Heart Disease

Betaine for Heart Health
Anyone interested in heart health should be aware of the little-known, but powerful nutrient betaine. Betaine is a vitamin-like nutrient whose name comes from the fact that it was first found (in the 19th century) in sugar beet. Other names for betaine are betaine anhydrous and TMG or trimethylglycine. Research shows that betaine, in conjunction with vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid, helps reduce levels of an amino acid called homocysteine. That’s important because other studies show that high levels of homocysteine encourage atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. Heart disease and stroke Elevated levels of homocysteine in the blood... Read more...
Statins – Friend or Foe?
Some cholesterol-lowering statin drugs have been found to significantly increase the risk of cataracts, muscle weakness, liver dysfunction and kidney failure (1). They confirm a pattern already familiar to many doctors who prescribe these drugs to vast numbers of patients, as per lucrative treatment guidelines that were heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry. Aimed at the wrong target – cholesterol These drugs target LDL cholesterol, but this is an out-of-date and inaccurate biomarker. Most clinical scientists these days instead regard endothelial dysfunction (ED) as the root cause of atheroma and hypertension (high blood pressure).... Read more...
Fish Oil Alone Doesn’t Work – Combine Omega-3 with Polyphenols
Dr Paul Clayton’s Health Newsletter Autumn 2015 Taking fish oil on its own as a magic-bullet single supplement just doesn’t work. Clinical trials have been generating terrible results lately. These include a clutch of major studies which looked at the cardio-protective effects of fish oil (JELLIS, GISSI-HF, ALPHA-OMEGA, OMEGA, SU.FO.OM, ORIGIN, CART), all of which failed to show any benefits. More recently, AREDS-2, which examined the ability of fish oil to protect the brain from ageing, also failed (Chew et al ’15). Specifically, AREDS-2 showed that one gram per day... Read more...
What is a Healthy Level of Cholesterol?
Blood cholesterol tests determine the amount of LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) ‘bad’ cholesterol, HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) ‘good’ cholesterol) and triglycerides (other fatty substances) in your blood. They are designed to assess whether you have a high, moderate or low risk of getting cardiovascular disease (heart disease or stroke) within the next 10 years. However, the risk assessment is not just based on your cholesterol reading. It also takes into account: • your BMI (body mass index), a measure of your weight in relation to your height • other medical factors, including high blood pressure (hypertension) and... Read more...
Vitamin Supplements to Prevent Heart Disease
The No.1 killer in the West (for both men and women) is heart disease. So a lifestyle plan to reduce that risk has to be one of your main health strategies. Coronary artery disease is the result of the narrowing of the arteries that supply the heart with blood, oxygen, and nutrients. It is caused by atherosclerosis, the build-up of cholesterol-rich fatty deposits, or plaques, on the inside of arterial walls. As these deposits accumulate over time, the coronary arteries narrow to the point that the flow of oxygenated blood to... Read more...
Plant Polyphenols Against Heart Disease
Dr. Paul Clayton’s Health Newsletter March 2014 “Why are we given so many drugs when better nutrition could make us so much healthier? The barriers to better health are no longer scientific, but political.” Increased intakes of polyphenols (from plants)appear to be highly cardio-protective, according to the results of the international PREDIMED (Prevención con Dieta Mediterranea) study (Tresserra-Rimbau et al ’14). In this study of over 7,000 participants, the highest intakes of flavanols, a group which includes proanthocyanidins, catechins, and theaflavins, were associated with a 60% reduction in cardio-vascular disease... 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 and salt, eat more fruits and vegetables and oily fish and get a regular screening for blood. They were also almost certainly sufficiently health-conscious not to smoke. So what was missing? The answer almost certainly... Read more...
Heart Health – Betaine, the Latest 'B Vitamin'
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 always effective. Read more...