Christmas Arts and Crafts Ideas - A Supermilk Angel

by admin on December 18th, 2009

For this you will need:

An empty Avonmore Supermilk carton, some coloured paper (you choose the colour), some markers or crayons for colouring-in, tinfoil, Scissors, and glue.

1. First off, start by flattening your Avonmore Supermilk carton, and then cutting the top and bottom off.

2. Next, cut the remaining body of the milk carton into four equal, separate pieces, so that each side of the carton can be laid out flat.

3. Now, take one side, and cover it with coloured paper. (We like white, but you can use whatever colour you want). This will be the main body of your angel, so decorate it and colour it in so that it looks like an angel.

4. When you’ve finished the body, take another two of the sides of the milk carton and cut out two wings. When you’ve finished this, cover the wings in tin foil and attach to the body of the angel.

5. Last, but not least, use the last side of the carton to make the head of your angel. Cut out the shape of the head and cover it with paper, then give your angel eyes, a mouth, a nose and ears. When you’ve done this, attach the head to the body and you’re ready to place your angel at the top of your Christmas tree.

Remember to always get an adult to help you when using scissors.

Can we overdose on too much Vitamin D?

by admin on December 1st, 2009

One of the debates surrounding vitamin D is whether too much can be toxic. The US’s Institute of Medicine’s recommendations – unchanged since 1997 – were influenced in part by a 1984 study concluding that 3,800 IU of vitamin D per day could cause hypercalcemia, or too much calcium in the blood. Symptoms include kidney stones, vomiting and muscle atrophy.

But the 1984 study was flawed: it failed to measure the amount of vitamin D administered; based on the findings of other studies, it now looks as though subjects were given 100 times more vitamin D than intended.Moreover, how could it be that 3,800 IU was toxic, when 20 minutes of midday sunbathing in the summer makes at least 10,000 IU of vitamin D in our bodies?

In 1999, Reinhold Vieth (pictured right) published a review of vitamin D research in response to the IOM conclusions. In it, he argued that there was no evidence that amounts lower than 20,000 IU a day could be toxic. “Throughout my preparation of this review, I was amazed at the lack of evidence supporting statements about the toxicity of moderate doses of vitamin D,” Vieth wrote.

Studies have since shown 10,000 IU a day of vitamin D to be safe. While any substance will become toxic in excess, vitamin D researchers today accept that the current vitamin D recommendations could be more than quadrupled with no fear of toxicity.

Source: Financial Times, Sam Apple, Published: October 23 2009 16:56 | Last updated: October 23 2009 16:56

Why governments are selling Vitamin D short

by admin on December 1st, 2009

In recent years, vitamin D has been going to some exciting places. Reports of new and promising studies seem to emerge almost weekly. A 2007 analysis of vitamin D studies found that individuals with higher vitamin D levels are significantly – as much as 50 per cent – less likely to develop colorectal cancer. Another 2007 study found that women who took 1,100 International Units (IU) of vitamin D per day together with a calcium supplement reduced their overall cancer risk by 60 per cent. And the excitement is not only about cancer prevention. Low vitamin D levels have been linked to an increased risk of osteoporosis, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, depression and rheumatoid arthritis, among other diseases. Perhaps not surprisingly, in light of the other studies, one recent review of the health records of more than 13,000 Americans found that individuals with the lowest vitamin D levels were 26 per cent more likely, in an eight-year period, to die than those with the highest levels.

Experts believe they can prove vitamin D could help millions live longer and be healthier and yet they have not been able to convince their own governments.

Read the full article here.

Source: Sam Apple,Financial Time, Published: October 23 2009 16:56 | Last updated: October 23 2009 16:56