When we think about longevity, we tend to focus on the major organs: heart, brain, kidneys, etc. It’s easy to forget that your vascular system—an astonishing 60 000 miles of arteries, veins and capillaries—lies at the center of it all. By constantly moving blood around the body, this brilliant system carries out 3 essential functions for every organ and tissue in your body:
Delivers oxygen extracted from the air you breathe.
Delivers nutrients extracted from the food you eat.
Carries away carbon dioxide and other toxic waste.
Realistically, we can only live as long as our vascular system allows!
A Little Known Masterpiece: The Endothelial Glycocalyx
Inside the entire vascular system lies a delicate, intricate structure called the endothelial glycocalyx (or EGX for short). It is the inner lining of every blood vessel in your body, no matter how large or small.
Here’s why the EGX is so important. The blood contains all sorts of complex materials, some of which need to be absorbed into the body and some of which must be kept away. For example, you need to be constantly taking oxygen into the tissues, but you don’t want LDL (the so-called “bad” cholesterol) getting stuck in your arteries. It’s the job of the EGX to sort this out.
You could think of the EGX as the gatekeeper of your vascular system, and in fact for your whole body. Here are some of its key functions:
It provides a barrier between the flowing blood and the vessel walls.
It sends signals to trigger important interactions inside the vessel walls.
It contains natural antioxidants that counter the aging effects of free radicals.
It supports the natural clotting function of the blood.
The EGX is a fascinating, microscopically tiny structure. It has a gel-like quality, though in fact it’s made of tiny little hair-like protuberances all bound to a sturdy backbone of natural sugars and proteins.
The EGX doesn’t just sit there like a passive wall. On the contrary, it’s highly active, and it’s sometimes known as a “smart barrier” because it intelligently regulates what passes from the blood into the rest of the body, and what’s kept out. Moment by moment, the EGX ensures that your organs get everything they need—and nothing that they don’t.
It might surprise you that most healthcare practitioners didn’t learn about the EGX during their medical education. Nevertheless, more than 50 years after its discovery, this marvelous structure has become a focal point for groundbreaking scientific research, because of its vital importance to human health. And today, every practitioner who’s serious about advancing longevity is making the EGX a top priority.
Let’s take a deeper dive…
The Heart of the System
No surprise, your “100-year heart” depends entirely on a healthy vascular system. With a high metabolic rate, your myocardial tissue —that’s the heart muscle — requires a constant flow of blood to supply essential nutrients and oxygen. This is provided by the microvasculature, the network of minute capillaries that carry blood from the main arteries to wherever it’s needed. Now, every one of those capillaries is protected on the inside by the EGX. Needless to say, the well-being of your heart depends on a thoroughly healthy EGX.
Most of your vascular system consists of tiny capillaries that penetrate deep into the tissues, carrying oxygen and nutrients and taking away waste. Your heart depends on this system for healthy functioning.
Brain and Blood
As you get older, you begin to realize just how important the health of your brain is. Everything you do and who you are depends on those 3 lbs between your ears. Now, your brain constitutes only 2% of your body weight, yet it consumes about 20% of the oxygen you inhale. Needless to say, that oxygen reaches its destination through a massive network of capillaries, each with its own dynamic inner lining.
In other words, a healthy EGX is essential for all brain functions.
Kidney Health and Blood Vessels
One of the keys to a long and happy life is maintaining your kidneys in tip-top condition. The kidneys are responsible for:
Filtering waste from the blood
Maintaining fluid balance in your body
Helping to maintain normal blood pressure
The kidneys have a particularly dense microvasculature, and healthy kidney function depends on keeping this network of tiny blood vessels in good order. Once again, this is only possible with the protection given by a robust and well-functioning EGX.
Pumping Iron and Pumping Blood
For longevity enthusiasts, the point is not just to stay alive but to stay active. When it comes to daily movement, a healthy vascular system is the cornerstone of healthy activity.
With any kind of strenuous activity, your muscles demand increased oxygen and nutrients. They also need faster removal of waste products like lactic acid. As you’ve seen, blood flow is essential to both functions — bringing in the good and taking out the bad. In addition, the way blood flow is directed to your skin is an important regulator of body temperature. All of this depends on a vibrant EGX. This inner guardian keeps arteries and veins youthful and flexible, which is quite as important as keeping your muscles in trim.
Make Your Blood Vessels Happy
If you’re looking for healthy longevity, you’re no doubt aware how critical your lifestyle choices are. What many people don’t realize is how directly those choices affect the condition of the vascular system, and especially the endothelial glycocalyx.
Because it’s so sensitive and dynamic, the EGX is highly responsive—for good or ill—to all the activities that shape our health day-to-day. That means your EGX is asking you to:
Eat wild seafood and nose to tail, pasture-raised animals
Eat plenty of leafy greens and other fresh vegetables and fruit
Moderate your sugar intake
Keep physically active
Manage your stress
Get enough high-quality sleep
Smart sunshine
Avoid smoking
Once you’ve got the lifestyle essential in place, there’s also a positive role for nutritional supplements to support your longevity program.
Exciting new developments have revealed some natural substances that directly support the health of the EGX. In particular, a rare green seaweed has been shown to hold high quantities of a natural compound called rhamnan sulfate from Monostroma nitidum, or RS. This potent compound stimulates the growth of new EGX cells, so it’s a great way to maintain the healthiest possible inner lining for your blood vessels.
To sum up, if you take good care of your vascular system, it will take good care of you. That means that you should watch out for your EGX, the natural protector of your 60 000 miles of blood vessels. The EGX is absolutely essential to your vascular vitality. So if you’re looking to enjoy a 100-year heart, make sure you also maintain a 100-year EGX!
Biography
Jack Wolfson, DO, FACC, is a board-certified cardiologist with over 20 years experience. He formerly worked as a hospital-based cardiologist from 2002 to 2012. Dr. Wolfson has been named one of America’s Top Functional Medicine Doctors and is a five-time winner of the Natural Choice Awards as a holistic MD. Dr. Wolfson’s work has been covered by more than 100 media outlets, including NBC, CNN, and the Washington Post. His book “The Paleo Cardiologist: The Natural Way to Heart Health” was an Amazon #1 best-seller.