John Arts Abundant Living www.johnarts.co.nz

The greater vitamin E family has a major role in promoting heart health. There are two groups of vitamin E compounds – tocopherols and tocotrienols. Each comprises of alpha, beta, delta and gamma tocopherols and tocotrienols, making eight in total. We get vitamin E from nuts, seeds, plant oils and brown rice.

The vitamin E family is central to cell protection and helps the repair processes involved with inflamed and blocked arteries and even damaged nerves. By repairing free radical damage to blood vessels they can help make stiff blood vessels more supple, meaning the heart doesn't have to work as hard to circulate blood. This is very important for people with hypertension and high cholesterol.

In the last decade there has been significant research into tocotrienols. These are powerful antioxidants but have another important function – balancing cholesterol levels by helping to control liver cholesterol production. As a result, tocotrienols have a significant benefit for those with high cholesterol and those with higher heart disease risk. This is great news for people who cannot tolerate statin cholesterol medications or for those who prefer a natural approach.

The US company Carotech makes an excellent tocotrienol extract Tocomin from red palm fruit. Other companies then use Tocomin in their formulations. My favourite natural cholesterol-balancing supplement is Sytrinol, which combines Tocomin with a tangerine extract to make what I believe to be the only natural product to really address the dangers of cholesterol imbalance and general cardiovascular health.

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John Arts is a qualified nutritional therapist and founder of Abundant Health. Contact John on 0800 423 559. To read more, go to www.sunlive.co.nz