News
Increased intakes of vitamin K show no improvements in bone loss in women, suggests a new Norwegian study.
27 April 2010
Increased intakes of vitamin K show no improvements in bone loss in women, suggests a new Norwegian study.
27 March 2013
A new US study reports that regular vitamin D supplementation may help African-Americans lower their blood pressure.
In the randomized controlled trial, 250 African-American adults were divided into four groups: three of the groups received daily vitamin D supplementation of 1000, 2000, or 4000 IU for three months, while the fourth group received a placebo (1). The study results showed that the participants in the supplementation group had a decrease in systolic blood pressure by an average of 0.7 to 4 mm Hg, with those who received the highest vitamin D dose benefiting the most. Participants in the placebo group showed a rise in systolic blood pressure (1.7 mm Hg).
The researchers commented that the blood pressure lowering effects of vitamin D were modest but signifi-cant. If further research should be found support these findings, widespread use of vitamin D supplemen-tation among African-Americans could have significant public health benefits. High blood pressure, a risk factor for heart attacks, heart failure and stroke, is 40 percent more common in African-Americans than in other American ethnic groups.
Numerous observational studies have implicated vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency as risk factors for hypertension, cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. Results of randomized controlled trials investiga-ting beneficial effects of vitamin D supplementation have been inconclusive so far (2). Several putative mechanisms underlying the potential vascular and renal effects of vitamin D have been discussed: low vitamin D levels seem to be associated with increased activation of the renin-angiotensin-system (RAS), contributing directly to elevations in blood pressure as well as to renal injury. On the other hand, higher blood vitamin D concentrations have been linked to improved endothelial function, reduced oxidative stress and inflammation.
27 April 2010
Increased intakes of vitamin K show no improvements in bone loss in women, suggests a new Norwegian study.
20 December 2018
NUTRI-FACTS spoke with Peter Van Dael, Ph.D., senior vice president of nutrition science and advocacy at DSM Nutritional Products, to gain insight about what the future holds for nutrition research in 2019.
1 July 2014
It has long been known that vitamin K, which is involved as a coenzyme in the production of coagulation factors, is essential to the regulation of blood coagulation. But vitamin K also fulfils an important role in the activation of certain enzymes which, together with vitamin D, regulate metabolism and can combat the hardening of soft tissues such as blood vessels and help slow bone demineralization. In recent years interest in this vitamin has grown considerably following the discovery of other potentially health-promoting properties. Attention centers on research into the function of vitamin-K-dependent enzymes (Gla proteins), which are found in bones and teeth as well as in blood vessel linings, the brain and other soft tissues, where they appear to regulate cell division and cell differentiation, among other things. Studies indicate that a sufficient intake of vitamin K could help prevent the occurrence of atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, insulin resistance and inflammation of the joints, and above all could protect against the age-related loss of cognitive abilities.