Top News – Kapiti Coast District Council had to reduce fluoride dosing in its town supply after it faced public pressure. Previously in the month of June, extremely divided council made the decision that it would retain the usage of fluoride in the water supply for Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Raumati, however, on Thursday, it voted to lessen the usage of the chemical. Read article
WebMD — There is now biologic evidence to back up the belief that vitamin D may protect against autoimmune diseases and certain cancers. A new genetic analysis lends support to the idea that the vitamin interacts with genes specific for colorectal cancer, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and other diseases, says Oxford University genetic researcher Sreeram Ramagopalan. The study is published in Genome Research. Read article
Related article: Study explores link between sunlight, multiple sclerosis
Calgary Herald – If you can’t get a dose of sunshine, a daily vitamin D supplement could help ward off colds during winter, according to a small Finnish study. Researchers have been interested in whether the vitamin might play a role in susceptibility to respiratory infections that tend to rise during winter, when people get little exposure to sunlight. Read article
Reuters – A daily vitamin D supplement may help young men enjoy more sick-free days during cold and flu season, a small study suggests. Vitamin D has been the subject of much research of late, with studies linking low vitamin D levels in the blood to higher risks of type 1 diabetes and severe asthma attacks in children and, in adults, heart disease, certain cancers and depression. But whether vitamin D is the reason for the excess risks — and whether taking supplements can curb those risks — has yet to be shown. Read article
PhysOrg.com – B vitamin supplements are safe, but do not reduce subsequent vascular events (stroke, heart attack, or vascular death) in patients who have had a recent stroke or ischaemic attack, despite a lowering of homocysteine levels. As such, B vitamins should not be recommended to prevent recurrent stroke, according to the first placebo-controlled trial of B vitamins in stroke patients. These are the conclusions of an Article published Online First and in the September edition of The Lancet Neurology. Read article
NY Times – Vitamin D promises to be the most talked-about and written-about supplement of the decade. While studies continue to refine optimal blood levels and recommended dietary amounts, the fact remains that a huge part of the population — from robust newborns to the frail elderly, and many others in between — are deficient in this essential nutrient. Read article
PhysOrg.com – A new study from Perth’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research shows an association between ADHD and a ‘Western-style’ diet in adolescents. The research findings have just been published online in the international Journal of Attention Disorders. Leader of Nutrition studies at the Institute, Associate Professor Wendy Oddy, said the study examined the dietary patterns of 1800 adolescents from the long-term Raine Study and classified diets into ‘Healthy’ or ‘Western’ patterns. Read article
ScienceDaily — Resveratrol, a popular plant extract shown to prolong life in yeast and lower animals due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, appears also to suppress inflammation in humans, based on results from the first prospective human trial of the extract conducted by University at Buffalo endocrinologists. Read article
BBC – Calcium supplements taken by many older people could be increasing their risk of a heart attack, research shows. The study, in the British Medical Journal, said people who took supplements were 30% more likely to have a heart attack. Data from 11 trials also suggested the medicines were not very effective at preventing bone fractures. Almost 3m people in the UK are thought to have osteoporosis and many take calcium pills to prevent fractures. Read article
The Globe – Those researching the sunshine vitamin are so convinced of its benefits they’re popping far more than the recommended amounts. The hype around vitamin D is intense, with new medical research almost weekly linking insufficiencies to everything from cancer to osteoporosis and childhood diabetes. So the big question for the health-conscious is: how much to take? Health Canada is currently studying the medical claims about vitamin D, and in the meantime says it’s “premature” to jump on the supplement bandwagon. But many of the scientists investigating the nutrient, and presumably those most knowledgeable about it, are taking another approach. They’re personally popping the vitamin, big time. Read article
ScienceDaily — As many as 1 out of 3 cancer deaths in both humans and dogs could be prevented by reducing Omega-6 fatty acids and cutting calories, according to research presented at the 2010 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo®. Read article
San Francisco Chronicle - A new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest argues that synthetic dyes should be banned because they pose “A Rainbow of Risks” without any real benefits. Every year, manufactures pour about 15 million pounds of eight common synthetic dyes into Americans’ food. Yet, tests have shown that a number of these compounds have health risks ranging from powerful allergic reactions and hyperactivity in children to cancer. Read article
Irish Central – A report published in Britain recently recommends Ireland and other countries reverse its decision to follow the American example, and stop putting the poisonous chemical called fluoride in public drinking water and hygiene products. Published in the peer-reviewed journal Toxicology — the official journal of the British Toxicology Society and the German Toxicology Society – author Dr. Robert Verkerk said “mass fluoridation of the public water supply [must be] stopped immediately. This is borne out by actual data from Ireland which shows that every third child is affected [by a high risk of dental fluorosis].” Read article
PhysOrg.com – In high-income countries, diseases related to vitamin deficiencies are not as frequent as in poorer settings but are nonetheless regular occurrences. In a Clinical Picture published Online First and in next week’s Lancet, the case of a 24-year-old pregnant woman suffering vitamin A deficiency is reported. The Clinical Picture is written by Dr Stephen H Tsang, Edward Harkness Eye Institute, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA, and colleagues. Read article
Reuters Health – People with celiac disease and others who avoid gluten should beware that foods that are supposed to be naturally gluten-free are often contaminated, warns a new study. Gluten is a kind of protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. In people with celiac disease – a condition that affects up to about 1 percent of the U.S. population – gluten triggers an immune reaction that causes damage to the small intestine and keeps the body from absorbing nutrients. Read article
PhysOrg.com – In the July 2010 issue of Endocrine Today, a monthly newspaper published by SLACK, Inc., to disseminate information about diabetes and endocrine disorders, Anthony Norman, a distinguished professor emeritus of biochemistry and biomedical sciences and an international expert on vitamin D, notes that half the people in North America and Western Europe get insufficient amounts of vitamin D. Read article
Press TV – New studies show that aspartame may increase the risk of premature births. Research funded by the European Union found a correlation between the amount of diet drink consumed and an early birth among the 60,000 women studied, The Mail on Sunday reported on July 10. The study also says that drinks containing aspartame and other artificial sweeteners may pose a danger to the unborn child. Some British public health experts are now advising expectant mothers to avoid food and drink containing the chemicals, the report added. Read article
PhysOrg.com – Individuals with higher levels of vitamin D appear to have a reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Neurology. Read article
Press TV – While the focus of the majority of popular diets rests on the amount of food consumed, a new study points out the importance of vitamins in cutting calories. Many diets highlight the importance of the quantities of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in shedding off pounds and subsequently improving obesity, diabetes and heart disease risk factors. They, however, overlook the influence of vitamins and minerals in cutting calories and carbs. Read article
Huffington Post – Aspartame is the most controversial food additive in history, and its approval for use in food was the most contested in FDA history. In the end, the artificial sweetener was approved, not on scientific grounds, but rather because of strong political and financial pressure. After all, aspartame was previously listed by the Pentagon as a biochemical warfare agent! Read Article
Xinhua — Elderly people with low vitamin D levels may face greater risk of metabolic syndrome, according to a new study presented at the on-going 92nd annual meeting of The Endocrine Society in San Diego, about 90 miles (144 kilometers) south of Los Angeles. “Because the metabolic syndrome* increases the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, an adequate vitamin D level in the body might be important in the prevention of these diseases,” said study co-author Marelise Eekhoff, MD, PhD, of VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam. Read article
* Metabolic syndrome (also called syndrome X or insulin resistance syndrome) is a collection of conditions that occur together and can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease. It is preventable.
Related article: Studies Find Increasing Health Benefits From Vitamin D
UPI — Sufficient vitamin D levels may help maintain cognitive function — being able to manage and use available information — in the elderly, U.S. researchers say. Epidemiologist Katherine Tucker of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston and colleagues say the study involved more than 1,000 participants ages 65-99 receiving home care. People receiving home care have a higher risk than others of not getting enough vitamin D because they seldom go outside for exposure to sunlight. Read article
CNSNews.com — Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius said today that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is developing a new regulation that would require food manufacturers to display nutritional information on the front of packages. Read Article
UPI — British and Italian researchers, working independently, found the majority of patients with rheumatic conditions are deficient in vitamin D. Researchers in Britain looked at 180 patients and found 58 percent of those with rheumatic conditions had vitamin D levels lower than what is considered “sufficient” for good health. Read Article
ScienceDaily — Patients who had experienced a heart attack and lowered their blood homocysteine levels with folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation did not have an associated lower risk of heart attack, coronary death or stroke, according to a study in the June 23/30 issue of JAMA. However, the researchers did find that folic acid supplementation did not increase the risk of cancer, which has been speculated. Blood homocysteine levels are positively associated with cardiovascular disease, but it is uncertain whether the association is causal, according to background information in the article. Read article
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