But first a word on homocysteine. This amino acid occurs naturally in the blood, but high levels indicate a higher risk for degenerative diseases such as heart disease. Homocysteine is kept in check by a natural process in the body called methylation, which converts it to the essential amino acid methionine. Certain nutrients and natural chemicals boost methylation, notably the B vitamins.

A comprehensive research study at the University of Bergen in Norway measured the homocysteine levels of 4,766 men and women, aged 65 to 67 in 1992, and then recorded any deaths over the next five years. What they found was that the chances of a person of 65 to 67 years dying from any cause increased by almost 50 per cent for every 5-unit increase in homocysteine! This strongly reflects how central homocysteine and methylation (and as a consequence, your nutritional status) are to the underlying causes of the common diseases that kill most of us prematurely in the 21st century. Turn this amazing fmding the other way round and we can say that, for every 5-unit drop in your H score, you halve your risk of dying prematurely from all common causes. If, for example, your H score was 15, and you drop it to 6 units or less and maintain it there, you can probably add around 10 years to your life! And it would be a lively decade because, as you will see, if you lower your homocysteine level below 6 units with the proper balance of diet and supplementation, and alleviate your methylation problems, your cells will age slower, you' ll have increased vitality and you' ll feel younger than your years. There are tests available to check your homocysteine levels.