Beetroot and beet juice – in moderation

Have you seen publicity about beetroot juice? It’s good for all kinds of things, apparently. It improves failing memory, enhances stamina, reduces blood pressure and even acts as a kind of natural male potency enhancer. Or does it? Increased athletic performance The story was originally kick-started in the mainstream media a few years ago by … Read more

Vitamin D Depletion

Vitamin D isn’t really a vitamin. Whatever the original source – sunlight, food or supplements – vitamin D is turned by your liver into a hormone called calcitriol – or ‘activated vitamin D’. Without supplementation you get most of your vitamin D from sunlight, because surprisingly small amounts are found in a relatively few foods – … Read more

Vitamin D brain effects

Dr Paul Clayton’s Health Newsletter Spring 2015 Research by the legendary Bruce Ames has thrown up new links between maternal vitamin D, or the lack of it, and autism (Patrick & Ames ’15). Their work indicates that adequate levels of vitamin D may be required to produce neurotransmitters dopamine, oxytocin, vasopressin and especially serotonin in … Read more

Vitamin D and lung disease

Dr Paul Clayton’s Health Newsletter Spring 2015 Breathing comes so naturally that much of the time we don’t even notice that we’re doing it – unless we get out of breath after heavy exertion. That pressured feeling soon passes, and breathing becomes invisible again. But for some that feeling never goes, and the constant struggle … Read more