BCP and Cardiovascular Research

Heart health is important. Like, quality of life important. Cardiovascular health depends on blood pressure, lipids, glucose regulation, vascular function, and inflammation. But don't worry, your heart is a tough organ. Every day, your heart beats over 100,000 times, pumping blood through more than 60,000 miles of blood vessels. Even if you've suffered cardiovascular health-related issues in the past, there are many things you can still do to achieve and maintain heart health.

Beta-caryophyllene research connects cardiovascular biology with CB2 receptor signaling and inflammatory pathways. Explore the foundational CB2 study and the Blair Medical Group Research Hub for the original science and related publications.

Addressing Risks to Cardiovascular Health

Cardiovascular research examines multiple established risk factors.

Factors that increase heart disease risk:

• Smoking

• High blood pressure

• High cholesterol

• Diabetes

• Being overweight or obese

• Eating an unhealthy diet

• Physical inactivity

• Excessive alcohol use

Smoking is bad for your heart

Smoking is an established cardiovascular risk factor.

Few people know exactlywhyquitting is good for your heart:it has to do with what smoking does to your vascular system. Smoking can cause your blood vessels to narrow and thicken. It also reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood, which means, your heart must work that much harder to get enough oxygen to your body and brain.

Cardiovascular Health Research

support cardiovascular health.

A heart-healthy diet includes:

• Limiting sugar

• Limiting highly processed foods

• Drinking alcohol in moderation – no more than two drinks per day for men, 1 drink per day for women.

Eat plenty of heart-healthy fruits & veggies

The multimedia world has expanded our palates and given our tastebuds oh-so-many to-do delicacies that we would never even know existed without our favorite food channels or cooking shows. There areplentyof delicious ways to eat right and still be cardiovascular-health conscious.

• Vegetables and fruits— Or as most of us know them, plants! Eat them daily. Leafy greens like spinach are packed with heart-healthy vitamin k and other good stuff, like antioxidants. Fruits and veggies deliver flavonoids, blood pressure-friendly potassium and magnesium and vitamin C.

• Omega-3 research includes triglycerides and other cardiovascular biomarkers.

• Olive oilis a source of monounsaturated fat, which is the other "healthy fat." Olive oil also contains compounds called polyphenols that help maintain your vascular endothelium—the delicate inner lining of your blood vessels that plays a huge role in blood pressure and overall cardiovascular health.

Supplements that support healthy hearts

There are supplements that can boost the effects of a heart-healthy diet and regular exercise to protect your heart. Supplements can’t make up for unhealthy habits or diets but can help fill in the gaps when used carefully.

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

CoQ10 participates in mitochondrial energy metabolism and antioxidant biology.

Vitamin K

participate in proteins involved in calcium regulation

B vitamin family

Folate (vitamin B-9) works with vitamins B6 (pyridoxine) and B12 ((cobalamin)to control high levels of homocysteine in the blood. Elevated levels of homocysteine are associated with increased risks of heart and blood vessel disorders. Niacin (vitamin B3) has been studied for its ability to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels since the 1950's. It's also essential for the healthy metabolism of sugar, fat, and alcohol.

Green tea

Tea-derived compounds have been studied in relation to lipid biomarkers.

Flaxseed

Omega-3 research includes cardiovascular biomarkers.

Garlic

The Mediterranean dietary pattern has been extensively studied in cardiovascular and nutritional research.

Heart health with Beta-caryophyllene

β-caryophyllene(BCP) is found in many vegetables and fruits and offers many health benefits augmenting the body’s natural ECS. Therapeutic Potential of β- Caryophyllene: A Dietary Cannabinoid in Diabetes and Associated Complications. doi:10.3390/nu12102963

β-caryophyllene possesses antioxidant properties, preventing oxidative damage to fat molecules and maintaining high levels of glutathione, a key molecule that neutralizes reactive oxygen species (ROS) that stimulates excessive cholesterol synthesis. ROS are very toxic to mitochondria causing a breakdown in membrane and energy transfer.

BCP has affected vascular inflammation, oxidative stress, and lipid markers in experimental studies. β-caryophyllene inhibited cardiac hypertrophy, tachycardia, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and endothelial dysfunction and protected the heart in experimental MI. In this study BCP counteracted all the derogatory effects of high doses of an adrenaline-like drug that causes heart attacks in many people because of multiple derangement of heart tissue particularly in blood.

It is widely thought that cholesterol is an important factor in cardiovascular disease. Dietary or lifestyle indiscretions may lead to distortions in the body's production of cholesterol containing lipid particles. These particles are at risk for oxidation reactions from ROS. And these oxidized particles have been implicated in atherosclerosis. β- Caryophyllene reduced total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL (low density lipoprotein).

Take the first steps to support your heart health

Controlling your weight is especially important for preventing cardiovascular disease. Extra weight puts extra stress on your heart and blood vessels. But diet alone will not control your weight. You need to get your body moving on a regular basis. The U.S Surgeon General recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensitymoderate intensity exercise every week. These activities include bicycling, jogging or brisk walking.

When you're ready to begin exercising, start slowly. You might walk five minutes in the morning and five minutes in the evening. The key is to do enough and to do it often enough, according to theCDC.It could be 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Or smaller chunks of time spread out over the week. It’s whatever works for you — any physical activity is better than none at all. The goal is to move more, sit less. Other options for aerobic exercise could include cross-country skiing, aerobic dancing, swimming, stair climbing, bicycling, jogging, elliptical training, or rowing. Even house-cleaning or yard chores can count towards your weekly exercise goals.

Time to move it, move it, move it! Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post on the 10 top reasons to get physically active!

Additional resources:

• Read ourCardiovascular Disease and Beta-Caryophyllene Research Summary

• Cleveland Clinic -“Heart Disease: Prevention and Reversal”

• https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/aerobic-exercise/art-20045541

• https://www.drugwatch.com/health/cardiovascular-health/

• 7 Do’s & Don’ts for Keeping Your Heart Healthy

Research references

Yovas and Ponnian (2021): BCP in experimental cardiac injury. An isoproterenol-induced myocardial-infarction study in rats examined BCP effects on endothelial function, antioxidant measures and Fas/caspase-related apoptosis signaling.

Yovas et al. (2022): cardiac apoptosis pathways in rats. A rat cardiac-injury study investigated BCP alongside Bcl-2 family gene expression, oxidative-stress measures, tissue structure and infarct size.