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| | March  2008 #1 |
Take vitamin D over winter: Expert 
As the days grow shorter, the sun's warm rays aren't the only thing your body may be missing, warns Creighton University researcher Joan Lappe, PhD.
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During the winter, most of us are deficient in vitamin D - a nutrient shown to help prevent cancer.
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If you live in North American at latitudes above the 37th parallel - which includes all of Canada and the northern half of the USA - you also may not be getting enough vitamin D, says Lappe, professor of medicine and Chair of the Creighton School of Nursing.And that vitamin D is important to your health. In fact, a landmark study by Lappe and other researchers, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed a direct link between vitamin D and cancer prevention.
Sources: summer sun and fish
Humans can get vitamin D from several sources. During the summer, the body can convert solar energy into ample amounts of vitamin D with just 10 to 15 minutes exposure daily to the sun. That's not possible this time of year.
"From October until the end of March, the angle of the sun is such that, in much of North America, no vitamin D is available from that source," Lappe says. "What that means is most of us are deficient in vitamin D this time of year."
While you can get the vitamin from fish oil and a few fortified foods, it's difficult to take in adequate amounts of vitamin D through diet alone. Lappe recommends taking vitamin D3 - the same form of the vitamin that humans make from exposure to the sun.
How much of a good thing?
The amount of vitamin D you should take daily is a subject of great debate, Lappe notes.The US government's recommended daily allowance is 200 IU until age 50, 400 IU for 50-70 year-olds, and 600 IU after age 70. However, many medical experts believe those recommendations are far too low.
The Canadian Cancer Society recently recommended that people with light skin take 1,000 IU of the vitamin supplement during fall and winter, while people with darker skin or limited sun exposure take that amount throughout the year.
The society's recommendation coincided with the publication of the Creighton research in June. The four-year study involving 1,179 Nebraska women showed that women taking calcium supplements plus 1,100 IU of vitamin D3 daily, experienced a 60% decrease in their risk of developing cancer compared to a placebo group.
"Generally, medical experts consider it safe to take between 1,000 IU and 2,000 IU of vitamin D supplements daily," Lappe says.
Omega-3 lowers kids' allergy risk
Omega-3 fats seem to have a protective effect on allergies in children. One-year-olds whose mothers had ingested fish oil during pregnancy and breastfeeding had considerably fewer allergic reactions than children whose mothers did not take this supplement, according to a study from LinkÃ-ping University in Sweden.
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Kids who got omega-3s before and after birth had fewer than half as many reactions.
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The study, which started in 2005, comprised 145 pregnant mothers with families at heightened risk of developing allergy and asthma. From the 25th week of pregnancy through the third month of nursing, they were asked to take nine capsules of oil every day. Half of them were given fish oil with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, and the other half were given a placebo.
It turned out that the "fish-oil children" had fewer than half as many reactions to eggs at the age of one year as the placebo group did. Allergic reactions to eggs early in life are strongly correlated with the later development of allergic disorders like eczema and asthma.
All of the children are now two years old and have undergone a clinical examination regarding eczema, been scratch-tested for eggs, milk, and cats, and left a blood sample.
The idea that the difference is truly an effect of the omega-3 fats is supported by an immunological study of the mothers' blood. The women who were given fish oil had less prostaglandin E2 in their blood than the others. This is a substance that triggers allergic immune responses, and it is known that it is depressed when omega-3 increases.
Herb may increase life span: study
Fruit flies that ate a diet rich with Rhodiola rosea, an herbal supplement long used for its purported stress-relief effects, lived on an average of 10% longer than fly groups that didn't eat the herb, say University of California, Irvine researchers.
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Rhodiola, studied since the 1940s, may have many uses.
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"Although this study does not present clinical evidence that Rhodiola can extend human life, the finding that it does extend the life span of a model organism, combined with its known health benefits in humans, make this herb a promising candidate for further anti-aging research," said professor Mahtab Jafari.
Rhodiola grows in cold climates at high altitudes and has been used by Scandinavians and Russians for centuries for its anti-stress qualities. The herb is thought to have anti-oxidative properties and has been widely studied.
Soviet researchers have been studying Rhodiola since the 1940s on athletes and cosmonauts, finding that the herb boosts the body's response to stress. And earlier this year, a Nordic Journal of Psychiatry study on people with mild-to-moderate depression showed that patients taking a Rhodiola extract reported fewer symptoms of depression than did those who took a placebo.
B-vitamins crucial for young and old
Babies conceived while their mothers are deficient in essential B vitamins may grow up predisposed to obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, according to new research. Scientists found that when female sheep were low in B12 and folate (folic acid) before pregnancy, there were major physical effects in their offspring.
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All adults, but especially women of child-bearing age, can help ensure key nutrients with a multivitamin.
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By two years old the offspring were 25% fatter than normal, had greatly raised blood pressure, and showed signs of insulin resistance. They also appeared to have altered and hypersensitive immune systems.
Scientists believe there is a good chance of the sheep becoming obese, prone to heart disease, and afflicted by type 2 diabetes. They think the same pattern might occur in humans.
In a related UK study, researchers at the University of Oxford found that low levels of B12 can speed mental decline in older people.
Among a group of 1,648 men and women aged 65 and older, those with higher blood levels of vitamin B12 had a slower drop-off in cognitive function over 10 years than their peers, the researchers found.
Folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements are known to reduce levels of homocysteine, a damaging protein linked to both heart disease and Alzheimer's. The findings suggest that doubling a person's vitamin B12 levels by taking oral supplements could slow cognitive decline by one third.
Pill slows aging - even Alzheimer's
German researchers report that taking alpha-lipoic acid can dramatically slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
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Research points to alpha-lipolic acid as one of the most important anti-aging remedies.
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In the study, 43 patients with mild or moderate Alzheimer's who supplemented with alpha-lipoic acid (600 mg/day) had dramatically lower progression of the disease over a period of 48 months, compared to data from patients not receiving alpha-lipoic acid.
The researchers also point to a previous study in which 9 patients with Alzheimer's receiving standard treatment with choline-esterase inhibitors were given the same dosage of alpha-lipoic acid for 12 months. The results of this previous study indicated stabilization of cognitive functions, as assessed by two neuropsychological tests.
The authors conclude, "Despite the fact that this study was not double-blinded, placebo-controlled and randomized, our data suggest that treatment with alpha-lipoic acid might be a successful 'neuroprotective' therapy option for Alzheimer's."
In an earlier study, researchers from Oregon State University reported that alpha-lipoic acid can slow down the process of aging, improve blood flow and enhance immune function in animal studies. The natural compound "turns on the basic cellular defenses of the body, including some of those that naturally decline with age," said the researchers. "In particular, it tends to restore levels of glutathione, a protective antioxidant and detoxification compound, to those of a young animal. It also acts as a strong anti-inflammatory agent, which is relevant to many degenerative diseases."
Vinegar before bed helps diabetics
Apple cider vinegar has many "folk uses" - from aiding arthritis to promoting weight loss, and many in between - but science-based evidence is somewhat lacking. Now, a small study suggests that taking vinegar at bedtime may help blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.
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Researchers examined the effect of vinegar taken at bedtime in men and women (ages 40 to 72 years) with type 2 diabetes who were not taking insulin. They found that the fasting glucose in the diabetics fell by 2% with placebo (water) and by 4% with 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, a statistically significant difference.
The researchers found that the vinegar was most effective for those with higher fasting glucose levels. Fasting glucose in these participants was reduced by 6%.
"Vinegar is widely available, it is affordable, and it is appealing as a remedy, but much more work is required to determine whether vinegar is a useful adjunct therapy for individuals with diabetes," the authors conclude.
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