News
Antioxidants may reduce breast cancer risk
2 September 2011
Increased intakes of beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and zinc may protect against breast cancer in postmenopausal women, suggests a new Canadian study.
22 February 2016
In the USA, 50% of people aged 70 years or older did not consume the EAR (Estimated Average Requirement) for vitamins D, E and K, and 35 to 40% for vitamins C and A. Whilst for the B vitamins, the percentage of older people failing to meet the EAR was between 1 and 30%.
A new study (1) using the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) data from 2003 to 2008 has demonstrated that elderly people aged over 70 in the USA are deficient in the major vitamins. It also demonstrated that this deficiency is related to income, with the poorest being most at risk. For example, for vitamin B6, folic acid and vitamin K, 13.7%, 9.5% and 56.7% respectively were below the EAR (Estimated Average Requirement) where the household income exceeded USD 75,000 per year, whereas the equivalent figures for the poorest group (i.e., less than USD 25,000 per year) were 31.1%, 19% and 75.3%. Overall, the data demonstrated that 50% of people aged 70 years or older did not consume the EAR for vitamins D, E and K, and 35 to 40% for vitamins C and A. Whilst for the B vitamins, the percentage of older people failing to meet the EAR was between 1 and 30%.
People aged 70 years or older generally have poorer appetites and have impaired absorption of most nutrients, so it is even more important that an intake equivalent to the EAR is achieved.
It has been previously demonstrated that the regular use of supplements can address this problem effectively (2), where the authors showed that the number of elderly men below the EAR for vitamin A, vitamin E and folic acid decreased from 53%, 93% and 75% to 4%, 14% and 7% respectively.
2 September 2011
Increased intakes of beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and zinc may protect against breast cancer in postmenopausal women, suggests a new Canadian study.
1 March 2012
The use of medication worldwide is growing continually, not least because of the rising age of the population. Today there are many people who take more than three different kinds of medication daily (1,2). In highly developed countries, it is particularly common for patients to be prescribed medication long-term, most frequently for the treatment of widespread chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia. It is also a common practice in those regions to take over-the-counter medicines, including painkillers and medication for stomach ulcers (3,4). When several kinds of medication are taken concomitantly, the risks and side effects increase. In contrast to other adverse drug reactions, the inter-action between medications and micronutrients is only gradually gaining the attention of experts and the wider public. A number of medicines influence the metabolism of vitamins, minerals and trace elements in such a way that they could lead to insufficiencies or even deficiency symptoms in patients (5,6).
5 April 2013
Adequate blood vitamin D concentrations and vitamin D3 supplementation seem to activate genes that are important for an optimal working immune system and response to stress, says a new US study.