Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), primarily heart disease and stroke, are the leading causes of death and prescription drug use in Canada. Research on certain dietary supplements looks promising as a way to help reduce CVD risk factors. Studies show that supplementation of certain nutrients such as antioxidants, amino acids, electrolytes, vitamins and minerals may effectively reduce cardiovascular risk factors. The dietary supplement CardioFlex Q10, which is high in the aforementioned components, was developed to help regulate the body's production of cholesterol, strengthen the arteries and heart, and reverse oxidation.

The overall objective of this study is to determine if 90 days of supplementing with CardioFlex Q10 can reduce CVD risk factors in adults, independent of other dietary or physical activity changes.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not daily supplementation with the dietary supplement CardioFlex Q10 for 90 days can reduce cardiovascular risk factors in healthy adults. The health markers that will be tested include the participant's waist circumference, body weight, body mass index (BMI), atherosclerosis risk factors (blood pressure, plethysmogram (PTG) wave form, heart rate variability, accelerated plethysmograph (APG) type (biological age of arteries)), and blood work including total plasma lipid profile (total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides (TGs)), kidney and liver function (alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN), creatinine), and inflammatory and endothelial function biomarkers (C-reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) ).

All health markers will be tested the day before starting the study and the day after the study is completed.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 30-65
• An accelerated plethysmograph (APG) type (biological age of arteries) of D, E, F or G and/or a high density lipoprotein (HDL) to total cholesterol (TC) ratio of ≤24 percent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Have used prescription cholesterol or blood pressure medication in the last 3 months
• Perform more then 150 minutes of moderate to rigorous activity per week
• Pregnant or planning on getting pregnant during the study period

69 participants started the clinical trial, 35 in the Cardioflex group and 34 in the Placebo group.

Adverse events were monitored over the 90 day study period.

The selected participants will be randomly assigned in equal numbers to the experimental or control group. Participants in the experimental group will be given 1 serving (10g) of Cardioflex each day. Participants in the control group will be given a flavored 10g placebo that looks and tastes exactly like Cardioflex. Participants will be instructed to consume the beverage in 500mL of water upon waking each morning, prior to eating or drinking anything else.

The clinical trial is double blinded so neither the participants or investigators will know which experimental group they are in until the data collection period is over.