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IN THIS ISSUE:
  • Breastfeeding Linked to Better Lung Health

    Babies who are breastfed may have healthier lungs and a reduced risk of asthma than those who receive formula.

  • Kids Living with Dogs Get Fewer Infections

    A study has found that children who live with a dog develop fewer infections and receive fewer antibiotic prescriptions.

  • Vitamin D Deficiency is Dangerous to Health

    Inadequate sun exposure or intake of vitamin D can put people at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune disease.

  • Vitamin D Deficiency is Dangerous to Health

    Inadequate sun exposure or intake of vitamin D can put people at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune disease.

  • Reflux Drugs Don’t Help Kids’ Asthma

    Acid reflux drugs are commonly prescribed for children with asthma, but research has found an increased risk of respiratory illness and no improvements in asthma control.

  • Vitamin D May Help Prevent the Flu

    Low vitamin D levels during the winter months may contribute to an increased risk of coming down with the flu.

  • Low Zinc Levels Increase Pneumonia Risk in Elderly

    A recent study has found that seniors with normal blood levels of zinc are 50% less likely to develop pneumonia that those with low zinc levels.

  • Vit D Boosts Immune System

    Many studies have found that vitamin D plays a role in the prevention of respiratory infections such as the cold and flu.

  • Immune Boosting Foods

    A healthy diet adequate in key nutrients may help your body better fight incoming viral threats during the cold and flu season.

  • Immune-Boosting Strategies During a Critical Time of Year
  • Summer Sun May Keep Flu at Bay

    Researchers have noted a link between low vitamin D levels and an increased risk of coming down with the flu. As people get more sunshine, flu cases subside until fall and winter usually.

  • Vitamin D and Respiratory Illness

    Posted April 8, 2009 People with low blood levels of vitamin D have a higher risk of colds and other upper respiratory infections, especially if they also have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In a study of nearly 19,000 people in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the risk of an upper respiratory [...]

  • Vitamin D Boosts Immunity

    Vitamin C may get all the credit when it comes to cold prevention, but new research has shed light on the importance of vitamin D’s role in immunity.

  • Low Vitamin D Increases Risk of Colds

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 Vitamin D may be an important way to arm the immune system against disorders like the common cold, according to a report published on Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine. In the biggest and most nationally representative study of the association between vitamin D and respiratory infections, conducted by investigators [...]

  • Simple Steps to Reduce Risk of Vitamin D Deficiency

    Posted Dec 2, 2008 What can we do to prevent vitamin D deficiency? A The American Academy of Pediatrics held its annual conference in Boston recently and announced that it has doubled its recommended amount of vitamin D for infants, children and adolescents. The increase is from 200 IU to 400 IU per day, beginning [...]

  • Vitamin D may prevent colds & flu

    Could a lack of sunlight in the dim winter months be the reason we tend to be infected with more cold and flu viruses at this time of year? Some researchers think so. While the importance of vitamin D for calcium absorption and healthy bones is widely known, a new benefit is coming to light: [...]

Breastfeeding Linked to Better Lung Health

Posted April 25, 2013

Kids who were breastfed as babies may have better lung function, and a lower risk of asthma than those who were formula-fed, two new reports suggest, said Dr Mustafa Kamil Al Kaisi, Specialist Paediatric Endocrinologist, Zulekha Hospital, Dubai.

Research has suggested that asthmatic moms who breastfeed may be putting their kids at risk. But the new research hints that it is not the case and those babies with asthmatic moms may get just as much benefit from breastfeeding, if not more, as those with asthma-free mothers.

“I think the evidence is that breastfeeding increases lung volume irrespective of whether the mother is asthmatic or not. If the lung volume is increased, then you are less susceptible to get asthma. It’s important to tell asthmatic mothers to breastfeed their children,” he said.

Some researchers found that the longer kids were breastfed, the better they performed on tests of forced expiratory flow. On tests of forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in one second, breastfeeding for four months or longer was linked to better scores in kids whose moms had asthma.

The researchers reported that the better lung function did not seem to be related to a history of fewer childhood respiratory infections and the lung boost attributed to breastfeeding might not make a difference for a healthy kid, but on a wider scale, it could mean that breastfeeding would protect more kids from breathing problems. With data on more than 1,000 kids, including about 200 with asthma at their last visit, they found that each month of exclusive breastfeeding was tied to a 9 per cent drop in asthma risk.

Researchers for long surmised that breast milk might carry cells related to allergies and asthma from mother to baby, putting infants of asthmatic moms at risk of breathing problems and suggested mothers with asthma may avoid breastfeeding. But the new findings suggest they shouldn’t worry and babies’ suckling during breastfeeding may strengthen their lungs and help protect them against asthma.

“I don’t think any of that (evidence) is now strong enough to tell moms they should stop breastfeeding because of all the other important benefits that breastfeeding conveys to the child,” he added.

news@khaleejtimes.com

©2012 the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Kids who were breastfed as babies may have better lung function, and a lower risk of asthma than those who were formula-fed, two new reports suggest, said Dr Mustafa Kamil Al Kaisi, Specialist Paediatric Endocrinologist, Zulekha Hospital, Dubai.

Research has suggested that asthmatic moms who breastfeed may be putting their kids at risk. But the new research hints that it is not the case and those babies with asthmatic moms may get just as much benefit from breastfeeding, if not more, as those with asthma-free mothers.

"I think the evidence is that breastfeeding increases lung volume irrespective of whether the mother is asthmatic or not. If the lung volume is increased, then you are less susceptible to get asthma. It's important to tell asthmatic mothers to breastfeed their children," he said.

Some researchers found that the longer kids were breastfed, the better they performed on tests of forced expiratory flow. On tests of forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in one second, breastfeeding for four months or longer was linked to better scores in kids whose moms had asthma.

The researchers reported that the better lung function did not seem to be related to a history of fewer childhood respiratory infections and the lung boost attributed to breastfeeding might not make a difference for a healthy kid, but on a wider scale, it could mean that breastfeeding would protect more kids from breathing problems. With data on more than 1,000 kids, including about 200 with asthma at their last visit, they found that each month of exclusive breastfeeding was tied to a 9 per cent drop in asthma risk.

Researchers for long surmised that breast milk might carry cells related to allergies and asthma from mother to baby, putting infants of asthmatic moms at risk of breathing problems and suggested mothers with asthma may avoid breastfeeding. But the new findings suggest they shouldn't worry and babies' suckling during breastfeeding may strengthen their lungs and help protect them against asthma.

"I don't think any of that (evidence) is now strong enough to tell moms they should stop breastfeeding because of all the other important benefits that breastfeeding conveys to the child," he added.

news@khaleejtimes.com

©2012 the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

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Kids Living with Dogs Get Fewer Infections

Posted October 19, 2012

A study out of Finland suggests kids who have a dog or cat in the home tend to be healthier, developing fewer respiratory infections in their first year of life.

Until now, exposure to dogs and cats — especially their dander — has been associated with lower allergy and asthma rates among pet owners, but the recent report opens up something new altogether. It correlates the keeping of a dog or cat with a lowered chance of developing infection.

Scientists think the dirt and debris these pets track indoors might be what’s behind this new finding. The child’s immune system would be strengthened, “or maybe it’s something about the animals themselves,” study research Dr. Eija Bergroth told MSNBC.

Dr. Scott Cyrus, chief of staff at Hillcrest Hospital South, said the pets are likely bringing in from the outdoors some bacteria children don’t normally encounter. He references a part of the study in which those participants whose pets did not go outside didn’t have as great an immunity.

Some researchers caution that other factors may play a role in the study’s participants’ heightened immunity to respiratory infection. Also, the study looked exclusively at children in rural and suburban areas — children in urban areas living with pets may have a different experience.

The study followed 397 children from pregnancy through their first year of life and found that those living with dogs developed 31 percent fewer respiratory tract symptoms or infections, 44 percent fewer ear infections and received 29 percent fewer antibiotic prescriptions.

While having a cat around had similar benefits, the extent was not as great as it was for dogs. Michael R. Gomez, chairman of the pediatrics department at the OU School of Community Medicine-Tulsa, thinks the puzzling caveat might have all to do with cats being less sociable than dogs.

In all, the study lends some credibility to the assertion that children are healthier and have fewer allergies when living with pets.

“It’s the same process that one would go through when you have a known allergy,” Gomez said. “If you have a grass allergy for instance, an allergist would slowly expose you to small, tolerable doses of grass pollen to the point that your immune system gets used to it.”

While a very young child isn’t typically on the floor with his dog, he does become desensitized to the pet dander largely through his time with parents who are exposed to the pet.

“Over time, (the children) start to interact with the pet and then they start to sleep with the pet and then the pet starts to lick their face, so over time they’re exposed to those danders and they kind of develop a natural defense,” Gomez said.

Research is always requiring some fine tuning and the recent findings aren’t absolute, said Gomez, reminding people to stay abreast with the latest health news.

But experts don’t want parents to go rush out and buy a pet to cure all their children’s health woes.

“I’m not sure we can truly extrapolate that this is going to fit the United States’ make-up but in true form, it is something to look at,” Cyrus said.

The study’s Bergroth and local physicians Gomez and Cyrus hope people come away with the understanding that parents needn’t be afraid of introducing a dog or cat into their home. Talk with the doctor about your pet allergies and those you may have passed down to your kids. But don’t be afraid. As Gomez sees it, of greater importance is keeping your young one physically safe around pets.

“We spend a lot more of our anticipatory guidance counseling focused on safety in the sense that we want to avoid … injury to the face or hands,” said Gomez, adding he also counsels parents on the importance of keeping children away from cat litter boxes that harbor harmful bacteria.

Bravetta Hassell 918-581-8316 bravetta.hassell@tulsaworld.com

©2012 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.)

Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at www.tulsaworld.com

A study out of Finland suggests kids who have a dog or cat in the home tend to be healthier, developing fewer respiratory infections in their first year of life.

Until now, exposure to dogs and cats -- especially their dander -- has been associated with lower allergy and asthma rates among pet owners, but the recent report opens up something new altogether. It correlates the keeping of a dog or cat with a lowered chance of developing infection.

Scientists think the dirt and debris these pets track indoors might be what's behind this new finding. The child's immune system would be strengthened, "or maybe it's something about the animals themselves," study research Dr. Eija Bergroth told MSNBC.

Dr. Scott Cyrus, chief of staff at Hillcrest Hospital South, said the pets are likely bringing in from the outdoors some bacteria children don't normally encounter. He references a part of the study in which those participants whose pets did not go outside didn't have as great an immunity.

Some researchers caution that other factors may play a role in the study's participants' heightened immunity to respiratory infection. Also, the study looked exclusively at children in rural and suburban areas -- children in urban areas living with pets may have a different experience.

The study followed 397 children from pregnancy through their first year of life and found that those living with dogs developed 31 percent fewer respiratory tract symptoms or infections, 44 percent fewer ear infections and received 29 percent fewer antibiotic prescriptions.

While having a cat around had similar benefits, the extent was not as great as it was for dogs. Michael R. Gomez, chairman of the pediatrics department at the OU School of Community Medicine-Tulsa, thinks the puzzling caveat might have all to do with cats being less sociable than dogs.

In all, the study lends some credibility to the assertion that children are healthier and have fewer allergies when living with pets.

"It's the same process that one would go through when you have a known allergy," Gomez said. "If you have a grass allergy for instance, an allergist would slowly expose you to small, tolerable doses of grass pollen to the point that your immune system gets used to it."

While a very young child isn't typically on the floor with his dog, he does become desensitized to the pet dander largely through his time with parents who are exposed to the pet.

"Over time, (the children) start to interact with the pet and then they start to sleep with the pet and then the pet starts to lick their face, so over time they're exposed to those danders and they kind of develop a natural defense," Gomez said.

Research is always requiring some fine tuning and the recent findings aren't absolute, said Gomez, reminding people to stay abreast with the latest health news.

But experts don't want parents to go rush out and buy a pet to cure all their children's health woes.

"I'm not sure we can truly extrapolate that this is going to fit the United States' make-up but in true form, it is something to look at," Cyrus said.

The study's Bergroth and local physicians Gomez and Cyrus hope people come away with the understanding that parents needn't be afraid of introducing a dog or cat into their home. Talk with the doctor about your pet allergies and those you may have passed down to your kids. But don't be afraid. As Gomez sees it, of greater importance is keeping your young one physically safe around pets.

"We spend a lot more of our anticipatory guidance counseling focused on safety in the sense that we want to avoid ... injury to the face or hands," said Gomez, adding he also counsels parents on the importance of keeping children away from cat litter boxes that harbor harmful bacteria.

Bravetta Hassell 918-581-8316 bravetta.hassell@tulsaworld.com

©2012 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.)

Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at www.tulsaworld.com

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Vitamin D Deficiency is Dangerous to Health

Posted April 21, 2012

Inadequate sun exposure and vitamin D deficiency have put people at risk of serious illnesses including cardiovascular diseases, tuberculosis, cancer and diabetes

Inadequate sun exposure and vitamin D deficiency have put people at risk of serious illnesses including cardiovascular diseases, tuberculosis, cancer and diabetes, according to an expert.

“Vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic of such magnitude that it is not only alarmingly widespread, but also a root cause of many serious diseases,” said Dr Afrozul Haq, Senior Clinical Scientist, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute at the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC).

These include rickets (childhood bone disease), psoriasis, osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, tuberculosis, respiratory infections, allergy, autoimmune diseases, neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as, common cold and flu.

In the Middle East region, despite the year round sunshine, statistics are grim.

At the first International Conference on Vitamin D Deficiency in studies, which showed that a high percentage of children are vitamin D deficient — 90 per cent of students in Abu Dhabi. Eighty-one per cent of post menopausal women in the Middle East tested for osteoporosis also have inadequate vitamin D levels.

In the UAE, 90 per cent of the population were vitamin D deficient when first tested (2009) while 82 per cent of infants were found to be lacking of vitamin D supplement (2006).

Dr Haq, who is also the Chairman of the Conference’s Scientific Committee, attributed these high prevalence rates to the very hot climate which discourages outdoor activities, the wearing of abaya and burqa, lack of regulations for vitamin D fortification of food and drinks and prolonged breast feeding without vitamin D supplementation.w

To protect oneself from the dire effects of vitamin D deficiency, Dr Haq advised between 10 and 20 minute sun exposure of not less than 40 per cent of body surface, from 10am to 2pm, twice a week. “Ninety per cent of vitamin D comes from the sun, which is the main source of vitamin D3.”

Vitamin D supplement can also come from dietary sources such as fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines) or fish livers (cod liver oil), milk and dairy products, egg yolks, and beef liver.

To avoid serious illnesses, Dr Haq suggested fortifying oneself with vitamin D, to the level of “115 nanomoles (nMol) per litre. Maintain this level,” he advised.

olivia@khaleejtimes.com

©2012 the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Visit the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) at www.khaleejtimes.com

Inadequate sun exposure and vitamin D deficiency have put people at risk of serious illnesses including cardiovascular diseases, tuberculosis, cancer and diabetes

Inadequate sun exposure and vitamin D deficiency have put people at risk of serious illnesses including cardiovascular diseases, tuberculosis, cancer and diabetes, according to an expert.

"Vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic of such magnitude that it is not only alarmingly widespread, but also a root cause of many serious diseases," said Dr Afrozul Haq, Senior Clinical Scientist, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute at the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC).

These include rickets (childhood bone disease), psoriasis, osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, tuberculosis, respiratory infections, allergy, autoimmune diseases, neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, as well as, common cold and flu.

In the Middle East region, despite the year round sunshine, statistics are grim.

At the first International Conference on Vitamin D Deficiency in studies, which showed that a high percentage of children are vitamin D deficient -- 90 per cent of students in Abu Dhabi. Eighty-one per cent of post menopausal women in the Middle East tested for osteoporosis also have inadequate vitamin D levels.

In the UAE, 90 per cent of the population were vitamin D deficient when first tested (2009) while 82 per cent of infants were found to be lacking of vitamin D supplement (2006).

Dr Haq, who is also the Chairman of the Conference's Scientific Committee, attributed these high prevalence rates to the very hot climate which discourages outdoor activities, the wearing of abaya and burqa, lack of regulations for vitamin D fortification of food and drinks and prolonged breast feeding without vitamin D supplementation.w

To protect oneself from the dire effects of vitamin D deficiency, Dr Haq advised between 10 and 20 minute sun exposure of not less than 40 per cent of body surface, from 10am to 2pm, twice a week. "Ninety per cent of vitamin D comes from the sun, which is the main source of vitamin D3."

Vitamin D supplement can also come from dietary sources such as fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines) or fish livers (cod liver oil), milk and dairy products, egg yolks, and beef liver.

To avoid serious illnesses, Dr Haq suggested fortifying oneself with vitamin D, to the level of "115 nanomoles (nMol) per litre. Maintain this level," he advised.

olivia@khaleejtimes.com

©2012 the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Visit the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) at www.khaleejtimes.com

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Vitamin D Deficiency is Dangerous to Health

Posted March 29, 2012

Inadequate sun exposure and vitamin D deficiency have put people at risk of serious illnesses including cardiovascular diseases, tuberculosis, cancer and diabetes

Inadequate sun exposure and vitamin D deficiency have put people at risk of serious illnesses including cardiovascular diseases, tuberculosis, cancer and diabetes, according to an expert.

“Vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic of such magnitude that it is not only alarmingly widespread, but also a root cause of many serious diseases,” said Dr Afrozul Haq, Senior Clinical Scientist, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute at the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC).

These include rickets (childhood bone disease), psoriasis, osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, tuberculosis, respiratory infections, allergy, autoimmune diseases, neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as, common cold and flu.

In the Middle East region, despite the year round sunshine, statistics are grim.

At the first International Conference on Vitamin D Deficiency in studies, which showed that a high percentage of children are vitamin D deficient — 90 per cent of students in Abu Dhabi. Eighty-one per cent of post menopausal women in the Middle East tested for osteoporosis also have inadequate vitamin D levels.

In the UAE, 90 per cent of the population were vitamin D deficient when first tested (2009) while 82 per cent of infants were found to be lacking of vitamin D supplement (2006).

Dr Haq, who is also the Chairman of the Conference’s Scientific Committee, attributed these high prevalence rates to the very hot climate which discourages outdoor activities, the wearing of abaya and burqa, lack of regulations for vitamin D fortification of food and drinks and prolonged breast feeding without vitamin D supplementation.

to protect oneself from the dire effects of vitamin D deficiency, Dr Haq advised between 10 and 20 minute sun exposure of not less than 40 per cent of body surface, from 10am to 2pm, twice a week. “Ninety per cent of vitamin D comes from the sun, which is the main source of vitamin D3.”

Vitamin D supplement can also come from dietary sources such as fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines) or fish livers (cod liver oil), milk and dairy products, egg yolks, and beef liver.

To avoid serious illnesses, Dr Haq suggested fortifying oneself with vitamin D, to the level of “115 nanomoles (nMol) per litre. Maintain this level,” he advised.

olivia@khaleejtimes.com

©2012 the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Visit the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) at www.khaleejtimes.com

Inadequate sun exposure and vitamin D deficiency have put people at risk of serious illnesses including cardiovascular diseases, tuberculosis, cancer and diabetes

Inadequate sun exposure and vitamin D deficiency have put people at risk of serious illnesses including cardiovascular diseases, tuberculosis, cancer and diabetes, according to an expert.

"Vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic of such magnitude that it is not only alarmingly widespread, but also a root cause of many serious diseases," said Dr Afrozul Haq, Senior Clinical Scientist, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute at the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC).

These include rickets (childhood bone disease), psoriasis, osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, tuberculosis, respiratory infections, allergy, autoimmune diseases, neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, as well as, common cold and flu.

In the Middle East region, despite the year round sunshine, statistics are grim.

At the first International Conference on Vitamin D Deficiency in studies, which showed that a high percentage of children are vitamin D deficient -- 90 per cent of students in Abu Dhabi. Eighty-one per cent of post menopausal women in the Middle East tested for osteoporosis also have inadequate vitamin D levels.

In the UAE, 90 per cent of the population were vitamin D deficient when first tested (2009) while 82 per cent of infants were found to be lacking of vitamin D supplement (2006).

Dr Haq, who is also the Chairman of the Conference's Scientific Committee, attributed these high prevalence rates to the very hot climate which discourages outdoor activities, the wearing of abaya and burqa, lack of regulations for vitamin D fortification of food and drinks and prolonged breast feeding without vitamin D supplementation.

to protect oneself from the dire effects of vitamin D deficiency, Dr Haq advised between 10 and 20 minute sun exposure of not less than 40 per cent of body surface, from 10am to 2pm, twice a week. "Ninety per cent of vitamin D comes from the sun, which is the main source of vitamin D3."

Vitamin D supplement can also come from dietary sources such as fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines) or fish livers (cod liver oil), milk and dairy products, egg yolks, and beef liver.

To avoid serious illnesses, Dr Haq suggested fortifying oneself with vitamin D, to the level of "115 nanomoles (nMol) per litre. Maintain this level," he advised.

olivia@khaleejtimes.com

©2012 the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Visit the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) at www.khaleejtimes.com

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Reflux Drugs Don’t Help Kids’ Asthma

Posted Jan 26, 2012

Acid-reflux medications appear to do more harm than good when prescribed to certain children with asthma, according to a new study.

Researchers found that lansoprazole, which sells under several brand names, including Prevacid, increased the risk of respiratory infections and did not improve asthma control in children who didn’t have reflux symptoms.

Doctors have long believed in a connection between reflux and asthma flare-ups, said Dr. Karen McCoy, who worked on the study and is chief of pulmonary medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

And they sometimes prescribe reflux medicine even when the child has no symptoms, in hopes it will improve asthma control.

Researchers monitored 306 children who were given the medication or a sugar pill for six months. The researchers found that the drug did not improve asthma control and significantly increased respiratory-tract infections, sore throats and bronchitis.

“This should change practice,” said Dr. John Mastronarde, director of Ohio State University’s asthma center and one of the authors of the study, which was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association and supported by the American Lung Association and the National Institutes of Health.

Lansoprazole is one of several proton-pump inhibitors that also include Prilosec and Nexium. In 2002, about 875,000 children were prescribed the medications. That number increased to 2.6 million (5 percent of all children in the U.S.) by 2009.

It’s unclear how many of those prescriptions were for children who have asthma and no reflux symptoms.

This study wasn’t designed to determine whether the medications improve asthma control in patients with symptoms of reflux, and data on that is limited, Mastronarde said.

McCoy said she could understand if — in rare cases — a doctor recommended a short trial of a proton-pump inhibitor on the belief that asymptomatic reflux was contributing to asthma flare-ups. But for the most part, “this is a game-changer,” she said.

Parents should contact their child’s doctor before making any change in treatment, McCoy said.

Dr. Sridhar Guduri, a specialist with Allergy & Asthma Clinics of Ohio, said he has never prescribed reflux medications in asymptomatic asthma patients because there wasn’t good evidence that it helped.

Dr. Fernando Martinez of the Arizona Respiratory Center wrote an editorial accompanying the research. He said he is concerned because there were six bone fractures in those children who received the medication compared with one fracture in the placebo group.

He pointed out that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an advisory about fracture risks in adults who take proton-pump inhibitors.

The researchers on the study did not consider the fractures data statistically significant, and they pointed out that some of the fractures happened early in the research, not after the children had been on the medication for a long time.

mcrane@dispatch.com

©2012 The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio)

Visit The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio) at www.dispatch.com

Acid-reflux medications appear to do more harm than good when prescribed to certain children with asthma, according to a new study.

Researchers found that lansoprazole, which sells under several brand names, including Prevacid, increased the risk of respiratory infections and did not improve asthma control in children who didn't have reflux symptoms.

Doctors have long believed in a connection between reflux and asthma flare-ups, said Dr. Karen McCoy, who worked on the study and is chief of pulmonary medicine at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

And they sometimes prescribe reflux medicine even when the child has no symptoms, in hopes it will improve asthma control.

Researchers monitored 306 children who were given the medication or a sugar pill for six months. The researchers found that the drug did not improve asthma control and significantly increased respiratory-tract infections, sore throats and bronchitis.

"This should change practice," said Dr. John Mastronarde, director of Ohio State University's asthma center and one of the authors of the study, which was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association and supported by the American Lung Association and the National Institutes of Health.

Lansoprazole is one of several proton-pump inhibitors that also include Prilosec and Nexium. In 2002, about 875,000 children were prescribed the medications. That number increased to 2.6 million (5 percent of all children in the U.S.) by 2009.

It's unclear how many of those prescriptions were for children who have asthma and no reflux symptoms.

This study wasn't designed to determine whether the medications improve asthma control in patients with symptoms of reflux, and data on that is limited, Mastronarde said.

McCoy said she could understand if -- in rare cases -- a doctor recommended a short trial of a proton-pump inhibitor on the belief that asymptomatic reflux was contributing to asthma flare-ups. But for the most part, "this is a game-changer," she said.

Parents should contact their child's doctor before making any change in treatment, McCoy said.

Dr. Sridhar Guduri, a specialist with Allergy & Asthma Clinics of Ohio, said he has never prescribed reflux medications in asymptomatic asthma patients because there wasn't good evidence that it helped.

Dr. Fernando Martinez of the Arizona Respiratory Center wrote an editorial accompanying the research. He said he is concerned because there were six bone fractures in those children who received the medication compared with one fracture in the placebo group.

He pointed out that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an advisory about fracture risks in adults who take proton-pump inhibitors.

The researchers on the study did not consider the fractures data statistically significant, and they pointed out that some of the fractures happened early in the research, not after the children had been on the medication for a long time.

mcrane@dispatch.com

©2012 The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio)

Visit The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio) at www.dispatch.com

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Vitamin D May Help Prevent the Flu

Posted Nov 30, 2010

Several studies and articles published this year show that vitamin D plays an important role in the prevention of respiratory infections such as the cold and flu.

A study by vitamin D expert Dr. John Cannell published by Cambridge University Press’ Journal of Epidemiology and Infection showed evidence that lower vitamin D blood levels during the winter can account for the increased transmissibility of the influenza virus. Increased levels of vitamin D can help prevent traditional influenza infections by strengthening the immune system.

A 2009 analysis of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) also suggests a role for vitamin D in innate immunity, including the prevention of respiratory tract infections. For this study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers investigated vitamin D levels and respiratory infections from nearly 19,000 participants. They discovered that those with the lowest vitamin D levels were over 1/3 more likely to report having a recent upper respiratory tract infection than those with higher levels of vitamin D.

URL: http://www.montereymushrooms.com

www.prnewswire.com

Several studies and articles published this year show that vitamin D plays an important role in the prevention of respiratory infections such as the cold and flu.

A study by vitamin D expert Dr. John Cannell published by Cambridge University Press' Journal of Epidemiology and Infection showed evidence that lower vitamin D blood levels during the winter can account for the increased transmissibility of the influenza virus. Increased levels of vitamin D can help prevent traditional influenza infections by strengthening the immune system.

A 2009 analysis of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) also suggests a role for vitamin D in innate immunity, including the prevention of respiratory tract infections. For this study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers investigated vitamin D levels and respiratory infections from nearly 19,000 participants. They discovered that those with the lowest vitamin D levels were over 1/3 more likely to report having a recent upper respiratory tract infection than those with higher levels of vitamin D.

URL: http://www.montereymushrooms.com

www.prnewswire.com

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Low Zinc Levels Increase Pneumonia Risk in Elderly

Posted Nov 1, 2010

A high proportion of nursing facility residents were found to have low serum (blood) zinc concentrations during an observational study funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute on Aging. The scientists found that those with normal blood zinc concentrations were about 50 percent less likely to develop pneumonia than those with low concentrations.

The study was led by Simin Nikbin Meydani, director of the Nutritional Immunology Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston, Mass. ARS is the chief intramural scientific research agency of USDA.

HNRCA researchers have been studying immune response and respiratory infections in about 600 elderly residents in 33 nursing facilities in the Boston area. Meydani and colleagues previously reported that among the facility residents, those who consumed 200 international units (IU) of vitamin E daily for one year were 20 percent less likely to get upper respiratory infections, such as colds, than those who took a placebo.

The secondary analysis of data from the same clinical trial showed a high proportion of the residents had low serum (blood) zinc concentrations at baseline and after one year of follow-up. All participants had been supplemented with half of the recommended dietary allowance of essential vitamins and minerals, including zinc, during the trial.

Those with normal zinc status were not only less likely to develop pneumonia, they also had fewer new prescriptions for antibiotics, a shorter duration of pneumonia, and fewer days of antibiotic use compared with residents who had low zinc levels. In addition, mortality was lower in those with adequate blood zinc levels.

The study suggests that supplementation of zinc-deficient elderly may result in reduced risk of pneumonia. Still, the authors note that controlled clinical trials are needed to test efficacy of zinc supplementation as a low-cost intervention to reduce mortality due to pneumonia among vulnerable populations who already have low zinc levels.

These study results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

CONTACT: Rosalie Marion Bliss, ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA

A high proportion of nursing facility residents were found to have low serum (blood) zinc concentrations during an observational study funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute on Aging. The scientists found that those with normal blood zinc concentrations were about 50 percent less likely to develop pneumonia than those with low concentrations.

The study was led by Simin Nikbin Meydani, director of the Nutritional Immunology Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston, Mass. ARS is the chief intramural scientific research agency of USDA.

HNRCA researchers have been studying immune response and respiratory infections in about 600 elderly residents in 33 nursing facilities in the Boston area. Meydani and colleagues previously reported that among the facility residents, those who consumed 200 international units (IU) of vitamin E daily for one year were 20 percent less likely to get upper respiratory infections, such as colds, than those who took a placebo.

The secondary analysis of data from the same clinical trial showed a high proportion of the residents had low serum (blood) zinc concentrations at baseline and after one year of follow-up. All participants had been supplemented with half of the recommended dietary allowance of essential vitamins and minerals, including zinc, during the trial.

Those with normal zinc status were not only less likely to develop pneumonia, they also had fewer new prescriptions for antibiotics, a shorter duration of pneumonia, and fewer days of antibiotic use compared with residents who had low zinc levels. In addition, mortality was lower in those with adequate blood zinc levels.

The study suggests that supplementation of zinc-deficient elderly may result in reduced risk of pneumonia. Still, the authors note that controlled clinical trials are needed to test efficacy of zinc supplementation as a low-cost intervention to reduce mortality due to pneumonia among vulnerable populations who already have low zinc levels.

These study results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

CONTACT: Rosalie Marion Bliss, ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA

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Vit D Boosts Immune System

Posted Nov 1, 2009

A study by vitamin D expert Dr. John Cannell published by Cambridge University Press’ Journal of Epidemiology and Infection showed evidence that lower vitamin D blood levels during the winter can account for the increased transmissibility of the influenza virus. Increased levels of vitamin D can help prevent traditional influenza infections by strengthening the immune system.

A 2009 analysis of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) also suggests a role for vitamin D in innate immunity, including the prevention of respiratory tract infections. For this study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers investigated vitamin D levels and respiratory infections from nearly 19,000 participants. They discovered that those with the lowest vitamin D levels were over 1/3 more likely to report having a recent upper respiratory tract infection than those with higher levels of vitamin D.

SOURCE Monterey Mushrooms, Inc.

URL: http://www.montereymushrooms.com www.prnewswire.com

Date: Sept 30, 2009

A study by vitamin D expert Dr. John Cannell published by Cambridge University Press' Journal of Epidemiology and Infection showed evidence that lower vitamin D blood levels during the winter can account for the increased transmissibility of the influenza virus. Increased levels of vitamin D can help prevent traditional influenza infections by strengthening the immune system.

A 2009 analysis of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) also suggests a role for vitamin D in innate immunity, including the prevention of respiratory tract infections. For this study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers investigated vitamin D levels and respiratory infections from nearly 19,000 participants. They discovered that those with the lowest vitamin D levels were over 1/3 more likely to report having a recent upper respiratory tract infection than those with higher levels of vitamin D.

SOURCE Monterey Mushrooms, Inc.

URL: http://www.montereymushrooms.com www.prnewswire.com

Date: Sept 30, 2009

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Immune Boosting Foods

Posted October 27, 2009

Hand washing and cough covering are important in avoiding the flu but some foods also help fight flu, a U.S. dietitian advises.

“It’s important to eat a variety of healthy foods from all food groups throughout the year, but it’s particularly significant during flu season,” Andrea Garen, a registered dietitian says in a statement. “Adding flu-fighting foods like yogurt, garlic, citrus and chicken to your diet can boost your body’s immune system and help you to avoid getting sick.”

Yogurt and other cultured milk products contain probiotics, beneficial bacteria with immune-boosting benefits. Look for the “live active culture” seal, which indicates probiotics have been added, and also check milk product labels for vitamin D, Garen says.

Early research suggests low levels of vitamin D may be linked to a seasonal increase in colds and flu and a higher incidence of respiratory infections, Garen adds.

Garlic boosts the immune system, increasing resistance to infection and stress, while citrus fruits contain vitamin C, and meat and peanuts contain zinc. Both nutrients play important roles in the proper functioning of the immune system, Garen says.

Date: October 13, 2009 URL: www.upi.com

Hand washing and cough covering are important in avoiding the flu but some foods also help fight flu, a U.S. dietitian advises.

"It's important to eat a variety of healthy foods from all food groups throughout the year, but it's particularly significant during flu season," Andrea Garen, a registered dietitian says in a statement. "Adding flu-fighting foods like yogurt, garlic, citrus and chicken to your diet can boost your body's immune system and help you to avoid getting sick."

Yogurt and other cultured milk products contain probiotics, beneficial bacteria with immune-boosting benefits. Look for the "live active culture" seal, which indicates probiotics have been added, and also check milk product labels for vitamin D, Garen says.

Early research suggests low levels of vitamin D may be linked to a seasonal increase in colds and flu and a higher incidence of respiratory infections, Garen adds.

Garlic boosts the immune system, increasing resistance to infection and stress, while citrus fruits contain vitamin C, and meat and peanuts contain zinc. Both nutrients play important roles in the proper functioning of the immune system, Garen says.

Date: October 13, 2009 URL: www.upi.com

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Immune-Boosting Strategies During a Critical Time of Year

By Chris D. Meletis, ND

The cold and flu season we are facing this year will likely be unlike any other we have experienced in this lifetime. As September begins and children return to school and university classes, the threat of contracting a virus increases.

Children bring home from school more than just homework, since schools act as "amplifying sites" for the spread of infectious diseases, outbreaks, and pandemics.1 In one trial conducted between November 1, 2001 and April 30, 2002, researchers studied 3,771 children less than 14 years of age with no chronic medical conditions who presented with respiratory tract infections.2 Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected for the isolation of influenza viruses and viral RNA detection. Information was also collected concerning respiratory illnesses and related morbidities among the study children and their household contacts. Influenza virus was demonstrated in 352 cases. One of the findings of the study was that in comparison with the influenza negative children, those who were influenza positive were more often attending day care centers or schools. Furthermore, their parents and siblings had more respiratory illnesses, received more antipyretics and antibiotics, needed more medical visits, missed more work or school days, and needed help at home to care for the ill children for a longer period of time.

Immune-Support Strategies

When children return to school it is an ideal time to begin a proactive immune support program. This will lay the foundation for optimal wellness throughout the winter months. The following natural strategies are often used in clinical practice to support immune health at this time of year, in preparation for when our immune systems are particularly challenged.

Mushrooms and Immunity

A special formula (known as ImmuneAssist 24/7) combines six mushrooms hybridized to bring out the most potent aspects of their immune enhancement properties. This allows the mushrooms to possess greater potential than any other mushrooms grown elsewhere today, including wild crafted varieties. This new formula has emerged as one of the most important ways to support immunity.

The mushrooms contained in the formula possess a high degree of immune-modulating activity thanks to polysaccharides known as 1-3 beta glucans. It is these 1-3 beta glucans that are mandatory for proper immune system function.

The mushrooms Agaricus blazei, Cordyceps sinensis, Grifola frondosa, Ganoderma lucidum, Coriolus versicolor and Lentinula edodes enhance nonspecific immunity, improve the secretion of IGA, and increase the function of monocytes-macrophages and the activity of natural killer cells. These mushrooms also are able to increase immunological balance and stability and increase the ratio of the Th/Ts immune cells.3

Researchers have investigated the role that mushrooms can play in modulating immunity. In one in vitro study of Grifola frondosa (maitake mushroom) extract, researchers stimulated a macrophage cell line from mice with extracts from Grifola frondosa then noted the effects on the growth of influenza A virus in canine kidney cells. The results indicated that Grifola frondosa reduced virus yields and increased the production of TNF-alpha, an antiviral cytokine. The researchers concluded that components of Grifola frondosa might induce the production of certain factors, including TNF-alpha, which are responsible for the inhibition of viral growth in vitro.4 Grifola frondosa also has been found to regulate the immune system in humans.5

Other studies have looked at the antiviral activity of Cordyceps sinensis, one of the most valued Chinese medicinal mushrooms. In 25 patients with chronic hepatitis B, 3 months of using Cordyceps resulted in an improvement in immunity as indicated by the fact that CD4 and CD4/CD8 ratio increased significantly compared with the controls.6

Animal studies also have shown that Cordyceps can regulate cellular immunity, enhance production of spleen lymphocytes and increase production of IL-2 from splenocytes. IL-2 (interleukin-2) is a cytokine, a protein released by white blood cells, which plays an important role in immunity by enhancing natural killer cell function and the production of T cells.7

Ganoderma lucidum extract, known as Reishi mushroom, was found to increase the immune responses of patients with advanced stage cancer and to significantly increase the mean natural killer cell activity compared to baseline along with improving other aspects of immunity.8

Another mushroom, Coriolus versicolor, restored immune responses to normal levels in tumor-bearing animals with suppressed or enhanced immune responses. In these animals, the killer T cell activity was augmented by intraperitoneal or oral administration of Coriolus versicolor.9

Lentinula edodes (Shitake), another well-documented immune modulator, has been found to stimulate immunomodulating cytokines in vitro10 and to enhance the ability of macrophages to phagocytize (or "eat") foreign invaders in rodents.11

Purified EGCG

Combining the mushrooms mentioned above with EGCG, the polyphenol compound found in green tea, is potentially the most important aspect of the ImmuneAssist 24/7 formula.12-13 A number of studies have investigated EGCG's activity against various strains of the flu. In one published report, two catechins from green tea, EGCG and ECG, were found to be potent inhibitors of influenza virus replication in cells and this effect was observed in all influenza virus subtypes tested, including A/H1N1, A/H3N2 and B virus. EGCG and ECG also suppressed viral RNA synthesis in the cells.14

An earlier in vitro study tested EGCG in cells infected with adenovirus, which is responsible for 5-10 percent of upper respiratory infections in children, as well as many infections in adults. Adding EGCG to the medium of infected cells reduced virus yield by two orders of magnitude.15

According to the researchers, "We conclude that the anti-adenoviral activity of EGCG manifests itself through several mechanisms, both outside and inside the cell, but at effective drug concentrations well above that reported in the serum of green tea drinkers."

A purified form of EGCG is used within the formula ImmuneAssist 24/7. The EGCG is suspended in a time-released matrix so that it doesn't break down in stomach acid, allowing much more of this virus-blocking compound into the blood stream than can be obtained by drinking green tea.

Silver Liquid

Mild Silver Protein (MSP) has been used since the 19th century as an anti-microbial agent, with a wide range of bactericidal, fungicidal and virucidal properties. Silver has been used to speed wound healing, purify water and preserve beverages.16 Silver was one of the mainstays of medical practice in Europe and America during the period from 1900 until the beginning of the modern antibiotic era, which began in the 1940s.

Historically, various forms of silver were used in literally hundreds of ailments, including pneumonia, tuberculosis and pleurisy,17 gonorrhea and syphilis,18 wounds, leg ulcers, pustular eczema, impetigo and boils.18 It has been used in acute meningitis and epidemic cerebro-spinal meningitis,17 Mediterranean fever, erysipelas, cystitis, typhus, typhoid fever, and tonsillitis,17 dacryocystitis, corneal ulcers, conjunctivitis and blepharitis,19 and various forms of septicemia, including puerperal fever, peritonitis and post-abortion septicemia.17, 20

Silver is unique among antimicrobial agents in its broad spectrum of action. It has been claimed to kill some 650 different disease organisms21 including 95 percent of 72 strains of herpes virus.22 Recently, it has been reported that intravenous mild silver protein caused a dramatic reduction in viral load of three patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV+).23

Silver can be used by adults to keep their defenses strong and to establish a proactive shield against viral attacks.

Vitamin D3

The activated form of vitamin D, 1,25(OH)2D, a steroid hormone, has been shown to have profound effects on human immunity. Vitamin D acts as an immune system modulator, preventing excessive expression of inflammatory cytokines and enhancing the activity of macrophages as they destroy viral invaders. In addition, vitamin D dramatically stimulates the expression of potent antimicrobial peptides that exist in natural killer cells, and in cells lining the respiratory tract where they play a major role in protecting the lung from infection. Vitamin D also reduces the incidence of respiratory infections in children.24

In addition to 5,000 and 1,000 IU vitamin D3 capsules, a liquid form of Vitamin D3, an ideal option for children, is available here.

EpiCor and EpiCor Junior

The yeast fermentation product known as EpiCor is an immune modulator and powerful antioxidant that causes a four-fold increase in the activity of natural killer cells, which play an important part in immune health. EpiCor was found to enhance the immune system and significantly reduce cold and flu symptoms.

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, researchers studied 116 people recently vaccinated against the flu. Subjects received either daily supplements of EpiCor (500 mg) or a placebo. The scientists collected data on the subjects at the study's start and after six and 12 weeks.

The researchers found that the subjects given EpiCor experienced significantly fewer cold and flu symptoms and significantly shorter duration of symptoms, compared to subjects taking the placebo. Among the 116 study participants, those who did have symptoms experienced a reduction in the duration of symptoms by 14 percent after taking EpiCor. The overall occurrence of cold and flu symptoms was reduced by 21 percent in the EpiCor group.25

The above study and a large body of evidence that shows EpiCor can enhance immunity, indicates EpiCor for adults and EpiCor Junior for children are viable options to enhance health.

Fast Response

Despite our best efforts to fend off a viral attack, our defenses sometimes are weakened and illness results. Specific plant-derived compounds have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for two thousand years to enhance immune health and are meant to be taken by adults at the first onset of illness. Concentrated extracts of Forsythia suspense fruit, Lonicera japonicus flower, Platycodon grandiflorum root, Mentha arvensis, Lophatherum gracile stem and leaf, Glycyrrhizae uralensis root, Schizonepeta tennifolia herb, Glycine max seed, Arctium lappa fruit and Phragmites communis rhizome (found in Fast Response formula) all have properties that can profoundly maximize immune health.

In immunized mice, Glycyrrhizae uralensis increased the production of splenocytes, white blood cells found within the spleen that are important in immunity, and increased antibody production.26 Platycodon grandiflorum, another immune stimulating herb, activates macrophages, which engulf and digest viruses and other pathogens, a process known as phagocytosis. However, unlike many other immune stimulating botanicals, platycodon activates B cells rather than T cells.27

Phragmites communis, in animal studies, reduces atrophy of the thymus and spleen both of which are critical to the body's immune system.28 A new compound isolated from Forsythia in 2002 was shown to inhibit the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the most commonly identified cause of lower respiratory tract infections in young children. In the elderly, the virus can mimic a long and severe common cold.29

Platycodon grandiflorum, Arctigenin (a component of Arctium lappa) and Mentha arvensis have equally important effects on the respiratory tract. Platycodon grandiflorum is known to clear the lungs and reduce phlegm production.30 Arctigenin markedly improved lung health in mice with pneumonia caused by influenza virus infection. Arctigenin also prolonged the survival time of mice infected with flu virus.31 Mentha arvensis, an extract derived from mint, inhibits histamine release from mast cells in vitro.32

Fast Response also includes vitamin A and zinc, two nutrients important in building immunity.

Conclusion

When children return to school, immunity enhancement should return to the top of everyone's priority list. Bolstering the immune system now can set the stage for a healthier winter. ImmuneAssist 24/7, Silver Liquid, Vitamin D3, EpiCor and EpiCor Junior are all excellent ways to strengthen the immune system while Fast Response should be kept on hand for immediate action if the immune system fails.

References

1. Stebbins S, Downs JS, Vukotich CJ Jr. Using nonpharmaceutical interventions to prevent influenza transmission in elementary school children: parent and teacher perspectives. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2009 Mar-Apr;15(2):112-7.

2. Principi N, Esposito S, Marchisio P, Gasparini R, Crovari P. Socioeconomic impact of influenza on healthy children and their families. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2003 Oct;22(10 Suppl):S207-10.

3. Ruwei W, Yiyuan X, Peijun J, Xing W, Holliday JC. Immune-Assist brand Dietary Supplement as an Adjunct for Chemo and Radiation Therapy in Cancer Treatment. Unpublished Study.

4. Obi N, Hayashi K, Miyahara T, Shimada Y, Terasawa K, Watanabe M, Takeyama M, Obi R, Ochiai H. Inhibitory Effect of TNF-alpha Produced by Macrophages Stimulated with Grifola frondosa Extract (ME) on the Growth of Influenza A/Aichi/2/68 Virus in MDCK Cells. Am J Chin Med. 2008;36(6):1171-83.

5. Deng G, Lin H, Seidman A, Fornier M, D'Andrea G, Wesa K, Yeung S, Cunningham-Rundles S, Vickers AJ, Cassileth B. A phase I/II trial of a polysaccharide extract from Grifola frondosa (Maitake mushroom) in breast cancer patients: immunological effects. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2009 Mar 1. Published Online Ahead of Print.

6. Gong HY, Wang KQ, Tang SG. [Effects of cordyceps sinensis on T lymphocyte subsets and hepatofibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B]. [Article in Chinese] Hunan Yi Ke Da Xue Xue Bao. 2000 Jun 28;25(3):248-50.

7. Cheng Q. [Effect of cordyceps sinensis on cellular immunity in rats with chronic renal insufficiency]. [Article in Chinese] Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi. 1992 Jan;72(1):27-9, 63.

8. Gao Y, Zhou S, Jiang W, Huang M, Dai X. Effects of ganopoly (a Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide extract) on the immune functions in advanced-stage cancer patients. Immunol Invest. 2003 Aug;32(3):201-15.

9. Tsukagoshi S, Hashimoto Y, Fujii G, Kobayashi H, Nomoto K, Orita K. Krestin (PSK). Cancer Treat Rev. 1984 Jun;11(2):131-55.

10. Liu M, Li J, Kong F, Lin J, Gao Y. Induction of immunomodulating cytokines by a new polysaccharide-peptide complex from culture mycelia of Lentinus edodes. Immunopharmacology. 1998 Nov;40(3):187-98.

11. Zheng R, Jie S, Hanchuan D, Moucheng W. Characterization and immunomodulating activities of polysaccharide from Lentinus edodes. Int Immunopharmacol. 2005 May;5(5):811-20.

12. Nance CL, Siwak EB, Shearer WT. Preclinical development of the green tea catechin, epigallocatechin gallate, as an HIV-1 therapy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009 Feb;123(2):459-65.

13. Xu J, Wang J, Deng F, Hu Z, Wang H. Green tea extract and its major component epigallocatechin gallate inhibits hepatitis B virus in vitro. Antiviral Res. 2008 Jun;78(3):242-9.

14. Song JM, Lee KH, Seong BL. Antiviral effect of catechins in green tea on influenza virus. Antiviral Res. 2005 Nov;68(2):66-74.

15. Weber JM, Ruzindana-Umunyana A, Imbeault L, Sircar S. Inhibition of adenovirus infection and adenain by green tea catechins. Antiviral Res. 2003 Apr;58(2):167-73.

16. Bechhold H. Colloids in Biology and Medicine, New York. D. van Nostrand, 1919, pp. 364-76.

17. Duhamel B Electric Metal Colloids and Their Therapeutical Applications Lancet 1912; 29-30.

18. Searle A. The Use of Colloids in Health and Disease, London: Constable & Co., 1920, pp 67-111.

19. Legge Roe A. Collosol Argentum and its Opthalmic Uses. Br. Med. J. Jan.16, 1915. 104.

20. Brown G. Colloidal Silver in Sepsis. Am. J. Obstetrics. 1916, Jan-June, 136-141.

21. Powell J. Our Mightiest Germ Fighter, Sci Digest. 1978, Mar., 57-60.

22. Chang TW, Weinstein L. Prevention of Herpes Keratoconjunctivitis in Rabbits by Silver Sulfadiazine, Antimicrob. Agents Chemother, 1975;8: 677-78.

23. Dean W, Mitchell M, Whizar Lugo V, South J. Reduction of Viral Load in AIDS Patients with Intravenous Mild Silver Protein--Three Case Reports. Clinical Practice of Alternative Medicine. Spring, 2001.

24. Cannell JJ, Vieth R, Umhau JC, Holick MF, Grant WB, Madronich S, Garland CF, Giovannucci E. Epidemic influenza and vitamin D. Epidemiol Infect. 2006 Sep 7;1-12 [Epub ahead of print].

25. Moyad MA, Robinson LE, Zawada ET, Jr, Kittelsrud JM, Chen DG, Reeves SG, Weaver SE. Effects of a Modified Yeast Supplement on Cold/Flu Symptoms. Urologic Nursing. February 2008;28(1): 50-55.

26. Sun HX, Pan HJ. Immunological adjuvant effect of Glycyrrhiza uralensis saponins on the immune responses to ovalbumin in mice. Vaccine. 2006 Mar 10;24(11):1914-20.

27. Han SB, Park SH, Lee KH, Lee CW, Lee SH, Kim HC, Kim YS, Lee HS, Kim HM. Polysaccharide isolated from the radix of Platycodon grandiflorum selectively activates B cells and macrophages but not T cells. Int Immunopharmacol. 2001 Oct;1(11):1969-78.

28. Miao MS, Gu LY, Fang XY, Miao YY. [Effect of Phragmites communis polysaccharide on the aged-model mice]. [Article in Chinese] Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2004 Jul;29(7):673-5.

29. Zhang GG, Song SJ, Ren J, Xu SX. A new compound from Forsythia (Thunb.) Vahl with antiviral effect on RSV. J Herb Pharmacother. 2002;2(3):35-40.

30. Guo L, Zhang C, Li L, Xiao YQ. [Advances in studies on Platycodon grandiflorum] [Article in Chinese]. Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2007 Feb;32(3):181-6.

31. Yang Z, Liu N, Huang B, Wang Y, Hu Y, Zhu Y. [Effect of anti-influenza virus of Arctigenin in vivo] [Article in Chinese]. Zhong Yao Cai. 2005 Nov;28(11):1012-4.

32. Shin TY. Inhibition of immunologic and nonimmunologic stimulation-mediated anaphylactic reactions by the aqueous extract of Mentha arvensis. Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. 2003 May;25(2):273-83.

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Summer Sun May Keep Flu at Bay

Posted May 18, 2009

If the current strain of H1N1 swine flu is like flu strains of years past, it likely will mysteriously subside in the coming weeks.

For whatever reason, in temperate areas such as North America, flu largely is a fall and winter phenomenon.

A couple of theories have tried to explain that seasonality, but in recent years an intriguing new idea has emerged:

Levels of flu-fighting vitamin D reach their lowest point in the winter when ultraviolet light disappears.

Vitamin D, which is made in large amounts in the skin when it is exposed to solar radiation, is a hormone that regulates hundreds of genes. Some of those involve the body’s innate immunity and its defenses against viruses, especially those affecting the respiratory system.

The idea is that if people increased their levels of vitamin D, it might help ward off outbreaks of flu.

For as far back as records exist, flu outbreaks have occurred around the planet when solar radiation was at its lowest. No one has been able to say why.

“It virtually disappears in the summer in temperate climates,” said William Schaffner, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “In the tropics it kind of smolders all year long. Its seasonality is not nearly as pronounced.”

Even the influenza pandemic of 1918 followed such a pattern, first showing up in Kansas in the winter of 1918 before subsiding and then returning with a vengeance in the fall.

Indeed, public health officials now will be watching the Southern Hemisphere as it heads into its winter, looking to see how swine flu and seasonal flu play out. And in the Northern Hemisphere, health officials are concerned about the virus coming back in the fall 2009 season. Even Mexico, particularly the northern regions, is far enough away from the equator to reflect the seasonal effect.

Part of the enthusiasm for vitamin D is based on research suggesting that it stimulates immune cells to produce anti-microbial substances that fight and help control the replication of viruses in the body.

At the same time, vitamin D helps tone down the immune system’s response to invading viruses in the respiratory tract. It can prevent the overproduction of inflammatory substances that can lead to fluid buildup, more severe symptoms, even death. During the 1918 pandemic, flu produced severe inflammation in the lungs that caused many of its victims to drown in their own fluids.

Vitamin’s vital role

Michael Holick, a vitamin D researcher, said that immune cells have a vitamin D receptor, and that the cells activate vitamin D as a response to infection.

“What vitamin D really does is play a sentinel role,” said Holick, a professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine.

First, it is used by immune cells to fight the virus. Then, it helps temper the overall immune response and limit inflammation.

The vast majority of the evidence of vitamin D’s role in fighting the flu is observational or based on laboratory research rather than large clinical trials. At the same time, studies continue to find that large numbers of people in the U.S. have deficient or less than optimal levels of vitamin D in their blood.

So vitamin D’s role, if any, in defending against the flu is theoretical.

And there are other explanations, also unproven, about why flu persists in the fall and winter.

The two leading contenders: The cold and dryness of winter make it easier for the virus to be transmitted; and people spend more time indoors in the winter, leading to more person-to-person contact.

But vitamin D proponents say those theories are weak. For instance, people congregate indoors at workplaces, day care centers and churches just as much in the winter as in the summer.

And then there are researchers such as Scott Dowell, a physician with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who don’t buy any of those explanations, including the vitamin D theory.

For decades, the seasonality of flu has been one of the most obvious questions that medical science has failed to answer, said Dowell, director of CDC’s global disease detection program and international team leader for CDC’s response to the H1N1 swine flu outbreak.

In 2001, Dowell offered his own explanation: Annual light and dark cycles — daylight getting longer and shorter — affect biological rhythms, and somehow flu viruses have picked up on that and adjusted to those seasonal signals from humans.

“These seasonal rhythms have allowed influenza viruses to be more effective at infecting us in the winter,” he said.

Studies suggest link

In addition, several intriguing studies involving vitamin D have accumulated in recent years:

–In February, researchers reported a link between vitamin D levels in the blood and upper respiratory infections in a group of nearly 19,000 people ages 12 and older.

Those with deficient vitamin D levels — less than 10 nanograms per milliliter — were 55% more likely to have contracted a recent cold or upper respiratory infection than those with an adequate level, 30 nanograms per milliliter.

The researchers, whose study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, noted that the current recommendation for vitamin D supplementation, between 200 and 600 International Units a day, is unlikely to produce optimal levels in the U.S. population. Indeed, several vitamin D researchers now say that adults should be taking up to 2,000 IU a day during the fall and winter, and that most children should take up 1,000 IU.

–A 2006 review article in the journal Epidemiology of Infection laid out a detailed case for vitamin D and its protective effect against the flu.

One of the arguments: About 2% of people have evidence of flu viruses in their systems during the summer, yet that seldom leads to outbreaks of the flu.

The article also noted that the 1968 Hong Kong flu first showed up in Great Britain in August that year, but the virus did not cause any significant summertime illness.

But as the sun became progressively lower in the sky and the winter solstice arrived, the first community outbreaks occurred. As spring arrived, flu cases ebbed and virtually disappeared after the summer solstice, only to rise again in September 1969 and explode in the days before the winter solstice.

“No vitamin D is made in the skin at latitude 52 degrees (the latitude of London) from about October to March,” the article said.

Holick, a co-author of the article, said the only way the issue is going to be resolved is to do a large clinical trial using a placebo and vitamin D to see if it reduces flu rates.

May 11, 2009

To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com.

Copyright © 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

If the current strain of H1N1 swine flu is like flu strains of years past, it likely will mysteriously subside in the coming weeks.

For whatever reason, in temperate areas such as North America, flu largely is a fall and winter phenomenon.

A couple of theories have tried to explain that seasonality, but in recent years an intriguing new idea has emerged:

Levels of flu-fighting vitamin D reach their lowest point in the winter when ultraviolet light disappears.

Vitamin D, which is made in large amounts in the skin when it is exposed to solar radiation, is a hormone that regulates hundreds of genes. Some of those involve the body's innate immunity and its defenses against viruses, especially those affecting the respiratory system.

The idea is that if people increased their levels of vitamin D, it might help ward off outbreaks of flu.

For as far back as records exist, flu outbreaks have occurred around the planet when solar radiation was at its lowest. No one has been able to say why.

"It virtually disappears in the summer in temperate climates," said William Schaffner, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. "In the tropics it kind of smolders all year long. Its seasonality is not nearly as pronounced."

Even the influenza pandemic of 1918 followed such a pattern, first showing up in Kansas in the winter of 1918 before subsiding and then returning with a vengeance in the fall.

Indeed, public health officials now will be watching the Southern Hemisphere as it heads into its winter, looking to see how swine flu and seasonal flu play out. And in the Northern Hemisphere, health officials are concerned about the virus coming back in the fall 2009 season. Even Mexico, particularly the northern regions, is far enough away from the equator to reflect the seasonal effect.

Part of the enthusiasm for vitamin D is based on research suggesting that it stimulates immune cells to produce anti-microbial substances that fight and help control the replication of viruses in the body.

At the same time, vitamin D helps tone down the immune system's response to invading viruses in the respiratory tract. It can prevent the overproduction of inflammatory substances that can lead to fluid buildup, more severe symptoms, even death. During the 1918 pandemic, flu produced severe inflammation in the lungs that caused many of its victims to drown in their own fluids.

Vitamin's vital role

Michael Holick, a vitamin D researcher, said that immune cells have a vitamin D receptor, and that the cells activate vitamin D as a response to infection.

"What vitamin D really does is play a sentinel role," said Holick, a professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine.

First, it is used by immune cells to fight the virus. Then, it helps temper the overall immune response and limit inflammation.

The vast majority of the evidence of vitamin D's role in fighting the flu is observational or based on laboratory research rather than large clinical trials. At the same time, studies continue to find that large numbers of people in the U.S. have deficient or less than optimal levels of vitamin D in their blood.

So vitamin D's role, if any, in defending against the flu is theoretical.

And there are other explanations, also unproven, about why flu persists in the fall and winter.

The two leading contenders: The cold and dryness of winter make it easier for the virus to be transmitted; and people spend more time indoors in the winter, leading to more person-to-person contact.

But vitamin D proponents say those theories are weak. For instance, people congregate indoors at workplaces, day care centers and churches just as much in the winter as in the summer.

And then there are researchers such as Scott Dowell, a physician with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who don't buy any of those explanations, including the vitamin D theory.

For decades, the seasonality of flu has been one of the most obvious questions that medical science has failed to answer, said Dowell, director of CDC's global disease detection program and international team leader for CDC's response to the H1N1 swine flu outbreak.

In 2001, Dowell offered his own explanation: Annual light and dark cycles -- daylight getting longer and shorter -- affect biological rhythms, and somehow flu viruses have picked up on that and adjusted to those seasonal signals from humans.

"These seasonal rhythms have allowed influenza viruses to be more effective at infecting us in the winter," he said.

Studies suggest link

In addition, several intriguing studies involving vitamin D have accumulated in recent years:

--In February, researchers reported a link between vitamin D levels in the blood and upper respiratory infections in a group of nearly 19,000 people ages 12 and older.

Those with deficient vitamin D levels -- less than 10 nanograms per milliliter -- were 55% more likely to have contracted a recent cold or upper respiratory infection than those with an adequate level, 30 nanograms per milliliter.

The researchers, whose study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, noted that the current recommendation for vitamin D supplementation, between 200 and 600 International Units a day, is unlikely to produce optimal levels in the U.S. population. Indeed, several vitamin D researchers now say that adults should be taking up to 2,000 IU a day during the fall and winter, and that most children should take up 1,000 IU.

--A 2006 review article in the journal Epidemiology of Infection laid out a detailed case for vitamin D and its protective effect against the flu.

One of the arguments: About 2% of people have evidence of flu viruses in their systems during the summer, yet that seldom leads to outbreaks of the flu.

The article also noted that the 1968 Hong Kong flu first showed up in Great Britain in August that year, but the virus did not cause any significant summertime illness.

But as the sun became progressively lower in the sky and the winter solstice arrived, the first community outbreaks occurred. As spring arrived, flu cases ebbed and virtually disappeared after the summer solstice, only to rise again in September 1969 and explode in the days before the winter solstice.

"No vitamin D is made in the skin at latitude 52 degrees (the latitude of London) from about October to March," the article said.

Holick, a co-author of the article, said the only way the issue is going to be resolved is to do a large clinical trial using a placebo and vitamin D to see if it reduces flu rates.

May 11, 2009

To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com.

Copyright © 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Vitamin D and Respiratory Illness

Posted April 8, 2009

People with low blood levels of vitamin D have a higher risk of colds and other upper respiratory infections, especially if they also have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

In a study of nearly 19,000 people in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the risk of an upper respiratory infection was 36 percent higher in those with low vitamin D levels (less than 10 ng/mL) than in those with normal levels (at least 30 ng/mL). The risk was 24 percent higher in those with intermediate levels (10 to 29 ng/mL).

What to do: While the study needs confirmation, it’s worth taking 1,000 IU a day of vitamin D to keep bones strong and possibly cut the risk of cancer, diabetes, and falls.

Arch. Intern. Med. 169: 384, 2009.

Date: April 5, 2009

People with low blood levels of vitamin D have a higher risk of colds and other upper respiratory infections, especially if they also have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

In a study of nearly 19,000 people in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the risk of an upper respiratory infection was 36 percent higher in those with low vitamin D levels (less than 10 ng/mL) than in those with normal levels (at least 30 ng/mL). The risk was 24 percent higher in those with intermediate levels (10 to 29 ng/mL).

What to do: While the study needs confirmation, it's worth taking 1,000 IU a day of vitamin D to keep bones strong and possibly cut the risk of cancer, diabetes, and falls.

Arch. Intern. Med. 169: 384, 2009.

Date: April 5, 2009

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Vitamin D Boosts Immunity

Rethink orange juice and lozenges infused with vitamin C for staving off colds and the flu. Perhaps the answer is in sunshine.

Vitamin D, available for free in the sun’s rays, boosts immunity, according to the largest and most nationally representative study so far on the subject.

Sunlight is a major source of vitamin D, which could explain why people are more likely to get sick in the winter, said Dr. Adit Ginde, a University of Colorado Denver surgery professor and lead author of the study.

For decades, people have turned to vitamin C to prevent respiratory infections. Vitamin C has many health benefits, but there is little scientific evidence it protects people from the common cold.

“It gets out in the lay public and just gets self-perpetuated,” Ginde said. “It’s one of those things that people say, ‘It doesn’t hurt to take more.’ ”

Ginde said the point of the study, done in conjunction with Harvard Medical School, is not to “debunk vitamin C.” Rather, it provides the best evidence to date linking vitamin D — commonly associated with strong bones — to immunity.

The study examined vitamin D levels in the blood of 19,000 people, using samples collected by the National Center for Health Statistics. People with the lowest levels of the vitamin were about 40 percent more likely to have had a recent respiratory infection.

And people with asthma or emphysema were even more likely to get sick when their vitamin D levels were low.

Vitamin D appears to interact with cells that are important to immunity. Without enough of the vitamin, those cells are not as effective in killing common bacteria and viruses.

“The science surrounding vitamin D has really expanded over the last couple of years,” Ginde said.

Still, the study authors said clinical trials must confirm their results before vitamin D is recommended to prevent colds and flu.

Foods that contain vitamin D include milk, salmon, sardines, shrimp and eggs. But “10 minutes in the sun would far surpass your intake of vitamin D” compared with diet choices, Ginde said.

It’s nearly impossible for people living north of Atlanta to get enough vitamin D through sunlight year-round because of Earth’s tilt. In the winter, northern dwellers should take supplements, and in the summer, some scientists recommend 20 minutes of sun per day — without sunscreen.

The CU study appears in Monday’s issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

The study is “totally predictable” and adds to the “body of evidence” proving vitamin D’s infection-fighting power, said Dr.

Bruce Hollis, a Medical University of South Carolina professor who is a leading expert on vitamin D. He was not involved in the research.

Hollis, who takes 4,000 units of vitamin D daily, said he is frustrated by the government’s daily recommended allowance of vitamin D: 200 units. He called the amount in a daily vitamin “totally meaningless.”

“It’s nothing,” he said. “It’s absolutely worthless.”

Hollis said vitamin C is overrated when it comes to immunity.

“It’s what people thought, what people would say, then it ends up in textbooks and is taken as gospel,” he said.

A 2007 report from the Cochrane Collaboration, which evaluates medical research, concluded that “regular ingestion of vitamin C has no effect on common cold incidence in the ordinary population.” The group reviewed 30 trials involving 11,350 people.

Researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute — named for the late author of “Vitamin C and the Common Cold” — say most vitamin C studies have not used high enough doses.

Vitamin C Foundation co-founder Owen Fonorow said taking large amounts of the vitamin — 8,000 milligrams every 20 minutes, way more than in lozenges or vitamins — can cut the intensity of a cold.

But even he takes a vitamin D supplement.

“I’ve turned into a vitamin D believer — four or five winters without even a sniffle,” he said. “There is something almost miraculous.”

Date: Feb 25, 2009

Rethink orange juice and lozenges infused with vitamin C for staving off colds and the flu. Perhaps the answer is in sunshine.

Vitamin D, available for free in the sun's rays, boosts immunity, according to the largest and most nationally representative study so far on the subject.

Sunlight is a major source of vitamin D, which could explain why people are more likely to get sick in the winter, said Dr. Adit Ginde, a University of Colorado Denver surgery professor and lead author of the study.

For decades, people have turned to vitamin C to prevent respiratory infections. Vitamin C has many health benefits, but there is little scientific evidence it protects people from the common cold.

"It gets out in the lay public and just gets self-perpetuated," Ginde said. "It's one of those things that people say, 'It doesn't hurt to take more.' "

Ginde said the point of the study, done in conjunction with Harvard Medical School, is not to "debunk vitamin C." Rather, it provides the best evidence to date linking vitamin D -- commonly associated with strong bones -- to immunity.

The study examined vitamin D levels in the blood of 19,000 people, using samples collected by the National Center for Health Statistics. People with the lowest levels of the vitamin were about 40 percent more likely to have had a recent respiratory infection.

And people with asthma or emphysema were even more likely to get sick when their vitamin D levels were low.

Vitamin D appears to interact with cells that are important to immunity. Without enough of the vitamin, those cells are not as effective in killing common bacteria and viruses.

"The science surrounding vitamin D has really expanded over the last couple of years," Ginde said.

Still, the study authors said clinical trials must confirm their results before vitamin D is recommended to prevent colds and flu.

Foods that contain vitamin D include milk, salmon, sardines, shrimp and eggs. But "10 minutes in the sun would far surpass your intake of vitamin D" compared with diet choices, Ginde said.

It's nearly impossible for people living north of Atlanta to get enough vitamin D through sunlight year-round because of Earth's tilt. In the winter, northern dwellers should take supplements, and in the summer, some scientists recommend 20 minutes of sun per day -- without sunscreen.

The CU study appears in Monday's issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

The study is "totally predictable" and adds to the "body of evidence" proving vitamin D's infection-fighting power, said Dr.

Bruce Hollis, a Medical University of South Carolina professor who is a leading expert on vitamin D. He was not involved in the research.

Hollis, who takes 4,000 units of vitamin D daily, said he is frustrated by the government's daily recommended allowance of vitamin D: 200 units. He called the amount in a daily vitamin "totally meaningless."

"It's nothing," he said. "It's absolutely worthless."

Hollis said vitamin C is overrated when it comes to immunity.

"It's what people thought, what people would say, then it ends up in textbooks and is taken as gospel," he said.

A 2007 report from the Cochrane Collaboration, which evaluates medical research, concluded that "regular ingestion of vitamin C has no effect on common cold incidence in the ordinary population." The group reviewed 30 trials involving 11,350 people.

Researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute -- named for the late author of "Vitamin C and the Common Cold" -- say most vitamin C studies have not used high enough doses.

Vitamin C Foundation co-founder Owen Fonorow said taking large amounts of the vitamin -- 8,000 milligrams every 20 minutes, way more than in lozenges or vitamins -- can cut the intensity of a cold.

But even he takes a vitamin D supplement.

"I've turned into a vitamin D believer -- four or five winters without even a sniffle," he said. "There is something almost miraculous."

Date: Feb 25, 2009

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Low Vitamin D Increases Risk of Colds

Posted Mar 3, 2009

Vitamin D may be an important way to arm the immune system against disorders like the common cold, according to a report published on Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

In the biggest and most nationally representative study of the association between vitamin D and respiratory infections, conducted by investigators from the University of Colorado Denver (UC Denver) School of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Children’s Hospital Boston, people with the lowest blood vitamin D levels reported having significantly more recent colds or cases of the flu. The risks were even higher for those with chronic respiratory disorders, such as asthma and emphysema.

“The findings of our study support an important role for vitamin D in prevention of common respiratory infections, such as colds and the flu,” Adit Ginde, UC Denver Division of Emergency Medicine and lead author of the study, said. “Individuals with common lung diseases, such as asthma or emphysema, may be particularly susceptible to respiratory infections from vitamin D deficiency.”

While vitamin C has been used for the prevention of colds and other respiratory disorders for decades, little scientific evidence supports its effectiveness. In contrast, in recent years evidence has accumulated that vitamin D — most commonly associated with the development and maintenance of strong bones — may also play a key role in the immune system.

Circumstantial evidence has implicated the wintertime deficiency of vitamin D, which the body produces in response to sunlight, in the seasonal increase in colds and flu; and small studies have suggested an association between low blood levels of vitamin D and a higher risk of respiratory infections, the report said.

The study analyzed data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. Participants were interviewed in their homes regarding their health and nutrition, and most participants also received a physical examination that included collection of blood and other samples for laboratory analysis. The research team analyzed blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) — the best measure of vitamin D status — from almost 19,000 adult and adolescent NHANES III participants, selected to be representative of the overall U.S. population.

Study participants with the lowest vitamin D blood levels — less than 10 nanogram per milliliter of blood — were about 40 percent more likely to report having a recent respiratory infection than were those with vitamin D levels of 30 or higher. The association was present in all seasons and even stronger among participants with a history of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema. Asthma patients with the lowest vitamin D levels were five times more likely to have had a recent respiratory infection; while among COPD patients, respiratory infections were twice as common among those with vitamin D deficiency.

“A respiratory infection in someone with otherwise healthy lungs usually causes a few days of relatively mild symptoms,” Carlos Camargo of the MGH Department of Emergency Medicine and senior author of the study, said. “But respiratory infections in individuals with an underlying lung disease can cause serious attacks of asthma or COPD that may require urgent office visits, emergency department visits or hospitalizations. So the impact of preventing infections in these patients could be very large,” said.

The authors stressed that the study’s results need to be confirmed in clinical trials before vitamin D can be recommended to prevent colds and flu. “We are planning clinical trials to test the effectiveness of vitamin D to boost immunity and fight respiratory infection, with a focus on individuals with asthma and COPD, as well as children and older adults — groups that are at higher risk for more severe illness,” Ginde said. “While it’s too early to make any definitive recommendations, many Americans also need more vitamin D for its bone and general health benefits. Clinicians and lay people should stay tuned as this exciting area of research continues to expand,” he said.

Date: Feb 23, 2009

Vitamin D may be an important way to arm the immune system against disorders like the common cold, according to a report published on Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

In the biggest and most nationally representative study of the association between vitamin D and respiratory infections, conducted by investigators from the University of Colorado Denver (UC Denver) School of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Children's Hospital Boston, people with the lowest blood vitamin D levels reported having significantly more recent colds or cases of the flu. The risks were even higher for those with chronic respiratory disorders, such as asthma and emphysema.

"The findings of our study support an important role for vitamin D in prevention of common respiratory infections, such as colds and the flu," Adit Ginde, UC Denver Division of Emergency Medicine and lead author of the study, said. "Individuals with common lung diseases, such as asthma or emphysema, may be particularly susceptible to respiratory infections from vitamin D deficiency."

While vitamin C has been used for the prevention of colds and other respiratory disorders for decades, little scientific evidence supports its effectiveness. In contrast, in recent years evidence has accumulated that vitamin D -- most commonly associated with the development and maintenance of strong bones -- may also play a key role in the immune system.

Circumstantial evidence has implicated the wintertime deficiency of vitamin D, which the body produces in response to sunlight, in the seasonal increase in colds and flu; and small studies have suggested an association between low blood levels of vitamin D and a higher risk of respiratory infections, the report said.

The study analyzed data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. Participants were interviewed in their homes regarding their health and nutrition, and most participants also received a physical examination that included collection of blood and other samples for laboratory analysis. The research team analyzed blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) -- the best measure of vitamin D status -- from almost 19,000 adult and adolescent NHANES III participants, selected to be representative of the overall U.S. population.

Study participants with the lowest vitamin D blood levels -- less than 10 nanogram per milliliter of blood -- were about 40 percent more likely to report having a recent respiratory infection than were those with vitamin D levels of 30 or higher. The association was present in all seasons and even stronger among participants with a history of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema. Asthma patients with the lowest vitamin D levels were five times more likely to have had a recent respiratory infection; while among COPD patients, respiratory infections were twice as common among those with vitamin D deficiency.

"A respiratory infection in someone with otherwise healthy lungs usually causes a few days of relatively mild symptoms," Carlos Camargo of the MGH Department of Emergency Medicine and senior author of the study, said. "But respiratory infections in individuals with an underlying lung disease can cause serious attacks of asthma or COPD that may require urgent office visits, emergency department visits or hospitalizations. So the impact of preventing infections in these patients could be very large," said.

The authors stressed that the study's results need to be confirmed in clinical trials before vitamin D can be recommended to prevent colds and flu. "We are planning clinical trials to test the effectiveness of vitamin D to boost immunity and fight respiratory infection, with a focus on individuals with asthma and COPD, as well as children and older adults -- groups that are at higher risk for more severe illness," Ginde said. "While it's too early to make any definitive recommendations, many Americans also need more vitamin D for its bone and general health benefits. Clinicians and lay people should stay tuned as this exciting area of research continues to expand," he said.

Date: Feb 23, 2009

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Simple Steps to Reduce Risk of Vitamin D Deficiency

Posted Dec 2, 2008

What can we do to prevent vitamin D deficiency?

A The American Academy of Pediatrics held its annual conference in Boston recently and announced that it has doubled its recommended amount of vitamin D for infants, children and adolescents. The increase is from 200 IU to 400 IU per day, beginning when an infant is just a few days old.

Vitamin D deficiency is common among all age groups and has long been known to increase a person’s risk for certain conditions, including rickets (weakening of the bones), growth failure, lethargy, irritability, respiratory infections and osteoporosis. In recent years, Type 2 diabetes, some cancers, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis have been linked to vitamin D deficiency as well.

Sunlight is the main source of vitamin D, but experts urge people to stay out of the sun and to wear sunscreen and protective clothing.

While most foods are not plentiful in vitamin D, some foods are, including fatty fish, certain fish oils, liver, and egg yolks of chickens fed with vitamin D. If these items are not in your family’s regular diet, talk to your doctor and children’s pediatrician to determine whether or not a supplement is appropriate.

Betsy Wadland is director of development for the Natick, Mass., Visiting Nurse Association, a nonprofit health care organization providing home care to thousands of people throughout the region each year. For more information, call the VNA at 508-653-3081.

Date: Nov 29, 2008

What can we do to prevent vitamin D deficiency?

A The American Academy of Pediatrics held its annual conference in Boston recently and announced that it has doubled its recommended amount of vitamin D for infants, children and adolescents. The increase is from 200 IU to 400 IU per day, beginning when an infant is just a few days old.

Vitamin D deficiency is common among all age groups and has long been known to increase a person's risk for certain conditions, including rickets (weakening of the bones), growth failure, lethargy, irritability, respiratory infections and osteoporosis. In recent years, Type 2 diabetes, some cancers, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis have been linked to vitamin D deficiency as well.

Sunlight is the main source of vitamin D, but experts urge people to stay out of the sun and to wear sunscreen and protective clothing.

While most foods are not plentiful in vitamin D, some foods are, including fatty fish, certain fish oils, liver, and egg yolks of chickens fed with vitamin D. If these items are not in your family's regular diet, talk to your doctor and children's pediatrician to determine whether or not a supplement is appropriate.

Betsy Wadland is director of development for the Natick, Mass., Visiting Nurse Association, a nonprofit health care organization providing home care to thousands of people throughout the region each year. For more information, call the VNA at 508-653-3081.

Date: Nov 29, 2008

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Vitamin D may prevent colds & flu

Could a lack of sunlight in the dim winter months be the reason we tend to be infected with more cold and flu viruses at this time of year? Some researchers think so. While the importance of vitamin D for calcium absorption and healthy bones is widely known, a new benefit is coming to light: the role of vitamin D in fighting common infections.

Cod liver oil or vitamin D supplements can help reduce winter ills, say researchers.

New research indicates that higher levels of vitamin D in the body trigger the production of anti-infective proteins, which can kill viruses, fungi and bacteria. Interestingly, vitamin D raises the levels of a specific anti-infective protein called LL37 in our skin and white blood cells, and the gene that codes for LL37 has vitamin D receptor sites.

Sunlight boosts the body’s vitamin D production, and because our sun exposure during winter is greatly reduced, vitamin D deficiency at this time is common. Vitamin D deficiency predisposes children to respiratory infections; and researchers say cod liver oil, which contains vitamin D, reduces the incidence of such infections. So does ultraviolet radiation, whether from sunlight or artificial sources.

Apart from cod liver oil, vitamin D is included in many multivitamin formulations and is available alone in capsule, tablet and liquid forms.

Sources: Epidemiol Infect. 2006 Dec;134(6):1129-40. Epub 2006 Sep 7; Nature Medicine 2006;12:388-90; Science 2006;311:1770-3

Could a lack of sunlight in the dim winter months be the reason we tend to be infected with more cold and flu viruses at this time of year? Some researchers think so. While the importance of vitamin D for calcium absorption and healthy bones is widely known, a new benefit is coming to light: the role of vitamin D in fighting common infections.

Cod liver oil or vitamin D supplements can help reduce winter ills, say researchers.

New research indicates that higher levels of vitamin D in the body trigger the production of anti-infective proteins, which can kill viruses, fungi and bacteria. Interestingly, vitamin D raises the levels of a specific anti-infective protein called LL37 in our skin and white blood cells, and the gene that codes for LL37 has vitamin D receptor sites.

Sunlight boosts the body's vitamin D production, and because our sun exposure during winter is greatly reduced, vitamin D deficiency at this time is common. Vitamin D deficiency predisposes children to respiratory infections; and researchers say cod liver oil, which contains vitamin D, reduces the incidence of such infections. So does ultraviolet radiation, whether from sunlight or artificial sources.

Apart from cod liver oil, vitamin D is included in many multivitamin formulations and is available alone in capsule, tablet and liquid forms.

Sources: Epidemiol Infect. 2006 Dec;134(6):1129-40. Epub 2006 Sep 7; Nature Medicine 2006;12:388-90; Science 2006;311:1770-3

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