ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2008) — Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that previtamin D3 production varies depending on several factors including skin type and weather conditions. Excessive exposure to sunlight does not result in Vitamin D intoxification because previtamin D3 and vitamin D3 are photolyzed to several photoproducts. During the winter at latitudes above ~35 degrees, there is minimal if any previtamin D3 production in the skin.
Increased skin pigmentation, application of a sunscreen, aging and clothing have a dramatic effect on previtamin D3 production in the skin. It has been speculated that people living at higher latitudes may be able to more efficiently produce vitamin D3 in their skin because there is less ozone to absorb the UVB photons.
Forty-five nursing home residents who were taking a multivitamin that contained 400 IU of vitamin D2 showed a dramatic decline in their 25(OH)D levels from the end of summer to the beginning of the following summer. Forty-nine percent, 67 percent, 74 percent, and 78 percent of the nursing home residents were vitamin D deficient in August, November, February, and May respectively.
Fifteen healthy adults aged 20-53 received exposure three times per week from a commercial tanning bed that emitted five percent of its UV energy in the UVB range 290-320 nm to most of their body while in a bathing suit. 25(OH)D levels were determined weekly for a total of seven weeks.
Exposure of 7-dehydrocholesterol to tanning bed irradiation revealed -1 percent production of previtamin D after one minute and a linear increase to -10 percent at 10 minutes. After one week, there was a 50 percent increase in 25 (OH)D levels that continued to increase over a period of five weeks to -150 percent above baseline levels. The blood levels of 25 (OH)D plateaued after five weeks and were sustained out to seven weeks.
"Vitamin D deficiency is common in both children and adults worldwide," said Michael Holick, PhD, MD, director of the General Clinical Research Center and professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at BUSM and senior author of this study. "Exposure to lamps that emit UVB radiation is an excellent source for producing vitamin D3 in the skin and is especially efficacious in patients with fat malabsortion syndromes."
It has been observed that living at higher latitudes and being more prone to vitamin D deficiency markedly increases risk of many deadly cancers including cancer of the colon, prostate, breast, and esophagus, according to Holick, who is also director of the Bone Healthcare Clinic and the vitamin D, Skin and Bone Research Laboratory at Boston University Medical Center. Living at higher latitudes also increase the risk of having hypertension, type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases including tuberculosis and influenza.
According to researchers, most experts now agree that a minimum of 1000 IU of vitamin D3 per day is necessary to maintain circulating concentrations of 25(OH)D.
The study will appear in the March 2008 issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
This study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the Ultraviolet Light Foundation.
Adapted from materials provided by Boston University.
Showing posts with label VITAMIN GUIDE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VITAMIN GUIDE. Show all posts
GINSENG
The best known varieties of ginseng are Korean or Chinese ginseng (Panax ginseng) and Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus). Korean ginseng is considered to be more stimulating than Siberian ginseng. Ginseng has long been used in Chinese medicine as a tonic. The enhance to body’s ability to cope with stress, improve energy metabolism, lower blood sugar, blood immunity, enhance liver function, and regulate cell growth. Chemicals that are found in ginseng are arabinose, camphor, ginsenosides, mucilage, panaxosides, resin, saponin, and starch.
How This Mineral Works in Your Body:
Stimulates brain, heart, and blood vessels
Reduces stress and fatigue
Increases secretion of histamine
Improves appetite and digestion
Acts as a stimulant
Acts as an antioxidant
Treat rheumatic pain in the elderly
Used as an aphrodisiac
May increase mental and physical stamina
May treat symptoms of menopausejavascript:void(0)
Publish Post
May reduce effects of radiation exposure
May reduce blood glucose in diabetics
May alleviate insomnia
How This Mineral Works in Your Body:
Stimulates brain, heart, and blood vessels
Reduces stress and fatigue
Increases secretion of histamine
Improves appetite and digestion
Acts as a stimulant
Acts as an antioxidant
Treat rheumatic pain in the elderly
Used as an aphrodisiac
May increase mental and physical stamina
May treat symptoms of menopausejavascript:void(0)
Publish Post
May reduce effects of radiation exposure
May reduce blood glucose in diabetics
May alleviate insomnia
Royal Jelly
Royal jelly is a milky-white, gelatinous substance secreted by the salivary glands of worker bees to stimulate growth and development of queen bees.
How This Supplement Works in Your Body:
No effects on the body have been proven.
May lengthen life span
May treat bone and joint disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis
May protect against leukemia
May contain antibiotic properties
May treat bronchial asthma
May treat insomnia
May treat liver and kidney disease
Warning :
How This Supplement Works in Your Body:
No effects on the body have been proven.
May lengthen life span
May treat bone and joint disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis
May protect against leukemia
May contain antibiotic properties
May treat bronchial asthma
May treat insomnia
May treat liver and kidney disease
Warning :
- People with asthma or allergies to bee stings should be very careful when using bee products; they should avoid royal jelly entirely.
- Reminder: If you have a medical condition, talk to your doctor before taking supplements.
Bird flu may be spread indirectly, WHO says
By Maggie Fox
Most are passed directly from bird to people, they noted in their report, published in The New England Journal of Medicine. And very rarely one person can infect another -- always close relatives via intimate physical contact.
"In one quarter or more of patients with influenza A (H5N1) virus infection, the source of exposure is unclear, and environment-to-human transmission remains possible," the researchers, led by WHO's Dr. Frederick Hayden, wrote.
"For some patients, the only identified risk factor was visiting a live-poultry market."
It could be that small particles of virus-contaminated fluid stuck to surfaces, they said. Or perhaps fertilizer made from infected bird feces somehow carried the virus into people's noses or mouths.
"It is unknown whether influenza A (H5N1) virus infection can begin in the human gastrointestinal tract," they wrote.
"In several patients, diarrheal disease preceded respiratory symptoms, and virus has been detected in feces."
Government and health officials have stressed that well-cooked chicken cannot infect people. "Drinking potable water and eating properly cooked foods are not considered to be risk factors, but ingestion of virus-contaminated products or swimming or bathing in virus-contaminated water might pose a risk," the WHO team of bird flu experts noted.
ENDEMIC IN BIRDS
H5N1 is considered entrenched in parts of Asia, including Indonesia, Africa and the Middle East. It pops up frequently in Europe and has prompted the slaughter of hundreds of millions of chickens.
The researchers noted that people only rarely become infected. The fear is that the virus will mutate into a strain that passes easily from one person to another, setting off a pandemic that could kill millions of people in the space of a few months.
"After exposure to infected poultry, the incubation period generally appears to be 7 days or less, and in many cases this period is 2 to 5 days," the WHO team wrote.
"In clusters in which limited, human-to-human transmission has probably occurred, the incubation period appears to be approximately 3 to 5 days, although in one cluster it was estimated to be 8 to 9 days."
It usually causes severe pneumonia and tests suggest that it rarely or never infects people without causing symptoms.
Avian flu kills on average within nine to 10 days and has killed 61 percent of victims.
Quick use of antiviral drugs can save lives, they noted, although some strains of the virus are more treatable than others with Tamiflu, the drug of choice to treat influenza. It is made by Roche Holdings AG and Gilead Sciences under the generic name oseltamivir.
Reuters Health
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The H5N1 bird flu virus may sometimes stick to surfaces or get kicked up in fertilizer dust to infect people, according to a World Health Organization report published on Wednesday.
The WHO team reviewed all known human cases of avian influenza, which has infected 350 people in 14 countries and killed 217 of them since 2003, and found that 25 percent of cases have no explanation.Most are passed directly from bird to people, they noted in their report, published in The New England Journal of Medicine. And very rarely one person can infect another -- always close relatives via intimate physical contact.
"In one quarter or more of patients with influenza A (H5N1) virus infection, the source of exposure is unclear, and environment-to-human transmission remains possible," the researchers, led by WHO's Dr. Frederick Hayden, wrote.
"For some patients, the only identified risk factor was visiting a live-poultry market."
It could be that small particles of virus-contaminated fluid stuck to surfaces, they said. Or perhaps fertilizer made from infected bird feces somehow carried the virus into people's noses or mouths.
"It is unknown whether influenza A (H5N1) virus infection can begin in the human gastrointestinal tract," they wrote.
"In several patients, diarrheal disease preceded respiratory symptoms, and virus has been detected in feces."
Government and health officials have stressed that well-cooked chicken cannot infect people. "Drinking potable water and eating properly cooked foods are not considered to be risk factors, but ingestion of virus-contaminated products or swimming or bathing in virus-contaminated water might pose a risk," the WHO team of bird flu experts noted.
ENDEMIC IN BIRDS
H5N1 is considered entrenched in parts of Asia, including Indonesia, Africa and the Middle East. It pops up frequently in Europe and has prompted the slaughter of hundreds of millions of chickens.
The researchers noted that people only rarely become infected. The fear is that the virus will mutate into a strain that passes easily from one person to another, setting off a pandemic that could kill millions of people in the space of a few months.
"After exposure to infected poultry, the incubation period generally appears to be 7 days or less, and in many cases this period is 2 to 5 days," the WHO team wrote.
"In clusters in which limited, human-to-human transmission has probably occurred, the incubation period appears to be approximately 3 to 5 days, although in one cluster it was estimated to be 8 to 9 days."
It usually causes severe pneumonia and tests suggest that it rarely or never infects people without causing symptoms.
Avian flu kills on average within nine to 10 days and has killed 61 percent of victims.
Quick use of antiviral drugs can save lives, they noted, although some strains of the virus are more treatable than others with Tamiflu, the drug of choice to treat influenza. It is made by Roche Holdings AG and Gilead Sciences under the generic name oseltamivir.
Reuters Health
The Antioxidant Vitamins
The antioxidant vitamins perform many essential tasks within the body. In recent years, a great deal of research has been done concerning the abilities of the antioxidant vitamins to prevent certain diseases, ranging from cancer to heart ailments. Many studies have shown promising results, and researchers continue their efforts at determining all of the ways that these powerful antioxidant vitamins protect our health and well being.
One of the many important tasks that antioxidant vitamins perform is that of bringing free radicals under control. A free radical is an unstable molecule, operating within the much larger context of a cell. What makes it unstable is that it is lacking an electron. Electrons are a part of the system that enables chemical reactions within the body. Chemical and electrical actions and reactions are the base of all operations of the body.
The free radical lacks an electron because it is the result of the splitting of a structure weakened by either one of the body’s natural metabolizing processes or by some external contaminant, such as pollution or cigarette smoke. The free radical attacks other molecules, seeking its missing part, which leads to its molecule victim becoming a free radical as well. When enough free radicals accumulate with a cell, the cell can be damaged, or worse.
Antioxidant vitamins have the power to bring these free radicals under control. They do this by meeting the free radicals’ most basic needs, by giving them the electrons they need to be stable. Thus, the antioxidant vitamins remove the free radicals’ motive for aggression and crime -- their motive to attack other molecules to steal their electrons, thereby creating still more free radicals -- and bring an end to the free radical crime wave that threatened the very existence of their world and restore social order and peace to their world, the cell, and perhaps even to their universe, the body.
The primary antioxidant vitamins are Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and Vitamin A. They do not become free radical themselves when they give an electron to the unstable molecule, because they have the special capacity to remain stable with or without the electron. It is through this interaction with the free radicals that the antioxidant vitamins are able to assist in the prevention of damage to tissues and cells that could lead to disease.
Numerous studies have found that the antioxidant vitamins may offer protection against a variety of cancers. Other studies have associated antioxidant vitamins with helping to lower blood pressure. Controlling free radicals, as the antioxidant vitamins do, is thought to be an important part of defending the body and the mind against the effects of aging.
In addition to continuous studies concerning antioxidant vitamins potential in preventing cancers, heart disease, and diabetes related conditions, researchers are also paying close attention to the possibilities antioxidant vitamins may hold for Alzheimer's disease.
Dietary supplements offer a safe and convenient means of meeting the suggested daily intake requirements of these powerful antioxidant vitamins, provided that the standard dosage recommendations are followed.
Vitamin A Each Day Is An Essential Part Of Reaching Your Health Goals
Recent government surveys have found that most people do not consume enough Vitamin A in their daily diets. This is unfortunate, because Vitamin A is essential to good health. In fact, serious health problems can result from long-term, serious Vitamin A deficiencies.
Vitamin A is important from the very beginning of life. Pregnant women must be sure to consume sufficient amounts of Vitamin A, which will be more than they needed before pregnancy, because Vitamin A plays a great role in the proper physical development of a baby. It helps to promote proper cell differentiation, which is the specialization of cells upon division to take over certain tasks, meaning that cells for the heart take on their characteristics, those for the liver take on theirs, those for the brain take on their own characteristics and functions, and so on.
Vitamin A also serves in bone growth and development, as well as in the general growth and development of the body.
Vitamin A has a significant part in the quality and functioning of the body’s immune system. One facet of this functioning has to do with the skin and body’s mucus membranes. The skin and mucus membranes serve a very practical purpose for the body.
These operate as barriers against bacteria and viruses, protecting against infection and disease. Vitamin A helps to keep the skin and mucus membranes healthy and able to serve their primary purpose.
As we’ve all heard through the years, carrots are good for the eyes. That is because they are a good source of Vitamin A, which is essential to vision. In fact, a serious deficiency in Vitamin A can result in blindness. Many children living in poverty in developing nations throughout the world have become blind simply because of the lack of Vitamin A in their diets.
Vitamin A also serves to keep the surface linings of the intestinal, urinary and respiratory tracts healthy. This offers protection from bacteria, as well has promotes proper functioning.
One of the more common units of measure for Vitamin A found on packaging labels of food and dietary supplements is the International Unit, or IU. Adult and teenaged males should be sure to consume at total of 3,000 IU of Vitamin A per day.
Adult women and teenaged females should have 2,310 IU per day, 2,565 IU per day if pregnant and 4,300 IU per day if breastfeeding. For children ages 9 through 13, 2,000 IU is the recommended daily intake, with 1,320 IU being sufficient for those aged 4 through 8. From the first year through age 3, 1,000 IU is recommended.
Using dietary supplements to complete a healthy diet can ensure that the body receives the nutrients it needs for optimum performance. However, it is important to heed label and doctor recommendations for the best amount to be taken for your dietary needs.
Proper nutrition is essential to achieving and maintaining health. It is much better to avoid sickness than to recover from it. Taking steps to ensure that you are getting enough Vitamin A each day is an essential part of reaching your health goals.
Vitamin A also serves in bone growth and development, as well as in the general growth and development of the body.
Vitamin A has a significant part in the quality and functioning of the body’s immune system. One facet of this functioning has to do with the skin and body’s mucus membranes. The skin and mucus membranes serve a very practical purpose for the body.
These operate as barriers against bacteria and viruses, protecting against infection and disease. Vitamin A helps to keep the skin and mucus membranes healthy and able to serve their primary purpose.
As we’ve all heard through the years, carrots are good for the eyes. That is because they are a good source of Vitamin A, which is essential to vision. In fact, a serious deficiency in Vitamin A can result in blindness. Many children living in poverty in developing nations throughout the world have become blind simply because of the lack of Vitamin A in their diets.
Vitamin A also serves to keep the surface linings of the intestinal, urinary and respiratory tracts healthy. This offers protection from bacteria, as well has promotes proper functioning.
One of the more common units of measure for Vitamin A found on packaging labels of food and dietary supplements is the International Unit, or IU. Adult and teenaged males should be sure to consume at total of 3,000 IU of Vitamin A per day.
Adult women and teenaged females should have 2,310 IU per day, 2,565 IU per day if pregnant and 4,300 IU per day if breastfeeding. For children ages 9 through 13, 2,000 IU is the recommended daily intake, with 1,320 IU being sufficient for those aged 4 through 8. From the first year through age 3, 1,000 IU is recommended.
Using dietary supplements to complete a healthy diet can ensure that the body receives the nutrients it needs for optimum performance. However, it is important to heed label and doctor recommendations for the best amount to be taken for your dietary needs.
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