News
Increased calcium intakes may promote colon health
8 October 2014
A new US review concludes that an increase of calcium intake may reduce the risk of developing colon cancer.
02 August 2013
Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy may have no preventive effect against childhood wheezing when started too late, suggests a new UK study.
In the randomized controlled trial, 180 pregnant (Asian, Middle Eastern, African American, or Caucasian) women at 27 weeks gestation received either 800 IU vitamin D daily until delivery, a single oral dose of 200,000 IU vitamin D or no treatment (1). Three years after birth, cases of childhood wheezing, respiratory allergic reactions and infections were documented and compared. The study results showed that supplemen-tation did improve, but did not optimize, vitamin D status: median umbilical cord vitamin D levels at delivery were significantly lower in women without vitamin D treatment (7 ng/ml) compared to the daily dose group (10.5 ng/ml) and the large one time dose group (10 ng/ml). No difference in the occurrence of wheezing, prevalence of eczema (skin irritation), allergies, or lung function between the three groups was found.
The researchers commented that supplementation with vitamin D may have started too late (at 27 weeks of gestation) to show beneficial effects for the children’s respiratory health. It is known that immune cells deve-lop much earlier in fetal life, and that airway development to the respiratory bronchioles is complete by
16 weeks of gestation. It may be that supplementation earlier in pregnancy, or indeed pre-conception, is necessary for protection against childhood wheezing, they said.
Several observational studies have suggested a protective effect of higher maternal vitamin D intake during pregnancy against the risk of wheezing (2), asthma and allergic rhinitis (3) and eczema (4) in offspring. The active metabolite of vitamin D, 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D, has been shown in animal and in vitro models to have potent immune effects and a role in early lung development (5). It has been proposed that prenatal vitamin D supplementation may prevent childhood wheezing and asthma (6). The current recommended intake for pregnant women is 400 IU/day in the UK and 600 IU in the US. It has been shown that a daily dose of 4000 IU of vitamin D is safe and effective for the short term treatment of vitamin D deficiency
during pregnancy (7). Nevertheless, vitamin D insufficiency is very common during pregnancy.
8 October 2014
A new US review concludes that an increase of calcium intake may reduce the risk of developing colon cancer.
2 December 2011
According to a new US review, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation from algal oil may reduce blood triglycerides and increase HDL-cholesterol in persons without coronary heart disease.
1 July 2014
It has long been known that vitamin K, which is involved as a coenzyme in the production of coagulation factors, is essential to the regulation of blood coagulation. But vitamin K also fulfils an important role in the activation of certain enzymes which, together with vitamin D, regulate metabolism and can combat the hardening of soft tissues such as blood vessels and help slow bone demineralization. In recent years interest in this vitamin has grown considerably following the discovery of other potentially health-promoting properties. Attention centers on research into the function of vitamin-K-dependent enzymes (Gla proteins), which are found in bones and teeth as well as in blood vessel linings, the brain and other soft tissues, where they appear to regulate cell division and cell differentiation, among other things. Studies indicate that a sufficient intake of vitamin K could help prevent the occurrence of atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, insulin resistance and inflammation of the joints, and above all could protect against the age-related loss of cognitive abilities.