Expert opinion
VIDEO: A Case for More Vitamin D in Later Years
21 August 2017
In this video, Lucy shares an exciting area of research that points to the importance of vitamin D in the aging process.
01 November 2011
Prof. Dr. Konrad Biesalski, Director of the Food Security Center at the University of Hohenheim in Germany
“Victims of hidden hunger are primarily children and pregnant women. They may not show any external signs of deficiency, but the consequences are severe. There are countries where one in every three children under age five dies of illnesses that probably would not have been contracted without the so-called ‘hidden hunger’.
Of the almost seven billion victims worldwide, about a billion suffer from iron deficiency. The anemia resulting from it increases the risk of infection and is responsible for the high rate of maternal mortality. There are 250 million people, mostly children, who are undersupplied with vitamin A. It is the cause of creeping blindness in four million children. Another 500 million people have zinc deficiency. A UNICEF analysis state that of the 800,000 people who die annually from zinc deficiency, 450,000 are children. Two billion people do not get enough iodine from their food, which has negative consequences on intellectual development. Children under five and pregnant women are the primary victims. The lacking micronutrients have an essential influence on a child’s development both during pregnancy and after birth. High mortality rates of mothers during delivery, premature infant mortality rates, and especially the high mortality rates of children under five are also repercussions of hidden hunger.
The rising prices of grains, such as rice, wheat, corn, and barley, are largely to blame for the advancement of hidden hunger. Grains are staple foods in most countries, but foods that are important for survival must also contain enough micronutrients, especially vitamin A, iron, and zinc. Some such foods are animal products, fruits, and vegetables. However, rising grain prices force people to take these vital foods off their menus, since they only have enough money for grains. People with very low income spend up to 80% of their earnings on food. Grain products make up between 60 and 80% of the daily energy supply. Therefore, there is very little leftover to spend on other foods, especially when the prices increase. Acute hunger can be battled with a bowl of rice – not chronic hunger. Like other grains, rice contains few vitamins and only a handful of minerals and trace elements, e.g. iron and zinc. However, the human body does not absorb these micronutrients well from grain products.
The problem will probably lead to crisis. According to estimates of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the climbing food prices have caused another 100 million people to starve; more than
10 million of which are children. Since the prices are now higher than in 2009, a further increase in the number of starving people is expected. As a result, we can no longer see world hunger as a mere supply problem. The assumption that hunger will go away on its own by increasing production is a fallacy. Even if we could manage, as has been posited time and time again, to provide every single adult person with 2,400 kilocalories per day, it would not solve the problem.
We must actively consider new approaches, such as the fortification or biofortification, i.e. the cultivation of species with more micronutrients, of staple foods. Furthermore, speculation with staple foods must stop and their prices must be kept as stable as possible. That way, people can afford to buy not only grains, but high quality products with adequate micronutrients, too. The technological and political battle of hidden hunger is one of the major challenges in securing nutrition for a growing world population.”
Hohenheim, October 2011
21 August 2017
In this video, Lucy shares an exciting area of research that points to the importance of vitamin D in the aging process.
11 January 2016
Dr. Andrew Chen, MBBS, from the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital at the University of Sydney in Australia and leader of the ONTRAC (Oral Nicotinamide to Reduce Actinic Cancer) phase 3 trial (1), says that “nicotinamide presents a new opportunity for the chemoprevention of non-melanoma skin cancers that is readily translatable into clinical practice.” Results from the ONTRAC trial with a cohort of 386 Australian adults indicate that a daily intervention dose of 500 mg nicotinamide (vitamin B3) for 12 months is protective against new cases of non-melanoma skin cancers.
15 June 2015
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