Dr. Smith's Bi-monthly "HealthQuest e-News" (HQN) Newsletter

Among the top 10 drugs prescribed in the U.S. are blood pressure drugs called, Calcium Channel Blockers. Calcium Channel Blockers are prescribed for hypertension (high blood pressure), heart arrhythmias (irregular heart beats) and angina (chest pain).

Click here for a list of many of the brands names of these drugs, so you may review this list to see if the high blood pressure drug you are on is a calcium channel blocker.

Unfortunately, research shows that these drugs make one far more susceptible to dying of a heart attack (resulting in early death) as well as promoting the development of cancer. These expensive drugs allow the sick to get sicker, as well as leading the way to cancer.

What Are Calcium Channels?

Each body cell has an outer membrane with a sandwich of fats called lipids. The layers in the sandwich contain a wonderful host of protective nutrients, including EPA (eico-sapentaenoic acid), phyosphatidyl, choline, Vitamin E and others. The cell's membrane is studded with pores called "calcium channels," which pump calcium ions into the cell from outside the cell.

In normal daily operation, calcium ions pass back and forth through the calcium channels in the cell's membrane, repeatedly, many thousands of times per day. Inside the cell, calcium is needed in the mitochondria (where energy is made) and in the endoplasmic reticulum (where drugs, toxins, hormones, etc., are detoxified). Outside the cell, calcium is used in hundreds of bodily reactions. Calcium can passively flow out of the cell, but for calcium to re-enter, the cell requires the use of the calcium channel pump. Pumping calcium through the calcium channel requires: a) energy and b) depends upon the cell's membrane sandwich to have the exact types of layers in the membrane. The channel partly runs on an electric current that is generated by the polarized side arms that protrude from the cell's sandwich. If the right layers are not in the sandwich, the electric current cannot flow properly to open the calcium channel. Hence, the calcium pump will not work correctly. In effect, it is broken.

Normally, the synchronized contraction of the heart muscle is brought about by the flow of ions through these channels. Many nutrients that feed and nourish the cell also flow through these channels. When a cell is damaged from toxins or junk food (such as hydrogenated oils) or lack of critical nutrients, such as phosphatidyl choline, the calcium pump will not work well. Massive amounts of calcium lead back into the cell and cannot be pumped out again. With its interior flooded with calcium and no way to get it out, the cell malfunctions at first, then later dies.

How Do Calcium Channel Blocker Durgs Work?

Calcium channel blocker drugs are designed to block the channel where the calcium is leaking into the cell. These drugs slowly close of these crucial regulatory channels, but over time, the calcium channel essentially stops functioning at all. At first, symptoms of high blood pressure or chest pain may improve, but later on, these drugs so badly poison the channels that they are known to cause many terrible symptoms, including heart failure, risk of cancer and early death.

Blocking the flow of calcium is dangerous since calcium is essential for normal cell life and operation - as well as for the whole body. Without sufficient calcium, you cannot live.

60% Increased Rick of Heart Attack
The Wall Street Journal (Winter, 1996) reported that patients who took calcium channel blockers had 60% more chance of dying of a heart attack. This is because calcium channel blocker drugs take a system that is functioning poorly and damage it even more.

Many previous studies have associated calcium channel blockers with increased heart attacks, increased risk of breast cancer, increased suicide risk and increased gastro-intestinal bleeding. Short-acting versions of these drugs have been previously shown to be dangerous and now long-acting versions are being shown to be possibly dangerous as well.

In August, 2000, a report from the "Meeting of the European Society of Cardiology in Amsterdam (Netherlands)" showed that despite lowering blood pressure, calcium channels blockers did not reduce the death rate. The real goal of a therapy should not be only to reduce blood pressure or to control any other bodily parameter. The real goal should be to help achieve a longer, healthier, and happier life.

You may wonder how long it takes for a person on calcium channel blockers to experience a catastrophy, such as a heart attack, stroke, cancer, etc. It depends on the person's physical strengths (such as their total nutrient reserves) and their weaknesses (such as their total load of toxic stressors). The poorer the person's nutrition and the greater their toxic load, from chemicals in food, air and water, the more likely they will develop further problems.

This is just one example of why being on a clinical nutrition, whole food therapeutic supplement program and dietary plan is essential, not only to improve and maintain health, no matter what your current health challenges, anyone taking drugs of any kind on a daily basis without a clinical nutrition program is just asking for more and more severe health problems.

People are familiar with the terms "drug side effects." What people do not realize is that "Side Effects" are the symptoms of vitamin and minerals, and other nutrient deficiencies caused by these toxic chemicals in drugs, and the biochemical imbalances resulting from these nutrient deficiencies.

How Do Calcium Channel Blockers Lead To Cancer?

Closely related to calcium channels are structures called "gap junctions." Although these act somewhat like channels, they are actually little protein tubules that connect cells one to another. Normal cells have fully functioning gap junctions. Through these gap junctions, cells are able to communicate with each other and give each other constant feedback to be able to keep the body working in harmony. No cell should work alone, cut off from the others.

To initiate cancer, several steps are involved. First, calcium channel blocker drugs work by intentionally poisoning the calcium channels. This in turn, leads to a break down in the closely allied gap junctional proteins. As the gap proteins are damaged more and more, cell-to-cell communication begins to falter. In cancer, the cancer cells have lost their gap junctional proteins. Signals that should run from cell to cell are absent, so cells do not know when to stop growing. With cell-to-cell communication lost, cancer cells can grow wildly out of control.

This is one of the key roles of clinical nutrition and naturopathy and that is to assist the body in repairing damaged cells and tissue and provide the nutrients so the body can regenerate (grow) new healthy cells that are functioning. Thus, also restoring gap junctional proteins and thereby, restoring cell-to-cell communication.

Many toxic compounds can poison cells and cause them to lose their cell-to-cell communication link. In addition to calcium channel blocker drugs, pesticides and environmental toxins, chemicals in food additives, dyes, colorings, etc. can damage gap junctions. To reverse the process, we provide the nutrients the body needs to repair and regenerate the gap junctions.

Click hereto go to my website article titled "What's Inside Our Cells Proves Drugs Don't Heal"and "The Pathway of Cell Metabolism" Diagram. Just looking at this diagram you will see that what cells need are nutrients, i.e. proteins, carbohydrates, fats/oils, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and water. Therefore ONLY nutrients will repair, heal and grow new cells.

Let me say this again ONLY NUTRIENTS WILL EVER REPAIR, HEAL AND GROW NEW HEALTHY FUNCTIONING CELLS. Additionally, nutrients are also required to assist the body in detoxify (cleansing) toxic substances from the cells and tissue. Toxic substance are chemicals from drugs, food additives, food colorings, metabolic by-products, and chemicals and metals in our air, water and environment.

For more information on the dangers of drugs, environmental toxicity and a list of symptoms you experience when the liver is over-burdened by these toxins, allergies (food and environmental), click here.

What Should You Do?
Hopefully, this information has established that taking calcium channel blocker drugs for high blood pressure ignores the real problem: The need to improve the nutrient supply to repair the cell's membrane.

Key nutrients are needed to re-establish normal cellular functioning. First, you must identify the nutrient deficiencies that have created the problem in the first place. This requires a tissue mineral hair analysis and a clinical nutrition analysis of blood chemistry. Then, through the analysis of these tests, Dr. Smith will recommend the therapeutic, whole food supplements that are lacking or deficient, that are required to repair and rebuild cells. By using targeted nutrients along with a therapeutic dietary plan, we have repeatedly seen many cases of high blood pressure resolve, eliminating the need to use drugs.

If you are taking a calcium channel blocker for high blood pressure, we urge you to discuss with your physician about switching to a less dangerous blood pressure drug. If your doctor does not want to switch medications, you may want to seek a second opinion. Since the use of calcium channel drugs is potentially dangerous and even life-threatening, the time for you to act is now. However, do not try to discontinue these drugs on your own. You need to be under the supervision of a medical doctor.

Note: For a list of less dangerous blood pressure drugs to use, refer to the book "Best Pills, Worst Pills" (Sidney M. Wolfe, M.D.), in which a panel of over 50 medical doctors evaluated various blood pressure drugs.

Meanwhile, while on a lesser dangerous drug, begin a therapeutic supplement and dietary program designed by Dr. Smith to rebuild faulty cell membranes and re-establish normal cell function so your body can regulate its own blood pressures just as nature designed. Then once your blood pressure stays consistently normal, you can ask your physician to assist you in weaning safely off the medication.