Professor Bruno Colombo is a neurologist at San Raphaele Hospital, part of the University of Vita-Salute, Milan, Italy. He has found a defect in mitochondria can reduce the threshold for migraine attacks. He has found riboflavin, a cofactor in oxidative metabolism, may be able to overcome this impaired function of the mitochondria.
Professor Philip Calder, the Professor of Nutritional Immunology at Southampton University, United Kingdom and past President of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids has been studying the effect of dietary essential fatty acids on inflammation and immunity since 1987. This article reviews the recent progress made in understanding how omega 3 fatty acids DHA, EPA and DPA are able to resolve inflammation
Life expectancy in most of Northern Europe is almost double what it was two centuries ago. If ageing is considered a disease, then it surely is the most prevalent disease. Professor Mathers says «the challenge is to enhance healthy ageing and to reduce the financial and social burdens associated with chronic ill health in later life».
Two international groups of researchers have independently studied the effects of omega-6 fatty acids, one focusing on the risks of coronary heart disease and the other on death. For both studies it was concluded that the risks were lowered with high intake of linoleic acid, the main omega-6 fatty acid, widely present in vegetable oils.
The immune system plays an important role in fighting tumors. Adequate blood concentrations of vitamin D can help to strengthen the immune system and ensure that immune cells are functioning properly. It is also suggested that certain immune cells have the ability to convert vitamin D into its active form. In addition, vitamin D seems to be able to bind to cancer cells and instruct them to die or stop growing. Thus, vitamin D supply status may be related to the risk for cancer development.
Dietary guidelines encourage people to eat a healthful diet – one that focuses on foods and beverages that help achieve and maintain a healthy weight, promote health, and prevent disease. Although the majority of Americans are not meeting the requirements for a number of essential nutrients, the focus of the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on a healthy diet is causing a significant problem, scientists say. The committee is overlooking this problem because they are preaching this ideal of a healthy diet.
In 1970, Linus Pauling outlined in a book his own experience with vitamin C and the reasons he believed gram doses of vitamin C would improve the immune system. Written at a time when natural therapies were becoming increasingly popular as alternatives to conventional pharmaceuticals, the message resonated with the public with such intensity that vitamin C will forever be linked with the prevention and treatment of the cold. However, research studies on vitamin C and colds have often been poorly conducted, generating controversial results.
A new observational study has found an association in women between the use of multivitamin-mineral products for more than three years and reduced cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk.
The two omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are essential to the structure and functioning of heart and brain. Low blood concentrations of EPA and DHA have been associated with common cardiovascular and cerebral diseases.
Vitamin D deficiency is already known to be harmful to physical health, but it may also impact mental health, according to a team of researchers who have found a link between seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and a lack of sunlight.
