News
How to get kids to eat more veggies
26 July 2013
New US research suggests that teaching young children an overarching conceptual framework for nutrition may be an effective strategy to get young children to eat more vegetables.
17 November 2011
According to new studies, a sufficient blood vitamin D concentration may decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke.
In a 16-year-long study of 2,016 healthy, postmenopausal women, ages 45 to 58, compared low and adequate blood vitamin D concentrations to incidences of death, heart failure, heart attack, and stroke. Low vitamin D concentration was defined as less than 20 nanograms per milliliter. The study results showed that women with low vitamin D levels were more subject to heart-disease risk factors compared to the women with adequate vitamin D. Women with low vitamin D levels also had higher triglycerides, fasting glucose, and body mass index results. Their high-density lipoprotein ( HDL, “good” cholesterol) levels were lower, as were hip-waist ratios. Of the women with low vitamin D, 15% suffered heart failure, heart attack, or stroke – which often led to death – compared to 10.2 percent of the group with adequate vitamin D.
Another study suggests that vitamin D’s anti-inflammatory properties could protect the heart. Study participants who took 4,000 IU of vitamin D daily for 5 days after an acute coronary event had less post-event inflammation than patients who did not take vitamin D. The study sheds light on the anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin D on the vascular system and may explain some of the vitamin’s cardio-protective properties.
Moreover, a new 2-year study of 982 patients with chest pain and suspected acute coronary syndrome indicate that vitamin D status may help to predict mortality for sufferers of this disease: vitamin D levels were markedly lower among patients who died than in long-term survivors over the 2-year study. In an additional trial, higher concentrations of vitamin D were consistently associated with lower death rates from vascular and non-vascular causes.
26 July 2013
New US research suggests that teaching young children an overarching conceptual framework for nutrition may be an effective strategy to get young children to eat more vegetables.
29 June 2013
According to a new US study low blood vitamin K1 concentrations may increase the progression of arterial calcification in people with high blood pressure who take anti-hypertensive medications.
1 March 2011
Cardiovascular health relates to the health of the heart, the blood vessels and the organs that are critically dependent on a strong blood supply. A smoothly functioning cardiovascular system is crucial to good overall health as every cell of the body depends on its function for survival. Accordingly, disorders of the cardiovascular system can have far-reaching effects.