The fact about homocysteine
Did you doctor ever talk about homocysteine with you? Typically when you see your doctor for a general health check up, she will measure your blood cholesterol level and blood pressure. Unfortunately, one other reading, homocysteine level, is not usually performed and given unless you asked for one. What is homocysteine? It is an amino acid made in your body from protein which is in itself not dangerous. However, when excess homocysteine from inside the cell gets shoved into the circulatory system for disposal it may spell danger to your heart than any other single risk factor. Too much of it surging through your arteries can cause injury to the walls, eventually allowing cholesterol to build up and block off blood flow causing a heart attack or stroke.
How can we control the healthy level of homocysteine? Consume more of the three vitamin Bs -folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12- in your diet is the sure answer. The three vitamins help break down homocysteine and clearing it from your system. So, seek and eat food that are good sources of those three vitamins. My recommendation is banana which provides 36 percent of your B6 needs. In addition, a serving of ready-to-eat breakfast cereal supplies 100 percent of your folate daily requirement.
