Vitamin Information Center

Abundant dietary vitamin C may lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, say researchers from the Institute of Metabolic Science at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, England.

Scientists there followed 21,831 men and women aged 40 to 75 over a 12-year period, during which they tracked diet, exercise, and blood content. By the end of the study, 423 men and 312 women-3.2 percent of the study group-had developed type 2.

The researchers concluded that the subjects with the highest levels of vitamin C in their blood were 62 percent less likely to develop type 2 than the subjects with lower levels.

Fruit and vegetables were the subjects’ main sources of vitamin C. The researchers said that other factors commonly associated with a risk for diabetes, such as age, sex, smoking, family history, weight, and alcohol consumption, did not significantly alter the beneficial effects of vitamin C.

Is Gum Disease a Precursor to Diabetes?

If you have gum disease, your chances of developing type 2 diabetes are nearly double those of people who don’t have gum disease, according to researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.

That was their conclusion after a 20-year study that tracked 9,000 people without diabetes.

The presence of periodontal disease has often been noted as an accompaniment to diabetes, but nobody is sure whether it is a precursor to the disease or possibly even a contributing factor.

Because gum disease, like diabetes, involves tissue inflammation, there is some speculation that it is an indicator of susceptibility to inflammatory disease.

Thirty-five percent of adults have some form of gum disease, and one third of those experience a troubling level of infection.

Researchers don’t know what causes periodontal disease. Theories include genetics, smoking, and dry mouth caused by medications. Treatments include antibiotics, topical gels, extremely deep tooth cleaning, and even surgery to graft tissue from the roof of the mouth onto affected spots to encourage new gum growth.

The hope is that lowering the level of inflammation in the mouth may decrease the likelihood of inflammation developing elsewhere in the body.

Source: Diabetes Care, July 2008

Do you take a multivitamin? Or a single vitamin, mineral, or combination supplement? If so, you are in the company of tens of millions of U.S. adults.

Why do you take them? Most people say it makes them feel healthier or they believe it will prevent chronic diseases, or colds and flu. But you may be surprised to know that what is in your bottle and on the label is not strictly regulated. And there is no system in place to collect reports of adverse affects.

Over the past few years there has been increasing evidence that multivitamins and single or combination type vitamin/mineral supplements may not provide the health benefit sought by you, the consumer. In some cases the opposite or no beneficial effects have been reported.

Alarming to think that vitamin or mineral supplements could actually cause more harm than good. An example of this is the use of beta carotene by smokers actually increased the incidence of lung cancer. This is echoed by a recent study out of the University of Washington that reports the use of multivitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E and folate did not reduce the risk of lung cancer.

It is not all bad news though; there are studies to support the use of folate (folic acid) prior to and during pregnancy in the prevention of neural tube defects in the developing fetus. And history has proven that vitamins and minerals play a critical role in our health — the reason we know about the benefits of vitamins and minerals in food is because of the major discoveries in disease prevention such as vitamin C and scurvy and thiamine, a B vitamin, and beri beri (a wasting type disease).

This may leave you wondering if those vitamin mineral supplements in your medicine cabinet are doing what they should or even worth your money.

Let’s look at this way — do you eat a well balanced diet? If so, you may not need a multivitamin and if you take one as a “safety net” know that you may exceed what your body needs or can use.

Are you concerned about a chronic disease? If so, making changes in your diet and exercise habits, not smoking and following through with recommended screenings by your physician are more likely to benefit your overall health picture.

Consider your current state of health, talk to your doctor and/or dietitian, and weigh the possible benefits and risks of a multivitamin and mineral supplement for you.

To your health,

Katherine

With More Than 50 percent of Americans Vitamin D Deficient, Dr. Karl Gruber
  Says the Sun is the Best Solution - but for Only 10 Minutes Weekly; Wear
Sunscreen With UVA and UVB Protection to Avoid Melanoma and Premature Aging

    CHARLESTON, S.C., March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- As many as half of all U.S.
children and adults are vitamin D deficient and new evidence shows a link
between low vitamin D levels and cancer, autoimmune and infectious
diseases, according to experts. Researchers and doctors say the vitamin D
problem can be solved if people spend more time outside on a sunny day.

    Karl Gruber, M.D., a South Carolina-based surgical pathologist and CEO
of LUCA Sunscreen, providing the highest UVA rating available, agrees that
the sun can help people reap the benefits of vitamin D, but not without
precaution.

    "There's no doubt the sun is the quickest way to obtain important
vitamin D," says Dr. Gruber. "However, to simply prescribe sunshine without
prescribing sunscreen is irresponsible. It's imperative that people
understand that ample vitamin D is produced with finite limited amounts of
UVB rays, but there are no beneficial effects from the more dangerous UVA
rays. People need to block the UVA rays with sunscreen everyday -- even
when trying to obtain vitamin D from the sun."

    Vitamin D is produced by exposure to the sun's UVB rays. According to
Dr. Gruber, the SPF system rates a sunscreen's protection from these rays.
For example, an SPF 15 blocks 94 percent of the sun's UVB rays so a person
wearing an SPF 15 sunscreen will need to stay in the sun for two hours to
obtain the vitamin D benefits they would receive in eight minutes without
sunscreen protection. Although a person obtains UVB exposure while wearing
sunscreen, they increase their risk of exposure to dangerous UVA rays that
are closely linked to melanoma and premature aging.

    Dr. Gruber suggests that people concerned about getting enough vitamin
D should plan 10 minutes of sun exposure once a week on parts of the body
that are not chronically sun exposed, such as the back and stomach. During
this time, Dr. Gruber says to use sunscreen -- with a high UVA rating such
as 370nm or higher -- on the face, neck and arms or body parts chronically
in sunshine.

    "People should wear sunscreen daily on these highly exposed body parts
as a vital defense against the damaging effects of chronic sun exposure,
including solar aging and cancer," says Dr. Gruber. "I'm seeing skin cancer
in younger and younger patients and everyone needs to wear sunscreen daily
and take doing so seriously."

    Dr. Gruber created LUCA Sunscreen as a daily wear moisturizing solar
protection that is water resistant, hypoallergenic, fragrance free and
specially formulated for children and adults with sensitive skin. Featuring
breakthrough Polycrylene(R) technology, LUCA(TM) Sunscreen is better at
blocking UVA radiation than other sunscreens sold in the U.S. and it is the
first sunscreen on the U.S. market to back up its UVA protection claims
with a critical wavelength value printed on the bottle. With this unique
formulation, LUCA is effective for up to six hours in intense sunlight.

    Critical wavelength is an international rating system for UVA
protection and LUCA's critical wavelength of 383nm is the highest available
in the U.S. The FDA has not yet adopted a standard by which to measure
protection against UVA radiation, however, it considers any product with a
critical wavelength over 370nm to provide excellent UVA coverage.

    Because there are no tangible symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, people
are encouraged to ask their physicians to check their vitamin D levels
during annual check-ups. Ensuring the proper vitamin D levels will help the
body fight cancer, autoimmune and infectious diseases, according to
experts.

    Dr. Gruber says the farther you live from the equator and the less
opportunity you have for regular sun exposure, the more likely you are to
be deficient. Older adults and people who are obese or who have liver or
kidney disease also are at risk. In addition, African Americans and people
with darker skin are more at risk, because their skin is less able to
synthesize Vitamin D from the sun.

Flavonoids are highly beneficial anti-oxidant compounds found in many fruits and vegetables, as well as tea, red wine and even beer, and it’s now well established that a plentiful intake of anti-oxidants through foods, drinks and supplements is vital for optimal human health.

Anti-oxidants operate to neutralise the activity of so-called “free radicals”; compounds produced in the body as by-products of normal biochemical reactions, but which may nevertheless be highly damaging as they produce oxidative reactions damaging to cell structures. Ultimately this damage may contribute to the development of degenerative diseases characteristic of ageing, including cardiovascular disease, Parkinson’s Alzheimer’s and even some cancers.

The best known anti-oxidant nutrients are vitamins C and E, although these can only function properly when supported by adequate supplies of a wide variety of micro-nutrients, which include many of the flavonoids found in common fruits and vegetables. These compounds may therefore be regarded as important elements in the body’s anti-oxidant defences, but many of the more than 4,000 flavonoids identified have also been hailed for their beneficial effects on the immune system and anti-inflammatory properties.

From the point of view of incorporating flavonoids into a daily health regime, the good thing is the ease with which this can be achieved. Flavonoids are very widely found in fruits, vegetables, and even drinks normally regarded, for other reasons, as unhealthy. So even a diet ordinarily well provided with common fruits and vegetables may provide anything up to 800mg of various flavonoids.

Authoritative research has indicated that this level of flavonoid consumption may help protect against coronary heart disease and hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), an important precursor of both heart disease and stroke. These remain two of the major causes of premature mortality and disability in the Western world, and to this extent the UK government and health advisors’ frequent advice to consume five servings of fruit and vegetables each day is well founded.

The most potent of all the anti-oxidant flavonoids is believed to be a compound called quercetin, which is widely found in common or garden vegetables. The consumption of fruits with their skins on, such as apples, pears, grapes, bilberries, tomatoes etc will also provide a good supply. But perhaps the richest source is onions, a foodstuff also known since ancient times as a powerful anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory agent.

There’s no doubt that a diet including plentiful supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables can only be beneficial to health. But the anti-oxidant properties of the flavonoids found in many common, even supposedly unhealthy, beverages should not be neglected.

For example, the anti-oxidant properties of the catechin polyphenols found in black and green tea and red wine are now well known and attested. But, as remarkable as it may sound, there is now evidence that even beer may contain unique anti-oxidants equal in potency to vitamin E. The flavonoid compounds, xanthohumol and isoxanthumol appear to be found only in beer and the hops that flavour it and although they have not been studied directly, there is speculation that they may be responsible for the remarkable and counter-intuitive finding that lager type beers may be more effective as anti-oxidants than red wine, grape juice or even green tea. Obviously there are other reasons, not least its high calorific value, why you wouldn’t want to depend on a high consumption of lager for your anti-oxidants, but in moderation it may indeed be beneficial.

In fact studies suggest that these particular flavonoid anti-oxidants may have a particular role in combatting the oxidation of low density lipids (LDLs), the so-called “bad cholesterol”, which is a known risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. The other main fat-soluble anti-oxidant which fights this process is vitamin E, and although there is evidence that the anti-oxidant potential of xanthohumol and isoxanthumol may be comparable with that of the vitamin, it is also clear that each of the three compounds functions best in the presence of each of the others.

Whilst orthodox medicine concedes, in fact insists, that further research is necessary, the implications of these findings are exciting; suggesting that there may be many more as yet undiscovered benefits of flavonoids. As always, however, the holistic functioning of the body means that maximum benefits will only be obtained by the consumption of the widest possible variety of all these compounds. As flavonoids are not yet widely available as supplements, this consumption is best achieved through the foodstuffs and beverages which combine them as nature intended. Such a flavonoid rich diet can only be of benefit to the action of the better known anti-oxidants, such as vitamins E and C, which are more readily obtainable in supplement form.

Are So Called Anti Aging Hgh Products Effective

The issue of aging is one of the most talked about topic by middle-age and aging adults today. With such dominant issue of aging, a great number of anti-aging medicines and herbal supplements surge the market, as they also claim to be considered as hgh products that will delay or hinder the signs of aging. As one may also notice, anti-aging medicines are fast becoming a multi-billion dollar profit among businessmen. It varies from injections, herbal concoctions, vitamin supplements, to skin cream. However, the issue of whether such so-called hgh products of anti-aging are really working is one good question that customers should think first before resorting to use such products.
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Flavonoids are highly beneficial anti-oxidant compounds found in many fruits and vegetables, as well as tea, red wine and even beer, and it’s now well established that a plentiful intake of anti-oxidants through foods, drinks and supplements is vital for optimal human health.
Continue Reading…