During the last 20 years we have seen an alarming increase in cardiovascular deaths among professional Olympic, collegiate, high school and serious recreational athletes. The diagnosis in 50% of the cases seems to be hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) which is a pathological enlargement of the heart. But when we are seeing this in 13-23 year olds we need to get serious about the investigation of the underlying causes.

Athletes are exposed to the following harmful factors:

1. nutrient deficient foods that contain chemical additives
2. environmental toxins that permeate our food, water and air
3. the negative impact on health of electromagnetic pollution
4. the stress of exercise
5. the overuse of prescription drugs and medical technology for treating all health and injury related problems for athletes.

Unfortunately the recommendations emerging from the sports medicine community do not reflect these factors and so athletes will continue to be at risk for premature mortality from cardiovascular disease. The doctors are blaming HCM on hereditary factors, exercise stress and excessive dietary cholesterol and emphasizing better pre-season medical screening programs. Right now there are three primary protocols for determining an athlete’s fitness to participate in sports and to provide treatment of HCM or other heart related problems: 1) preparticipation physical exam; 2) cardiac and cholesterol lowering drugs and 3) implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD)!  

1. The problem with number one is many of these athletes have no prior history of heart problems and when they are submitted to stress tests and extensive screening they do well.
2. Cardiac drugs are critically important in the management of non-fatal heart attacks, arrhythmias, resuscitated cardiac arrest, recurrent acute and chronic heart related problems. However they do little to restore the health of the cardiovascular system or its functional capacity. The nutritional status of the athlete regarding heart disease is never considered and is also disregarded in the treatment of injuries. The link with taking cholesterol lowering drugs for the treatment of HCM is weak and the American Medical System in general, is failing in their mission to reduce overall cardiovascular mortality in the United States.
3. By the time an athlete needs an ICD this spells an end to their athletic career and probably a poor prognosis for their future life expectancy since the ICD does nothing to restore the functional health and pumping capacity of the heart.

What this all points to is the need for nutritional assessments to include testing, which is not yet mainstream medicine, where nutritional status via red blood cells, serum and urine can be analyzed such as that done by Metametrix and Spectra Cell labs. Amino acid, vitamin and mineral status of the body can be assessed and the nutritional status changed with individualized supplementation programs. Not only will this prevent health problems but it will give the athletes a non-drug edge on their performance. Athletes will turn to their physicians for nutritional support but because most medical doctors are not trained in clinical nutrition they are not able to help. The athletes then turn to steroids and other illegal drugs.

Pro-athletes come into their profession as the healthiest members of society.  They have genetic gifts of great hand-eye coordination, physical power and endurance, less routine illnesses, capacity to handle the stress of competition in front of thousands of fans, they are not  smokers, they are not sedentary, they are not overweight or obese, they do not have high blood pressure and they have better diets than the average North American. This should all relate to an added 15-20% increase in longevity from the average life expectancy of males (in the US) being 76 years to 87-91 years. This is not the case! Their mortality is between 62 and 72 years, the median being 72 years!

Exercise induced pathology (EIP) is responsible for over 80% of the stress damage to an athlete’s body that contributes to heart disease as well as chronic degenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis and Lou Gehrig’s disease. The factors that contribute to EIP are: 1) exercise induced free radical formation; 2)acidity; 3)ammonia; 4)inflammation as measured by C reactive protein; 5) thermogenics: heat kills performance, releases toxins and induces free radical formation; 6)cellular damage from sports injuries; 7) hormonal disruption due to excess cortisol the stress hormone; 8) chemical induced free radical formation form chemicals in the food and environment.

Nutrition can modify all of these factors according to Dr. Michael Colgan, author of “Optimum Sports Nutrition”. There are hundreds of studies supporting the use of vitamin E, C and CoQ10 in supporting cardiovascular health. The anti-oxidants vitamin E, C, Selenium and zinc can help offset the very oxidative state of exercise. Looking only at cholesterol is proving to not be helpful as it is also required for every cell in the body and reducing cholesterol alone does not reduce the risk of heart disease.

Natural anti-inflammatories such as cod liver oil, bromelain and curcumin are very effective in avoiding the use of non steroidal anti-inflammatories. Magnesium deficiency is rampant in our society as per the red blood cell magnesium blood test, and any athlete should be taking extra calcium and magnesium not only for joint and muscle health but also for the optimal functioning of the heart.

For athletes concerned about supplements affecting their “drug testing screening”, the professional company Douglas Labs offers Pro PCA fuel that complies with the World Anti-Doping Code.

To address the overwhelming response to my last article please see my website or drop by the office for a detailed listing of organic food suppliers on the North Island.