News
An insufficient vitamin D supply may increase dementia risk
11 August 2014
A new US study reports that older people with vitamin D deficiency seem to have a substantially increased risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
12 August 2013
New research reports that the majority of adult Omanis may have deficient vitamin D levels.
The observational study measured blood vitamin D concentrations of 206 healthy participants, aged 18–55, from Muscat, Oman (1). The study results showed that almost all of the participants had insufficient vitamin D levels: 39 percent of the participants had levels below 10 ng/ml (severe deficiency), 87.5 percent had levels below 20 ng/ml (deficiency) and 98.5 percent had levels below 30 ng/ml. The blood concentrations were slightly higher in men than women.
The researchers commented that the low vitamin D levels were due to avoidance of skin exposure to sun-light, lack of supplementation and lack of dietary vitamin D. Even though no veiled women were included in the study, almost all of the women dressed in clothing that only exposed the face to the sun. The mean serum 25(OH)D values of the study population were lower than values reported for the populations domiciled in upper latitudes, which could be explained by the use of heavy clothing in Oman. The dress habits of popu-lations in more northerly latitudes allow more skin exposure to sunlight than those of Omanis. The resear-chers recommended that vitamin D deficiency be combated on a population-wide scale with a combination of better sun exposure habits, more fortified food and better supplementation habits.
The country of Oman is located 21 degrees north of the equator. Its relatively close proximity to the equator makes it possible for people to produce vitamin D from sun exposure year-round. This is in contrast to coun-tries that are further from the equator, where it’s impossible to make vitamin D during the winter due to low UVB intensity. Despite this advantage, low vitamin D levels are often reported in the Middle East, likely due to heavy clothing use and other lifestyle factors.
11 August 2014
A new US study reports that older people with vitamin D deficiency seem to have a substantially increased risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
26 September 2019
If you are providing healthcare for a woman who is pregnant, you may get questions about food and nutrition. Pregnancy is an important time for both mom (and baby!) to get good nutrition, but circumstances like food aversions, food cravings, and traveling while pregnant might make getting good nutrition a bit more challenging. The NUTRI-FACTS team sat down with Tori Schmitt, registered dietitian and new mom, to answer popular prenatal nutrition questions.
15 July 2012
The precise dietary requirements for various vitamins have been controversial since their discovery in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Early recommendations were based on the amounts needed to avoid so-called “diseases of deficiency”