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.

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.

expert opinion

Using nutrigenomics to uncover how the potent antioxidant properties of hydroxytyrosol can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease

In Expert opinion · November 1, 2015

In his recent work, Francesco Visioli – Professor of Human Nutrition in the Department of Molecular Medicine at the University of Padova in Italy – has investigated the biological and pharmacological properties of olive oil phenolics, including hydroxytyrosol, and their ability to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

News

The bioavailability of vitamin E is lower in people with metabolic syndrome

In News · October 27, 2015

A new study has shown that people with metabolic syndrome are less able to process vitamin E than the normal population. As this population suffers from a high visceral lipid burden, any reduction in the levels of this potent fat-soluble antioxidant is of concern and suggests that dietary recommendations of vitamin E intake for this group should be revised upward. Metabolic syndrome is extremely common in the Western world and is closely associated with the development of atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes.