News
Increased lycopene intakes may have benefits for heart health
4 February 2013
According to a new US study regular intakes of lycopene can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease.
26 January 2011
Oral supplementation with antioxidants could improve sperm quality by reducing oxidative stress, a new US review suggests.
In the review 34 randomized controlled trials involving 2,876 couples undergoing assisted reproduction techniques (ART) were included (1). The trials measured the efficacy of antioxidant supplements (mostly including vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene, zinc and folate – individually or combined), taken by the male partner of a couple seeking fertility assistance, in increasing live births and pregnancy rates compared to placebo. The pooled findings showed that men taking oral antioxidants had an associated statistically significant increase in live birth and pregnancy rate when compared with the men taking placebo. No studies reported evidence of harmful side effects of the antioxidant therapy used.
The researchers concluded that antioxidant supplementation in subfertile males may improve the outcomes of live birth and pregnancy rate for subfertile couples undergoing ART cycles. Moreover, further head-to-head comparisons are necessary for identifying the superiority of one antioxidant over another.
30 to 80% of male subfertility cases are considered to be due to the damaging effects of oxidative stress on sperm. It is believed that, in many cases of unexplained subfertility, and also in instances where there may be a sperm-related problem, taking an oral antioxidant supplement may increase a couple's chance of conceiving when undergoing fertility treatment.
4 February 2013
According to a new US study regular intakes of lycopene can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease.
1 December 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.
31 August 2011
A new study from the UK shows that increasing vitamin A in the diet of millions of children could lead to an increase in life expectancy in various countries around the world.