human blood vessels that Nattokinase not only dissolves blood clots but also prevents damages due to free radicals and oxidative stresses.7