According to British doctors, children who are spending excessive amounts of time using the internet may be at risk for developing rickets due to vitamin D deficiency.

In a review in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal, Newcastle University researchers stated that as a younger generation spends more of its leisure time indoors, vitamin D levels drop, exposing the population to greater risk for the disease, and a rise in its occurrance, which had been all but ended in modern times. Not long ago, rickets was a condition associated with extreme poverty and starvation — not the affluence of the modern industrialized societies.

The authors of the study suggested "fresh air", adding new regulations to fortify milk products in the UK, and/or other dietary supplementation.

DSIB: Vitamin D

British Medical Journal: Diagnosis and management of vitamin D deficiency

BBC: Newcastle University experts want Vitamin D put in food

Guardian UK: Rickets warning from doctors as vitamin D deficiency widens

Times Online: TV and computer games blamed for return of rickets

Press Association: Rickets rise for inactive children

In a dispatch from Honduras, Nicholas Kristof has written a very interesting op-ed about micronutrients. By turns enlightening and horrific, Kristof's account focuses to readers' attention on the simple preventative measures which can be taken to eliminate a host of birth defects which plague developing nations. This very issue has been mentioned on the DSIB blog before, but this particular article is one of the more powerful examples we have encountered in coming from a major news source. From the NYTimes article:

“In the early stages of life, the die is cast,” said David Dodson, the founder of Project Healthy Children, an aid group that fights micronutrient deficiencies in Honduras and other poor countries. “If a child is not getting the right micronutrients, the effect is permanent.”

“I had never seen anything in my life that could have so much impact for so little money and be sustainable,” Mr. Dodson said

Please have a look at the full article, "World's Healthiest Food, and take a moment to learn more about the micronutrients discussed below.

DSIB: Iodine
DSIB: Iron
DSIB: Vitamin A
DSIB: Vitamin B-Complex
DSIB: Zinc

The FDA is set to begin research into an area of critical importance for the health-awareness of the general population: Why is it that food labels are roundly ignored by so many people?

Since the early 1990’s, the number of consumers who utterly ignored food labels on food products has risen by almost 50 percent, and the worst for this were populations under 35 years old.

A new internet-based study has been proposed by the agency, and it expects over 40,000 volunteer participants to help them learn more about three main points:

• The identification of attitudes and beliefs to do with health, diet and label usage
• The relationships between these attitudes and beliefs, demographics, and actual label use
• The relevance of these attitudes between different demographics, to see whether there are different barriers to label use for different age groups

For more info on this study and food labels:
GPO.gov: Internet Survey on Barriers to Food Label Use (bottom of the page)
FDA.gov: Consumer Info: Nutrition Facts Label
NutraUSA: New study to investigate why people ignore food labels

On Monday morning, ABC's Good Morning America ran a feature about vitamin D.

The segment kicks off by highlighting "Five Ways Vitamin D Can Save Your Life" and goes on to itemize the most efficient ways one can go about ensuring that vitamin D levels are optimal.

The video is nice and simple, so if interested in a bare bones explanation regarding the vitamin, have a look: GMA has a look at the Sun Vitamin.

DSIB: Vitamin D

Harvard researchers, in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have determined that Omega-3 deficiency is responsible for 72,000 to 96,000 preventable deaths each year in the United States. This startling finding would mean that Omega-3 deficiency is the sixth largest cause of death for Americans.

According to the data, collected in a 2005 study, tobacco smoking and high blood pressure were responsible for an estimated 436,000-500,000 deaths, high blood pressure taking 372,000-414,000 victims, responsible for nearly 20% of deaths for US adults. Overweight and obesity conditions caused 188,000-237,000 fatalities, while physical inactivity caused 164,000-222,000. High dietary salt (97,000-107,000 deaths), low dietary omega-3 fatty acids (72,000-96,000), and high dietary trans fatty acids (82,000; 63,000-97,000) round out the top causes of mortality.

Last month, Dr. Daniel Fabricant made the following statement to NutraUSA about such recent finding:

“We need more clinical research that nails down why omega-3 is so effective,” Fabricant said. “This seems to be the last missing piece for omega-3s in terms of clarifying the picture for governmental/regulatory bodies of its efficacy.”

To learn more about what we do know regarding Omega-3, please have a look at the DSIB Healthnotes page: Omega-3

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) has just updated their position regarding vitamin D as related to UV light. A few brief highlights here, and then check out the entire statement at the link below.

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends that an adequate amount of vitamin D should be obtained from a healthy diet that includes foods naturally rich in vitamin D, foods/beverages fortified with vitamin D, and/or vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D should not be obtained from unprotected exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

...

There is no scientifically validated, safe threshold level of UV exposure from the sun that allows for maximal vitamin D synthesis without increasing skin cancer risk.

Position Statement on Vitamin D (AAD)

DSIB has a new radio public service announcement on the air that we'd like to share:

Transcript:

While you may reach for Vitamin C during allergy and cold season, when you feel your immune system can use a boost, what you may not realize are the year round benefits Vitamin C provides.

Research on Vitamin C indicates that it may be beneficial to you in many ways, including helping to shorten the duration of a cold. Vitamin C also may help in reducing muscle soreness from exercise, and further research is being conducted on its role in preventing chronic disease. This incredible antioxidant enhances iron absorption and is necessary for the synthesis of collagen, a protein responsible for the formation of skin, hair nails, connective tissue, ligaments and bones.

A Vitamin C supplement might be an easy way to help add to the Vitamin C intake you would normally achieve from a healthy diet.

You can learn more about Vitamin C by logging on to www.supplementinfo.org. That's supplementinfo.org. This message is brought to you by the Docter Whitaker Show, and the Dietary Supplement Information Bureau, your partners in scientific-based supplement information.

The goal is to provide a low-cost supply of the vitamin to the developing world, where deficiencies of that nutrient cause widespread blindness and even death. The early-stage project, in which Anthony's lab has made one strain of the bug with an eye-catching shade of carroty-orange, is part of a fast-growing field called synthetic biology.

So, a strange combo of things, for sure. Using E. coli, something we generally associate with rather dramatic illness, to create vitamin A, a nutrient which is generally an afterthought for most people living in the developed world. Here's another great quote from the lead researcher on the project, biologist Jennifer Anthony: "We could potentially ask these bacteria to make anything, if we could find the genes for the pathway and put it in." Cool and fun science, check it out here: Finally, something good about E. coli.

To learn more about vitamin A, please have a look at the following page: DSIB Vitamin A

If you are an avid tweeter, we would love to follow and be followed by you: http://twitter.com/NaturalProdFdn. ( :

   

Some news round-ups here, on two of the most buzzed about vitamins, folic acid and vitamin D.

First up, folic acid. It has long been known that folic acid supplementation is an essential precaution for pregnancies, which is the main reason why it is now added to the mass-produced bread you buy in the supermarket. New research has found even more compelling evidence supporting folic acid's benefit's for expectant mothers. A study from the University of Texas has found that taking folic acid supplements a year prior to conception reduces the likelihood of premature birth by 70%, a dramatic result, to say the least. This study was conducted with a very large population, nearly 35,000 women. If you or someone you know is thinking of having a child sometime soon, the below links are definitely suggested reading:

DSIB: Folic Acid
NPA: Folic Acid
PLoS: Preconceptional Folate Supplementation and the Risk of Spontaneous Preterm Birth: A Cohort Study
: Science DailyTaking Folic Acid Supplements Before Conception Linked To Reduced Risk Of Premature Birth
LA Times: A pre-pregnancy year of folic acid sharply lowers risk of very premature birth

On to vitamin D. The prevalence of forthcoming vitamin D research ensures that this isn't a supplement we will only be hearing about in the dark and wintry months when people don't get enough sun. The positive news surrounding this vitamin continues to pour in, and we'd just like to direct your attention toward a few prominent items of interest.

DSIB: Vitamin D
MSN: Getting Your Vitamin D All Year Round: Why the buzz about vitamin D is warranted.
BBC: Elderly need more 'sun vitamin'
Science Daily: New Model Of Cancer Development: Low Vitamin D Levels May Have Role
Daily Mail: Millions face serious health risks over lack of vitamin D in diets
NY Times: Nutrition: Vaginal Infection Tied to Low Vitamin D
MedPage Today: Low Vitamin D May Slow Cognition in Older Men
NutraUSA: Vitamin D good for brains and lungs, say new studies
NutraUSA: Low vitamin D may boost metabolic syndrome risk
UPI: Vitamin D or sunshine may help treat MS
Eureka Alert: Is vitamin D deficiency linked to Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia?
About.com: Vitamin D & Asthma
Forbes: Vitamin D May Help Keep Aging at Bay