19 August 2009
Vitamin D may inhibit the build-up of cholesterol in blood vessels improving heart health of diabetics, says in vitro study.
Researchers found that diabetics – a population group at higher risk of heart disease – with low vitamin D levels displayed difficulties in processing cholesterol, putting them at an increased risk of heart attack and stroke (1).
Cholesterol is transported through the blood attached to lipoproteins such as LDL, the 'bad' cholesterol. As it is stimulated by free radicals in the vessel wall, LDL becomes oxidated, and cells called macrophages eat it uncontrollably. LDL cholesterol then clogs the macrophages, leading to stiffening of blood vessels and blocking of blood flow (atherosclerosis).
Vitamin D inhibits the uptake of cholesterol macrophages. When people are deficient in vitamin D, the macrophage cells eat more cholesterol, and are unable to get rid of it. The macrophages get clogged with cholesterol and become what scientists call foam cells, which are one of the earliest markers of atherosclerosis. Macrophage activation is higher in people with disease such as diabetes.
The scientists said that the problem may be solved by simply ensuring adequate vitamin D status via supplements, as there is debate about whether any amount of sun exposure is safe.
The next stage in the research is to look at vitamin D-deficient diabetics who also have high blood pressure, and to learn whether replacing vitamin D will lower blood pressure and improve blood flow.
15 January 2013
Emerging scientific evidence supports a number of potential roles for folate in maintaining health, from maternal and fetal health in pregnancy, through childhood, to preventing chronic disease in middle and old age.
27 June 2014
A new US review suggests that people with lower blood levels of vitamin D are twice as likely to die prematurely as people with higher blood vitamin D levels.
1 September 2013
Skin possesses the lifelong ability to renew itself, but as we age this process takes longer. Between the ages of 20 and 50 the rate of skin cell renewal gradually slows, and after the age of 50 it slows ever faster. The surface layer of the skin, the epidermis, becomes thinner and can store less water. In the dermis, or true skin, production of the collagen that supports and firms the skin declines. Menopause in women, during which the body reduces estrogen production, causes a further loss of firmness and elasticity. Environmental factors like UV radiation have a major impact, accelerating the decomposition of collagen and encouraging the formation of aggressive oxygen compounds that can damage skin cells from the membrane to the DNA. The subcutaneous layer of fat and loose connective tissue becomes thinner. At the same time, the supply of nutrients and energy to the skin deteriorates. It is therefore important to support the health of aging skin with a sufficient supply of micronutrients.
