News
Zinc may benefit common cold symptoms
17 February 2011
According to a new review, zinc supplements may reduce the severity and duration of symptoms associated with the common cold.
15 July 2011
The Endocrine Society, 8401 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 900, Chevy Chase, MD, USA.
“Summary of recommendations:
Diagnostic procedure
Recommended dietary intakes of vitamin D
Treatment and prevention strategies
Vitamin D deficiency has been historically defined and recently recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) as a 25(OH)D of less than 20 ng/ml. Vitamin D insufficiency has been defined as a 25(OH)D of 21–29 ng/ml. In accordance with these definitions, it has been estimated that 20–100% of U.S., Canadian, and European elderly men and women still living in the community are vitamin D deficient. Children and young and middle-aged adults are at equally high risk for vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency worldwide. Vitamin D deficiency is common in Australia, the Middle East, India, Africa, and South America. In the United States, more than 50% of Hispanic and African-American adolescents in Boston and 48% of white preadolescent girls in Maine had 25(OH)D below 20 ng/ml. In addition, 42% of African-American girls and women aged 15–49 years throughout the United States had a blood level of 25(OH)D below 15 ng/ml at the end of the winter, and 32% of healthy students and physicians at a Boston hospital had 25(OH)D below 20 ng/ml. Pregnant and lactating women who take a prenatal vitamin and a calcium supplement with vitamin D remain at high risk for vitamin D deficiency.
The major source of vitamin D for children and adults is exposure to natural sunlight. Very few foods naturally contain or are fortified with vitamin D. In the United States and Canada, milk is fortified with vitamin D, as are some bread products, orange juices, cereals, yogurts, and cheeses. In Europe, most countries do not fortify milk. However, Sweden and Finland now fortify milk, and many European countries add vitamin D to cereals, breads, and margarine. Multivitamin preparations contain 400-1,000 IU of vitamin D2 or vitamin D3.
The major cause of vitamin D deficiency is inadequate exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency results in abnormalities in calcium, phosphorus, and bone metabolism. Specifically, vitamin D deficiency causes a decrease in the efficiency of intestinal calcium and phosphorus absorption of dietary calcium and phosphorus, resulting in an increase in parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. The PTH-mediated increase in bone resorption activity creates local foci of bone weakness and causes a generalized decrease in bone mineral density, resulting in osteopenia and osteoporosis. In young children, who have little of this mineral in their skeleton, this defect results in a variety of skeletal deformities classically known as rickets. Vitamin D deficiency also causes muscle weakness; affected children have difficulty standing and walking, whereas the elderly may begin to sway and experience more frequent falls, thereby increasing their risk of fracture.
In conclusion, considering that vitamin D deficiency is very common in all age groups and that few foods contain vitamin D, the Task Force recommends supplementation at suggested daily intake and tolerable upper limit levels, depending on age and clinical circumstances. The Task Force also suggests the measurement of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level by a reliable assay as the initial diagnostic test in patients at risk for deficiency. Treatment with either vitamin D2 or vitamin D3 is recommended for deficient patients. At the present time, there is not sufficient evidence to recommend screening individuals who are not at risk for deficiency or to prescribe vitamin D to attain the non-calcemic benefit for cardiovascular protection.”
June 2011
17 February 2011
According to a new review, zinc supplements may reduce the severity and duration of symptoms associated with the common cold.
15 April 2015
Two international groups of researchers have independently studied the effects of omega-6 fatty acids, one focusing on the risks of coronary heart disease and the other on death. For both studies it was concluded that the risks were lowered with high intake of linoleic acid, the main omega-6 fatty acid, widely present in vegetable oils.
19 January 2015
According to a new US study, an adequate supply of B vitamins in women seems to increase their chances of becoming and staying pregnant even when they have high blood concentrations of a common pesticide.