Archive for November, 2009
Ariticle in The Guardian - Is Sunshine a Miracle Cure?
by admin on November 23rd, 2009
“Our bodies make vitamin D when the sun shines, and new research suggests the positive effects on health are greater than we ever guessed. But too much sun causes skin cancer. It’s a dilemma provoking fierce discussion among scientists.”
Read the rest of this article from the Guardian.co.uk here.
Sunflower Seeds
by admin on November 23rd, 2009
Winter is here, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a bit of sunshine in the house!
Avonmore are giving away FREE packets of sunflower seeds to visitors to the website, just fill out the form and we’ll get those seeds to you. You can get your sunflower seeds here on our Sunflower Seeds page.
When you get your seeds, heres a few tips on how to grow them:
1.Firstly you’ll need a large pot - These flowers get big, and if they are crammed into a little pot their growth becomes stunted. One pot per flower should work out great.
2. Soil - Good quality compost is best to get these giant flowers growing and also to help ensure that you have continuous sunflower blooms.
3. A well lit window - There is a reason that these flowers are called sunflower - They like to be in the light, so place them in a well lit window or an enclosed porch.
4. Water - Make sure to water your sunflower regularly.
Happy growing!
Ideas For Winter Fun
by admin on November 17th, 2009
1. FREEZE DANCE
The weather might be bitingly cold but dancing will keep you warm! Bring a battery operated radio out into the yard and get dancing. One kids job will be to switch off the radio unexpectedly and when this happens, he/she will shout ‘FREEZE!’ Every child needs to freeze in position. Lose your balance or crack a smile and you’re out!
2. WINTER WALKS
Brave the outdoors and wrap up warm. There’s a winter world waiting to be discovered. The branches might be bare but check out the glistening frost, the red robin, frozen puddles ready to be poked with long sticks and sparkling frosted leaves. Stop and listen for the sound of silence and note the lack of insects.
3. HOPSKOTCH
This one is a great winter warmer! Draw up your hopscotch course and gather your pals. Hopping gets the blood flowing through your veins, your lungs working harder and your muscles warmed up too!
4. MAKE FUZZY EARMUFFS TO TEST OUTDOORS
Have you ever made your own fuzzy earmuffs? It’s so much fun! Get a wide hairband and two little teddy bears. Get an adult to help you to glue the teddy bears tummies to the hairband, the teddies feet and paws will keep your ears warm. Then get outdoors to test them out!
5. NATURE SCAVENGER HUNT
Make sure you are wearing warm clothes before you set out on your nature scavenger hunt! Make a list of items you want to find. An oak leaf, a snail shell, some moss, a feather, a pinecone and lots more!
6. WINTER MINI-GOLF COURSE
Got some mini-golf clubs? If not, why not get inventive and use some large wooden spoons! Lay down some big pots, pans, tubes and anything you’re allowed to pull from the kitchen or garage, Lay out a winter mini golf course the length of your garden and start putting!
7. LEAF RUBBINGS
It’s easy to make fun art outdoors. Grab some sheets of paper and fat crayons and trot outside. Take a selection of leaves, place one underneath your sheet of paper and rub the crayon lengthways on the sheet. The beautiful patterns of the leaves will start to emerge. So pretty! You can do the same on tree bark and other surfaces.
Vitamin D and its disease-fighting capabilities
by admin on November 17th, 2009
Long has it been known that Vitamin D has health-promoting benefits, but it is only recently that the full extent of these benefits has come to light.
The link to MS - Multiple sclerosis is thought to be caused by a mix of environmental and genetic factors. And while scientists are still trying to unravel how these interact, a growing body of research points to vitamin D as a key environmental factor.
In people with MS, the immune system malfunctions and attacks the protective coating around nerve cells known as myelin sheaths. The disease can affect sight, balance, continence, speech and more, and reduces life expectancy. Vitamin D’s influence on MS – and other autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes – is thought to be related to the vitamin’s ability to suppress autoimmune responses.
The link between vitamin D and MS was for many years thought to be wild speculation. Now more and more studies point in the same direction: people who have higher levels of vitamin D in their blood early in life are less likely to get MS later in life. Also, MS patients have been found to have low levels of vitamin D in their blood– and the levels appear to be even lower during relapses.
One small study published this year found that MS patients who took high doses of vitamin D – an average of 14,000 IU a day for a year – had significantly fewer relapses than those MS patients who took an average of 1,000 IU a day. Studies have also shown that vitamin D prevents experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the mouse model of human MS.
A Times (UK) investigation into the links between vitamin D deficiency and multiple sclerosis led a 14-year-old boy whose mother has the disease to petition Holyrood to provide a vitamin supplement to all children and pregnant women.
Ryan McLaughlin, from Glasgow, decided he had to do something after he read an exclusive report in The Times showing there was a direct interaction between vitamin D and a common genetic variant, which increased the possibility of MS being inherited.
His mother, Kirsten, 34, became ill with MS three years ago and earlier this year Ryan underwent tests after he showed symptoms of the disease.
His campaign, Shine on Scotland, has started an e-petition and has already won the backing of J.K. Rowling. “I am really honoured to support Ryan in his fantastic campaign,” the author said. “Ryan’s mother has MS as did my own mother. I only wish I had the gumption at 14 to do what Ryan is doing and get such an important issue raised in the Parliament.”
Ryan has received messages of support from Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish Health Secretary, and Kathleen McDermott, the Bafta Award-winning actress.
On June 16, he will lead 500 children on a march to the Scottish Parliament to lodge his petition.
Reference: Melanie Reid, The Times, May 19, 2009 “Schoolboy petitions MSPs over vitamin D link to MS”
Irish babies at risk from mothers’ low levels of vitamin D.
by admin on November 4th, 2009
Pregnant women need be more aware of the vitamin D content of their diet.
Researchers from the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE) carried out a study on 99 expectant mothers and tested them at three separate times during their pregnancy.
Testing at 12 and 20 weeks of pregnancy revealed that as many as 96% of the women had insufficient level of vitamin D in their blood. Examination also revealed that at these test points, 35% could be classified as vitamin D deficient at 12 weeks and 44% at 20 weeks.
The results, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, also showed that during the third trimester, at 35 weeks, 75% had insufficient levels of vitamin D and 16% of women were deficient.
Dr Julie Wallace said the results clearly show that there is a need to highlight the importance of vitamin D in the diet of the population, and particularly for pregnant women.
Vitamin D is essential for building and maintaining strong bones, and previous studies have reported that low vitamin D levels during pregnancy are linked to lower bone density in children.
In the Ireland, pregnant women are recommended by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) to take 10 micrograms of vitamin D per day.
Reference
Holmes VA, Barnes MS, Alexander HD, McFaul P, Wallace JM. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in pregnant women: a longitudinal study.Br J Nutr. 2009 Sep;102(6):876-81.