News
New study shows UK adolescents require a vitamin D intake of between 10 to 30 µg per day to maintain adequate tissue levels and avoid deficiency
12 December 2016
27 January 2010
Higher blood levels of vitamin B9 (folate) may reduce the risk of depressive symptoms in men, says a new study.
In the study, vitamin B9 (folate) and homocysteine blood levels in 530 Japanese people were compared with depressive symptoms identified in over 36 percent of the male and female participants (1).
The results showed that depressive symptoms were less common in men with higher folate levels. Indeed, the highest levels were associated with a 50 percent reduction in the prevalence of depressive symptoms, compared to the lowest folate levels. On the other hand, a link between higher levels of the amino acid homocysteine and a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms in men was observed. In women, neither folate nor homocysteine was associated with depressive symptoms.
The research adds to a growing body of research linking folate and folic acid intake to improved mood, and follows a review of 11 studies involving 15,315 participants that reported low folate levels were linked to increased depression (2).
In 2003, U.S. researchers reported that folic acid supplements may help reduce the prevalence of depressive symptoms (3).
The World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts that within 20 years more people will be affected by depression than any other health problem; it ranks depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide, with around 120 million people affected.
12 December 2016
14 October 2015
A new paper from a distinguished group of academic experts on the effects of LCPUFAs on neural development has challenged a 2014 EFSA recommendation on the fatty acid composition of infant formula, which stated that ARA is not required in infant formula, even if DHA is present. The authors pointed out a range of shortcomings in the scientific review that gave rise to the recommendation, including the fact that papers prior to 2000 were not considered, which disqualified many of the key papers including those of the 1982 Nobel Prize winners Bergstrom, Samuelson and Vane. Further, they point out that ARA is ubiquitous in human milk throughout the world and that the consequences of its removal from infant formula are unknown.
16 November 2015
Experts call for research on the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the most common form of chronic liver disease in children.