News
Adequate vitamin C intake may be associated with longer survival of heart failure patients
16 November 2011
Low vitamin C levels may increase the risk of complications in patients with heart failure, says a new Korean study.
23 February 2010
Higher consumption of antioxidants in the diet may decrease diabetes risk in healthy adults and diabetic patients, according to a new study.
The study based on a sub-sample from the well documented ATTICA study, with participants consisting of 551 men and 467 women from all parts of the Attica region in Greece. Dietary habits were evaluated using a validated food-frequency questionnaire, with participants reporting their daily or weekly average intake of several food items including fruit, vegetables, legumes, non-alcoholic beverages, chocolate, honey, jam, nuts, rice, pastas and grains (1).
The results indicated that higher total dietary antioxidant intake is correlated with lower levels of diabetes biomarkers in healthy individuals, as well as in pre-diabetic and diabetic ones. The observed protective association was independent of age, gender and physical activity status, but did not hold in obese individuals.
Recent studies suggested that oxidative stress is related to diabetes, possibly originating through increased free radical production, with the theory proposed that pancreatic cells are particularly susceptible to reactive oxygen species, due to their low free-radical quenching enzymes. Thus, by damaging mitochondria, oxidative stress could destroy pancreatic beta cells, blunt insulin secretion and dysregulate glucose levels.
The scientists also report that high dietary antioxidant capacity has been found to decrease markers of inflammation, suggesting that inflammation and oxidative stress are interrelated.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 150 million people have diabetes mellitus worldwide, and this number may double by the year 2025 due to population growth, ageing, unhealthy diet, obesity and sedentary lifestyle.
16 November 2011
Low vitamin C levels may increase the risk of complications in patients with heart failure, says a new Korean study.
8 May 2014
Women with ovarian cancer who are vitamin D deficient may be at greater risk of mortality compared to those with sufficient blood vitamin D concentrations, suggests a new study.
2 July 2014
A new review suggests that low vitamin D levels may be associated with an increased risk for all-cause mortality including mortality due to cardiovascular disease and cancer.