Expert opinion
What Vitamins Can and Cannot Do
1 May 2009
“Every micronutrient unfolds a specific effect in the human organism. These effects are complex, sometimes dose-dependent and can vary from one type of tissue or organ to another;
21 May 2014
A new study from Australia reports that increased blood concentrations of carotenoids such as beta-carotene may prevent fractures long-term.
The clinical study observed fracture incidents among 998 adult participants who received daily vitamin A
(7.5 mg retinol equivalents) and/or beta-carotene (30 mg) during a mean of eight years (1). The study results showed that participants with increasing concentrations of total carotenoids in blood had a lower risk for any fracture. No association was observed between plasma retinol concentrations and the risk for any or osteoporotic fracture.
The researchers commented that these findings do not support some earlier observational studies which reported an increased fracture risk associated with increased serum retinol levels (2, 3). The new study included a larger number of individuals with higher plasma concentrations of retinol and beta-carotene than previous observational studies, and was able to examine a wider range of concentrations. On the other hand, the new results match earlier reported observations that long-term supplementation with retinol (for up to
17 years) is not associated with the risk for fracture, whereas long-term supplementation with beta-carotene may reduce this risk (4).
1 May 2009
“Every micronutrient unfolds a specific effect in the human organism. These effects are complex, sometimes dose-dependent and can vary from one type of tissue or organ to another;
1 September 2015
A new pilot study treated patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) with high doses of the water-soluble vitamin biotin. Improvements were noted in vision and degree of paralysis. The results were encouraging enough to initiate new randomised controlled trials.
29 September 2011
Insufficient blood vitamin D concentrations could be the reason why children with asthma experience worse lung function and more severe symptoms, a new UK study says.