31 March 2011
A diet rich in vitamin K may improve bone properties for elderly men and women, says a new Spanish study.
The observational study estimated vitamin K intake of 200 elderly men and women with an average age of 67 based on a food frequency questionnaire (1). Over a two-year period various measures of bone health, including bone mineral density (BMD), were performed. According to an analysis the average intake was
334 micrograms of vitamin K per day for men and 300 micrograms per day for women. The study results showed that high dietary intake of vitamin K was significantly related to better bone properties such as lower losses of bone mineral density and smaller increases in the porosity and elasticity attributed to aging.
The researchers commented that these findings help to explain the previously described protective effect of vitamin K intake against osteoporotic fractures. The causality may be linked to osteocalcin, a vitamin K-dependent protein which is essential for the body as it aids in the process of utilizing calcium in bone tissue. Without adequate vitamin K, the osteocalcin remains inactive.
While the study’s participants consumed a healthy diet, an increased intake of vitamin K in populations with lower vitamin consumptions or poor nutrition could be even more beneficial, the researchers concluded. Despite the positive impacts, vitamin K deficiency may be more common than previously thought, according to latest findings (2).
11 November 2010
A new review has come to the conclusion that a sufficient intake of lutein, zeaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids is indispensible for the maintenance of eye health.
1 March 2014
Good eyesight requires the thousands of cells which compose the eye to all function well. The cells, in turn, rely on an adequate supply of micronutrients to support and maintain their function. Several vitamins are needed as co-factors for the enzymes involved in sight. Vitamins are also important to the optical nerve that transmits light signals from the eye to the brain; to the muscle cells that facilitate visual acuity; and to the blood vessels that are responsible for supplying the eyes with blood and nutrients. The carotenoids found in the macula lutea, the yellow spot at the center of the retina, filter short-wave light like natural sunglasses and protect this sensitive area of the eye against UV damage. In addition, omega-3 fatty acids protect the retina and are indispensible for sensory cell function and hence for vision.
15 February 2014
Up until this point, the methods of evidence-based medicine developed specifically for drugs (e.g., using randomized controlled trials) have been applied to nutrient research without apparent attention to important differences between drugs and nutrients.
