health and wellbeing

In this extract from our Autumn 2018 issue, we spoke to Sinead Mitchell of the renowned nutritional supplement and research company Pharma Nord. She had some exciting news to share about heart health, based on a revolutionary Swedish study! If you haven’t had a chance to pick up our Autumn 2018 issue yet, click here to find your local stockist, or here to subscribe to the magazine.

Health Boosting Nutrients

Revolutionary study gives hope for heart health

by Aisling Cronin

Pharma Nord is a Nutritional Supplement Brand renowned for its revolutionary approach to nutritional support. Its high grade supplements are backed by rigorous scientific research, which documents their products’ safety and superior bio-availability (which, in laymen’s terms, refers to how easily absorbed they are). Pharma Nord’s research database contains over 9,000 scientific studies which serve to inform their impressive product development program. To date, more than 300 scientific studies involving Pharma Nord products have been published, one of the most striking being the KiSel-10 study, carried out in Sweden.

I spoke to Sinead Mitchell, Product Trainer for Healthcare Professionals at Pharma Nord to learn more.

‘The KiSel-10 study was a five-year, placebo-controlled, randomised double-blind study,’ Sinéad explained. ‘Two Pharma Nord products were used in the study: Q10 and Selenium. While there has been a lot of research done about the benefits of selenium for heart health, and the benefits of Q10 for heart health – when taken separately – there wasn’t a lot of research out there investigating the relationship between them, or the potential impact of their combination, which was the primary focus of the KiSel-10 research. The KiSel-10 trial was carried out in a small town in Sweden, with Swedish citizens who were aged 70 to 88. 443 participants took part, making it a very rigorous trial.’

The aim of the study was to observe how Selenium and Q10, when taken together, would affect participants’ heart health. Participants were divided into two groups. One group were administered 200 milligrams of BioActive Q10 Gold every morning, combined with 200 micrograms of BioActive Selenium, while another placebo group did not receive either supplement. Once the five-year study was complete, the results amazed researchers: those receiving the Q10 and Selenium combination were shown to have a 54% reduced risk of mortality through cardiovascular disease.

‘In addition to the reduced risk of mortality measured by the KiSel-10 study over the five years, positive effects could also be seen in all of the inflammatory markers, which are used to measure heart health,’ Sinéad revealed. ‘In fact, in many cases, the supplementation eased the inflammatory markers to a point lower than would be considered ‘normal’ for the participants’ age group, which is fantastically encouraging.’

The KiSel-10 study is now referenced extensively in a number of leading health and scientific journals, including the European Journal For Clinical Nutrition. An additional fourteen further studies have since been pulled from the original KiSel-10 data, as health professionals seek to gather even more insight into the heart-protecting effects of long-term Selenium and Q10 supplementation.

It has been known for decades that Q10 – particularly when consumed in the high grade form, ubiquinol – is a very powerful nutrient, so the KiSel-10 study results, demonstrating the immense impact of both Q10 and Selenium on heart health, are not all that surprising.

Coenzyme Q10 (as it is formally known) is a natural, vitamin-like compound that all cells require in order to produce energy. Levels of this nutrient peak in our twenties and decline from that point onward. However, the discovery of coenzyme Q10 by American scientists in 1957, and the array of scientific studies done in the interim, has empowered us with a tool to potentially prevent this ‘energy drop’ from taking place. Selenium, too, has long been known for its incredible immune-boosting qualities. However it appears that these two nutrients have an even more powerful potential when used in combination.

Based on the promising results of the KiSel-10 study, it seems that long-term consumption of these vital nutrients could have the power to unlock new potential for longevity and improved health.

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