Vitamin D and the Elderly in Winter

by admin on January 14th, 2010

In the current wintry weather nutrition is often at the forefront of our minds - and rightly so; nutrition plays a significant role in promoting good bone health. For people with elderly relatives this is a topical issue, as the recent icy spell and poor weather have resulted in a lot of A&E admissions for broken bones and sprains. During the winter months the suns rays may not be strong enough to help the body make vitamin D. An alternative source of Vitamin D is fortified milk, it is a good way to increase Vitamin D and Calcium levels for bone health.

Avonmore Supermilk has added nutrients which can help prevent bone loss in elderly, especially in the dark days of Winter.

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

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.

Avonmore Super Milk launch Whole Super Milk

by admin on June 15th, 2009

Avonmore Super Milk are delighted to announce the launch of Whole Super Milk which you can expect to see in all good supermarkets nationwide from Monday 15th June.