Vitamin E Tocotrienols

Dr Paul Clayton 2010 Avoiding a stroke is surprisingly easy (ie Karppanen & Mervaala ’06). But what of those who are already at high risk? A new study suggests that one of the tocotrienols (those forgotten isomers of E which are rarely found in supplements) can prevent nerve cell death in the brain following a … Read more

Heart disease driver is not cholesterol

Why is it that some 50% of people who have a heart attack have a cholesterol level in the normal range? Many of these are people who know, and have followed, the basic advice – reduce overweight, build in 30 minutes of exercise at least 5 times a week, restrict your intake of saturated fats … Read more

Homocysteine – more important than cholesterol?

Dr Paul Clayton 2006 Several years ago the first edition of Health Defence reported on the importance of homocysteine as probably a more important marker for heart disease than LDL cholesterol. Since then it is exciting a flurry of medical research, with over 8,000 papers published on the subject during 2004 alone. Research has shown … Read more

Heart health – Betaine, the latest 'B vitamin'

Dr Paul Clayton 2003 Betaine, sometimes known as Vitamin B10, is increasingly in the limelight. Elevated levels of homocysteine in the blood (homocystenaemia) are strongly linked to increased risks of heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and other diseases(1). Vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid are often used to lower homocysteine levels, but this combination is not … Read more