25 February 2010
Intakes of calcium above the recommended daily levels may reduce the risk of dying from heart disease and cancer by 25 percent, says a new study.
In the population-based, prospective study, data from 23,366 Swedish men between 45 and 79 years of age were analyzed (1). Between 1998 and the end of 2007, 2,358 deaths from all causes, which included 819 deaths from cardiovascular disease and 738 from cancer were documented. Average daily intakes of 1,953 mg calcium were associated with a non-significant lower risk of mortality from heart disease, compared to average daily intakes of 990 mg perday. The highest average intakes, almost double the recommended levels, were associated with a 25 percent reduction in so-called all-cause mortality, compared with the lowest average intakes.
Recommended daily intakes of calcium for people between 19 and 50 years of age are 1,000 mg for both men and women, according to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
On the other hand, intakes of magnesium up to about 523 milligrams per day were not associated with mortality from all-causes, heart disease or cancer.
The findings relating to heart disease appear to be inline with findings from other studies, which have reported that calcium may lower blood pressure and reduced the risk of hypertension. Such a link is controversial, however.
15 April 2014
The main function of vitamin E is to protect against damage of reactive oxygen species. It also has non-antioxidant functions in cell signaling, gene expression and regulation.
1 July 2012
A new review of national dietary surveys shows that vitamin intakes below recommended levels arecommon in representative Western populations in countries such as Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and the USA.
1 January 2014
Cell aging is a complex process in which numerous factors can be involved. Telomeres located at the ends of chromosomes play an important role here – they consist of repetitive DNA sequences and associated proteins (histones) that stabilize the DNA by forming a kind of protective cap. When DNA is copied during cell division, some of the DNA building blocks (nucleotides) at the ends of the chromosomes are not copied, with the result that the telomeres on the newly formed DNA strands get shorter with each cell division. With increasing telomere shortening the cell changes its pattern of gene activation, slows its rate of division, then halts division completely (senescence), and eventually dies (apoptosis). Telomerase, an enz- yme that forms telomeres, counteracts this cell aging process by adding nucleotides that would otherwise be lost to the ends of the new DNA strand. Cell aging and death are thus delayed. Both telomere length and the amount and activity of telomerase, along with other factors, determine how many times cells can divide. Studies have shown that these factors can be positively influenced by micronutrients.
