Vitamin Information Center

Body Mass Index (BMI)
Definition
Body mass index is defined as the individual’s body
weight divided by the square of the individual’s height
(kg/m2). The BMI is used for classifying underweight,
overweight and obesity in adults. The BMI is a simple
metric that relates weight and height. If an adult
for example weighs 75kg and its height is 1.80m, the
BMI will be 23.1. The cut-off points as defined by the
WHO are <18.50 for underweight, 18.50–24.99 for normal
range, 25.00–29.99 for overweight and ≥30 for
obese. Those BMI values are age- and sex-independent
in general, yet the BMI might not correspond to a similar
degree of fatness in different populations. There are
different health risks related with an increasing BMI,
e. g. type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Oily fish: Mackerel is a good source of vitamin D

Vitamin D may offer protection against the most common form of diabetes.

New research shows that, in particular, men with the highest blood level of the vitamin were 72 per cent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

There was a reduced effect among women.

Scientists in Finland monitored several thousand people, aged 40 to 74, for 22 years, during which time 412 developed the disease.

Results showed that those with higher levels of vitamin D had the lower risk of diabetes.

It is thought that low levels of vitamin D affect the body’s ability to produce insulin.

Diabetes type 2 is a growing health problem.

There are 1.9 million adults in the UK with diagnosed diabetes, and it is estimated there are another 589,000 unidentified sufferers.

Risk increases with age - less than one per cent of people under 34 have diagnosed diabetes compared with 10 per cent aged 75 and over.

Last week, we reported that high consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks seems to increase the risk for type 2 diabetes among African-American women. In the most recent issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, investigators from England reported that high levels of vitamin C in the blood are associated with a substantially decreased risk of diabetes.

The researchers studied a population of people, ranging from age 40 to age 75, who completed food questionnaires. The study population was followed for 12 years - in that time, 735 cases of diabetes were identified among 21,831 health individuals. After analyzing the information from the food questionnaires, the researchers found that individuals with high vitamin C levels in the blood were substantially less likely to develop diabetes. They found that higher fruit and vegetable intake was also associated with a significantly decreased risk of diabetes.

These findings highlight a potentially important public health message - promoting a diet rich in fruits and vegetables could help in the prevention of diabetes.

a colourless volatile substance formed in the body after vomiting or during
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Many dog owners wonder if using a canine supplement is a good idea. If you have a healthy dog or puppy, many experts caution against supplements. However, there can be benefits to supplements, especially if your dog is sick or has a health problem. Read on to learn tips to keeping your canine healthy. Continue Reading…

Sugar. What is it Good For? Absolutely… Nothing? I wouldn’t go that far.

It’s been a great contributor to some of the most debilitating diseases known to man. Diabetes, heart disorders of all types, adrenal disorders, allergy, endocrine disturbances, obesity, and brain chemistry disturbances. Continue Reading…

Many people consider it unnecessary to take supplements. They believe that we get all the nutrition we need from our food. Maybe that used to be so. Our ancestors didn’t need nutritional supplements. The food they consumed was mostly fresh and unprocessed so, therefore, rich in vitamins, minerals and micronutrients. Continue Reading…

You are probably familiar with the naughty children’s rhyme: “Beans, beans, good for the heart/The more you eat, the more you…” The first part is true, and as for the second, well, it can now be cut by up to 70 percent. Beans deserve their reputation for causing flatulence. Flatulence results when carbohydrates (scratches and sugars) arrive in the colon incompletely digested and are fermented by the bacteria there. The fermentation process releases gas. Any incompletely digested carbohydrate ��” from bagels to pasta ��” can ferment in the colon and cause gas. But beans are the richest sources of two particular carbohydrates, raffinose and stachyose, that the body cannot digest because humans lack the enzyme to do it. Continue Reading…

By Sandi Doughton

The Seattle Times

February 24, 2008 6:00 AM

Dreary northern winters are infamous for inducing depression. But being starved for sunlight can do more than kick you into a psychic hole.

A growing body of evidence suggests it can raise your risk of cancer, increase susceptibility to heart attack, diabetes and other disorders, and at least partly account for the region’s sky-high rates of multiple sclerosis.

The reason is vitamin D, an essential nutrient produced in abundance by skin exposed to the sun’s rays. Long dismissed as being important mainly for strong bones, the so-called sunshine vitamin is now recognized as a key player throughout the body, including the immune system. Continue Reading…

Claudette Novak

The most natural source of vitamin D is the sun. It has always been referred to as the “sunshine vitamin.” This is because the body has special cells underneath the surface of the skin that produce vitamin D when activated by ultraviolet light.
Continue Reading…