expert opinion

Closing the chapter on omega-3 fatty acids and age-related macular degeneration may be premature

In Expert opinion · December 14, 2015

The results of the recent, comprehensive Age-Related Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) failed to support the prevailing view that marine omega-3 fatty acids could have a protective role in preventing the onset and progression of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). Professor Eric Souied, Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at both the Hôpital Intercommunal de Créteil and the Hôpital Henri Mondor in France, has carefully reviewed the study and found that the null results could be due to methodological differences between this and other recent studies. He thinks that the evidence from laboratory and other clinical studies still provides hope that omega-3 fatty acids could provide benefits in relation to ARMD.

News

New vitamin D status testing procedure using dried blood spots will allow for larger number of participants in future studies

In News · December 7, 2015

As part of the Food4Me pan-European project, a new sampling and analysis procedure for vitamin D has been developed. The technique enables unsupervised sampling of drops of blood from a fingertip onto a prepared card. A total of 3,778 valid measurements were made from 1,465 participants. The highest mean levels of vitamin D were found towards the end of July, whilst the lowest were towards the end of January. This is consistent with previous population survey data.

News

LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy shown to reduce the risk of skin and lung allergic diseases during childhood

In News · December 3, 2015

A new paper using data from the DIAMOND (DHA Intake And Measurement Of Neural Development) study has shown that supplementation of infant formula with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA) during the first year of life has a protective effect against allergy in early childhood. The allergy status of the mother was shown to have a profound effect on the nature of the protection for the infant.

Topic of the Month

Targeted approach in nutrition to address risk factors in metabolic syndrome

In Topic of the Month · December 1, 2015

Metabolic syndrome is a disorder of energy utilization and storage, diagnosed by the coincidence of overweight or obesity with disturbances of lipid and sugar metabolism and hypertension. Subclinical inflammation and a fatty liver are further components typically associated with this condition. Metabolic syndrome substantially increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Diets targeting weight loss by restricting either carbohydrate or fat intake are an effective approach to improve most conditions associated with metabolic syndrome, but the benefit is not successfully achieved over longer periods. Therefore, a balanced diet rich in nutrients improving metabolism may represent a successful strategy. The role of several related nutrients has been presented and discussed during the 12th European Nutrition Conference (FENS 2015) in Berlin.

News

Increasing dietary intake of PUFAs necessitates a matching increase in dietary fat-soluble antioxidants

In News · December 1, 2015

In 2000, the USA Institute of Medicine (IoM) noted that the amount of vitamin E necessary to maintain the correct metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in cell membranes is related to the intake of PUFAs. A recent review by Raederstorff et al. examines in detail the relationship between PUFA intake and vitamin E requirement. The basal metabolic requirement of 3 to 4 mg/day α-tocopherol needs to be increased to 12.5 to 20 mg/day, just to balance out typical intakes of PUFAs in the Western diet.

expert opinion

By Jingo! – The Irish JINGO project yields detailed information regarding the link between vitamin D deficiency and inflammatory status in older people

In Expert opinion · December 1, 2015

Professor Mary Ward of Ulster University was part of a recent trial in which it was shown that elderly Irish adults (60 years or more) who were deficient in 25-hydroxyvitamin D (<25 nmol/L) were most likely to have the highest levels of inflammatory cytokines when compared to those who were replete (>75 nmol/L). Raised levels of these inflammatory cytokines are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and a range of other chronic diseases.

News

The urgent need for treating liver disease in obese children

In News · November 16, 2015

Experts call for research on the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the most common form of chronic liver disease in children.

News

Does vitamin D play a part in the onset of rheumatoid arthritis and could vitamin D supplementation help prevent and treat the disease?

In News · November 9, 2015

Low serum vitamin D levels are common in sufferers of the painful condition rheumatoid arthritis. This condition is caused by inflammation. Vitamin D has beneficial immunomodulatory effects, so even low dose supplementation could enable the dose of conventional rheumatoid arthritis therapies to be reduced, with the consequent benefit of a reduction in side effects. A very recent trial supports this hypothesis.

News

Lutein can protect against oxidative stress in newborn infants

In News · November 2, 2015

A double-blinded, randomized controlled trial carried out with 150 newborn infants in Italy has demonstrated the protective effect of an intervention of 0.28 mg lutein provided at 6 and 36 hours after birth against oxidative stress.

Topic of the Month

Can vitamin C really help with chills and sneezes this winter?

In Topic of the Month · November 1, 2015

Vitamin C is an effective water-soluble antioxidant, able to trap reactive oxygen species (ROS). It forms part of the antioxidant defense system of phagocytes. A comprehensive meta-analysis in 2013 concluded that a dose of 200 mg per day of vitamin C reduces the duration of colds. A recent study suggests that this effect is due to the improved migration of virus-killing neutrophils through chemotaxis.