Lower CPK Levels Naturally

Creatine phosphokinase or creatine kinase (CPK) is an important protein enzyme found in different muscles and organs in your body, including your skeletal muscle, brain and heart. It plays an important role in metabolism, but when CPK levels get elevated, it can be an indication that you have developed a nerve or muscle (or neuromuscular) disease. To reduce CPK levels, you have to reduce the chances of developing heart issues, muscle wear, and other neuromuscular diseases.

Steps

Using Natural Remedies

  1. Understand that there are certain foods and nutrients that can lower your chances of developing certain diseases. These foods, herbs, and vitamins can help to prevent the diseases that lead to elevated levels of CPK.
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  2. Eat foods that are known to lower your cholesterol. Foods that help to lower your cholesterol levels in turn help to prevent heart disease. Heart disease is one of the most common reasons for high CPK levels, so if you are able to keep your heart disease free, you will be more likely to lower your CPK levels.[1]
    • Try Chinese red yeast rice: Consuming moderate amounts of natural red yeast rice as part of an overall diet helps maintain normal cholesterol levels.
    • Eat walnuts and almonds: Daily consumption of these nuts is thought to help lower your LDL cholesterol levels.
    • Eat two to three artichokes a week: Artichoke leaf extract helps your body process and release cholesterol, which in turn lowers your overall cholesterol.
    • Eat foods that are high in soluble fiber: Foods like oats, legumes, prunes, apples, carrots, and broccoli keep your intestines from absorbing too much cholesterol. If you eat 10 grams of high-fiber foods daily, you can lower your LDL cholesterol levels by 5%.
  3. Eat more garlic. Garlic has long been known to promote a healthy heart. It is also known to lower cholesterol, which keeps your heart’s arteries from getting blocked. Garlic produces a chemical called allicin, which is thought to help control and treat various ailments.[2]
    • You can eat up to one clove of garlic a day. If munching on garlic isn’t really your cup of tea, you can also take garlic supplements, which can be purchased as your local pharmacy.
  4. Add ginkgo biloba to your diet. Gingko biloba is a type of plant that is known to have properties that keep the heart functioning properly. In particular, gingko biloba helps to clear your heart’s arteries, which helps to prevent blockages that could cause heart problems.
    • You can purchase gingko extract or supplements at most health food stores.
  5. Drink ashwagandha (Indian ginseng) with milk. This herb has anti-oxidant properties and reduces blood pressure and cholesterol while also helping thyroid conditions—all of which produce high CPK levels.
    • You can add one teaspoon of ashwagandha powder to milk and drink it before bed each night.
  6. Increase your intake of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that is famous for keeping your immune system functioning. It also plays a role in maintaining your heart’s health. A healthy heart means lowered CPK levels. Try to consume at least 45 mg of vitamin C a day.[3]
    • You can get vitamin C by taking a supplement or eating foods like oranges, lemon, and strawberries.
  7. Take vitamin A supplements or eat sweet potatoes. Like vitamin C, vitamin A also plays a role in keeping the heart healthy. Sweet potatoes are packed full of vitamin A, so you should eat them often. You can also take a vitamin A supplement or take a multivitamin that contains your daily dose of vitamin A.
  8. Load up on magnesium. Lack of magnesium can cause muscle cramps or spasms causing elevation in CPK levels. Try to get 50 grams of magnesium a day by taking a supplement or eating magnesium-rich foods like pumpkins, bananas, beet, spinach and other green leafy vegetables.
  9. Drink more green tea. Green tea has a lot of health benefits, but the one that is most relevant to someone trying to lower their CPK levels is that green tea is quite effective when it comes to lowering your cholesterol. In fact, a study done in Brazil showed that people who took green tea capsules each day had an average 4.5% reduction in their cholesterol levels.[4]
    • You can take green tea extract capsules or you can drink one to two cups a green tea a day.

Changing Your Diet

  1. Try the Mediterranean Diet. The Mediterranean diet is known to promote a heart-healthy meal plan that also helps keep your muscles strong. It focuses on eating five small meals a day, rather than three large ones. It also emphasizes using olive oil rather than butter because olive oil is a monounsaturated fat (which means it’s a good fat).[5] Meals are generally made up of:
    • Servings of lean meat like fish, grains, fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes can help.
    • On this diet you can also try to reduce the amount of fatty meat and carbohydrates that you eat each day.
  2. Get plenty of omega-3s and 6s. Don’t let the word ‘fatty’ fool you—omega-3 and omega-6 are two fatty acids that are essential nutrients when it comes to having a healthy body. These two nutrients work together to promote good muscle health; when your muscles are strong, you are less likely to over stress them while working out, which means your CPK levels won’t be as high.
    • Omega-3 can be found in fish like sardines, anchovies and salmon; eggs, milk, milk products, flaxseeds, and nuts.
    • Omega-6 can be found in eggs, avocado, nuts, whole-grain breads, and most vegetable oils.
  3. Lower how much fat and salt you eat each day. As mentioned above, blood pressure and heart diseases can increase your CPK levels. You can lower your blood pressure by limiting the amount of salt you eat to approximately 1,500 mg a day. Fatty foods are normally high in salt content and are also linked to obesity, a condition that can cause serious heart issues. Try to stick with low-fat or non-fat products to maintain a healthy weight and a healthy heart.[6]
    • Eat low-fat or non-fat dairy products like skim milk, low-fat yogurt, and cheese.
    • Avoid very fatty foods like butter, gravies, and lard.
  4. Avoid a high-protein diet. Increasing your muscle mass can also lead to increased levels of CPK in your blood. Since eating a high protein diet can contribute to having an increased muscle mass, this should be avoided. However, do not eliminate all of the protein from your diet. Eliminating all the protein sources in your diet can cause muscle wasting since the body will try to get the protein it needs from your muscle stores. Muscle wasting entails muscle breakdown and can thus elevate CPK levels.[7]
    • Protein-rich foods include: Beef, pork, chicken, turkey and fish, cheese, eggs, tofu, beans, milk, yogurt, nuts and seeds.
    • The current recommended daily intake (RDI) of protein is 46 grams for adult women aged 19-70 and 56 grams for adult men aged 19-70. Teenage boys need about 52 grams while girls need 46 grams per day.
  5. Cut alcohol out of your diet. Another reason for an elevated CPK level is drinking alcohol. This is especially true after an episode of binge drinking. Alcohol increases CPK level by acting on muscle tissues. After drinking alcohol, there is stress on the muscle tissues since it is exposed to an increased amount of alcohol in the body.

Regulating Your Physical Exercise

  1. Understand the high CPK levels have been linked to high intensity exercise. Another common cause of an elevated CPK level is strenuous exercise. All forms of exercise (aerobic, stretching, or weight-lifting) can cause an elevation of CPK levels in the blood since your muscles are undergoing stress and metabolism.[8]
    • Exercises that involve weightlifting and downhill running cause higher increase in CPK levels.
  2. Avoid strenuous exercise for five days before getting you CPK levels tested. Strenuous exercise is actually a common cause of a falsely elevated CPK level in patients being tested for CPK levels. Because of this, its important that you don’t exercise for five days before your doctor’s appointment so that you don’t get a false reading of your CPK levels.[9]
  3. Do warm-ups before doing any high intensity exercises. If you are going to do high intensity workouts, you should always warm up your muscles first. When you warm up your muscles by stretching or doing a light jog or easy bike ride, you help them to stretch and loosen so that they don’t sustain injuries (even slight ones) when you do your intense exercises.[10] Great warm-ups include:
  4. Lower your blood pressure by reducing your stress levels. Your stress levels can actually have a physical affect on your body but increasing your blood pressure. When your blood pressure increases, there is a chance that your CPK levels will go up. Because of this, it is important that you stay relaxed.[11]
    • Try mediation or yoga. Both of these practices can help you relax by teaching you breathing techniques and helping you to focus your mind on the present, rather than on the things that are causing you stress.
    • Try passion flower, valerian, lime flower (Tilia cordata) and lemon balm. These are all tranquilizing herbs that can help to keep you calm.

Avoiding Certain Medications

  1. Understand that statins can increase your CPK counts. Statins are medications that are effectively used to lower blood cholesterol levels. However, one of their side effects is rhabdomyolysis or breakdown of muscle tissue due to inflammation. Because of this mechanism, these drugs cause an elevated CPK level. Examples of statins include[12]:
    • Simvastatin, atorvastatin and rosuvastatin.
  2. Be aware that some other drugs can raise your CPK levels. If you are taking any of the drugs listed in this step, they might be the reason for your elevated CPK levels so you should talk to your doctor about trying different medications to treat your conditions. Other medications that can increase CPK levels include[7]:
    • Amphotericin B (an antifungal).
    • Ampicillin (an antibacterial).
    • Some anesthetics.
    • Anticoagulants such as aspirin, heparin and warfarin.
    • Dexamethasone (a steroid).
    • Clofibrate (another cholesterol-lowering drug).
    • Furosemide (a diuretic).
    • Morphine (a pain reliever).
  3. Ask your doctor for a revision of your prescription. If you are taking any of the above-mentioned medications and are having an issue with elevated CPK levels, you might want to consider trying different medications. You can consult your doctor, tell him or her of your elevated CPK levels, and ask for a revision of your prescription.[13]
    • If you can’t get a different prescription, your doctor will work with you to find another way to bring your CPK levels down.

Tips

  • To keep your CPK levels low, you need to keep the rest of your body—especially your heart and other muscles—healthy.

Warnings

  • If you are concerned about your CPK levels and think that they might be indicating a heart condition, talk to your doctor right away.

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ .www.naturalnews.com/035653_statin_drugs_natural_remedies_cholesterol.html#ixzz2zxiERGjZ
  2. ↑ http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-300-GARLIC.aspx?activeIngredientId=300&activeIngredientName=GARLIC
  3. ↑ http://www.medicalhealthtests.com/askquestion/29/what-is-the-significance-of-a-slightly-elevated-cr.html
  4. ↑ http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/Nutrition/Q216234.html
  5. ↑ . http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/Nutrition/Q216234.html
  6. ↑ www.naturalnews.com/035653_statin_drugs_natural_remedies_cholesterol.html#ixzz2zxiERGjZ
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Morandi L, Angelini C, Prelle A, Pini A, Grassi B, Bernardi G. High plasma creatine kinase: review of the literature and proposal for a diagnostic algorithm. Neurol Sci. Nov 2006;27(5):303-11.
  8. ↑ Cabaniss, C.D. Creatine Kinase. In: H.W. Walker HK, Hurst JW,. Clinical Methods: The history, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations. Boston: Butterworths; 1990:32.
  9. ↑ . http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/2074023-overview#aw2aab6b3
  10. ↑ http://www.medicalhealthtests.com/askquestion/29/what-is-the-significance-of-a-slightly-elevated-cr.html
  11. ↑ http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000110.htm
  12. ↑ Cabaniss, C.D. Creatine Kinase. In: H.W. Walker HK, Hurst JW. Clinical Methods: The history, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations. Boston: Butterworths; 1990:32.
  13. ↑ USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 20. Accessed 21 April 2014. http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=8964

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