News
Fair-skinned people may need more dietary vitamin D intake
10 October 2011
Sun-sensitive people tend to be deficient in vitamin D and may need dietary supplements to get adequate blood levels, says a new UK study.
20 March 2017
A nationwide, cross-sectional study called VitaMinFemin (vitamin- and mineral status among German women) was carried out in Germany to determine the status of selected nutrient levels during different stages of life. Researchers measured fatty acid levels in the red blood cell (RBC) membranes (percentage of total erythrocyte fatty acids) in 446 women aged 40 - 60 years (average age was 49 years). Researchers looked specifically at the omega-3 index (percentage of EPA and DHA of total fatty acids), to determine levels of cardio-protection, with the lowest cardiovascular risk at an omega-3 index of 8 percent or greater, and the highest risk with an omega-3 index or 4 percent or less. None of the women in the study took an omega-3 supplement.
The average omega-3 index was 5.49 ± 1.17 percent in the total study population and 97.3 percent (n = 434) of the women showed an omega-3 index below 8 percent. The majority of the study population had an omega-3 index between 4 and 6 percent (62.8 percent, n = 280), while 9.0 percent (n = 40) of the women had an omega 3 index of 4 percent or less.
The results indicated that omega-3 index is affected by age and smoking with slightly higher values in women 50 years (p = 0.032) of age or older and non-smokers (p = 0.002), which is in line with several other studies.
These results cannot be considered surprising as a German nutrition report from 2012 demonstrated that most German women have a low intake of EPA and DHA – less than 200 mg per day. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends adults consume 250mg per day of DHA and EPA for cardiovascular health.
10 October 2011
Sun-sensitive people tend to be deficient in vitamin D and may need dietary supplements to get adequate blood levels, says a new UK study.
24 February 2011
Folic acid may be effective in the primary prevention of ischemic heart disease when aspirin is not taken routinely, a new UK study suggests.
8 September 2015
A new study from New Zealand reports that low blood vitamin D concentrations seem to increase the risk of developing a depression in healthy young adults.