Vitamin Information Center

South Africa has launched its first ever national Vitamin “A” campaign, which aims to reach a total of 4 million children over an intensive 12 day period ending on 20 September, 2008.

According to UNICEF, this is the first time that the Department of Health in South Africa has conducted an intervention of this scale, in all provinces, with the primary aim of increasing Vitamin “A” coverage rates. In select provinces, the campaign roll out will follow an integrated approach including vitamin A supplementation, deworming and some growth screening using Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) tapes.

“Globally, it is estimated that the provision of twice yearly vitamin A supplements to children can contribute to the reduction of child mortality by 23 per cent,” said Joan Matji, Senior Nutrition Specialist at UNICEF South Africa. “UNICEF estimates that in order to maximize the impact of Vitamin “A” supplementation on child mortality, at least 70 per cent of children in South Africa need to be provided with vitamin A supplementation every 6 months, she added.”

UNICEF in partnership with the Department of Health has over the years managed implementation of national high impact interventions to prevent further deterioration in micronutrient deficiencies in South Africa, especially amongst the most vulnerable children and women. “An example is the national flour fortification programme, which is now being introduced in other countries it the region,” Ms Matji said.

South Africa’s first national nutrition survey among children 6-71 months, found that 33.3 per cent of children are deficient in Vitamin “A”. This prevalence indicates that deficiency in Vitamin “A” is a serious health concern for the country. Since the effect of one capsule of vitamin A administered to a child lasts for only four to six months, health experts recommend that a supplement be provided twice yearly to children during the first 5 years of life.

The 2008 Vitamin “A” supplementation Campaign

A 1999 South Africa’s National Food Consumption Survey showed that most children appear to consume a diet low in energy and poor in protein quality and micronutrient density. It also found that one out of two children aged 1-9 years have an intake of approximately less than half the recommended level for Vitamin “A”. In response, routine supplementation to children aged 6 to 59 months and to post partum women has been implemented at South African health facilities as a policy since 2003.

UNICEF has actively supported every step of this first Vitamin “A” campaign by bringing in a technical expert to guide the planning phase, mobilizing partners such as the Micronutrient Initiative and the Canadian International Development Agency to secure vitamin A capsules, scissors and indelible ink, and in documenting the campaign experience, including assessing the number of children reached, the costs and the impacts. UNICEF will also help determine the sustainability of this new intervention.

“UNICEF looks forward in future to supporting the implementation of a more integrated vitamin “A” supplementation programme that is part of an overall child survival package in order to truly accelerate high impact interventions in the country, “ Ms. Matji said.

The official launch of this campaign was undertaken by the National Minister of Health at J. Dumane Community Health Centre in Voslorus, Ekhuruleni, Gauteng Province.

About UNICEF
UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

For further information please contact UNICEF South Africa: http://www.unicef.org/southaftrica
Yvonne Duncan, yduncan@unicef.org, Mobile +27 82 561 3970
Joan Matji, Jmatji@unicef.org, Mobile: + 27 79 498 4993

Popping vitamin pills ‘like sweets’ could seriously damage your health, warn experts

HEALTHY people who take vitamin supplements were last night urged to be careful after research suggested they may do more harm than good.

Welsh health experts advised people to meet their nutritional needs by eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

There were also calls for tighter regulation of the sale of vitamins and minerals, which the public can buy “like sweets”, according to dietary advice groups.

The warning comes after researchers found that people who take antioxidant supplements, including vitamins A and E, to try to keep diseases such as cancer at bay, could in fact be interfering with their natural body defences and may be increasing their risk of an early death by up to 16%.

About 12 million Britons supplement their diets with vitamins and the industry is worth about £330m a year.

Paul Walker, chairman of the National Public Health Association Cymru, said: “We all need vitamins up to a certain level, but there is a misconception that taking more must be good for you.

“The evidence shows that this isn’t true. Having too much does no good and, in fact, could do people harm.

“The key is to have a very varied diet with at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day.

“More regulation of this industry is probably required.”

Antioxidants, including vitamins A, E, C and beta-carotene and selenium, are said to mop up disease-causing compounds called free radicals. It is this action that researchers say may cause problems with the defence system.

The research by Copenhagen University, released by the influential Cochrane Library, applied only to synthetic supplements and not to vitamins that occur naturally in vegetables and fruit.

Researchers carried out a review of 67 studies on 230,000 healthy people and found “no convincing evidence” that any of the antioxidants helped to prolong life expectancy but some “increased mortality”.

They found that vitamin A supplements increased the risk of death in healthy people by 16%. Taking beta-carotene was linked to a 7% increased risk, while regular users of vitamin E supplements increased the risk of an early death by 4%.

Although the review found no significant detrimental effect caused by vitamin C, it found no evidence that it helped ward off disease. Millions take it in the hope of avoiding a common cold.

Goran Bjelakovic, who led the review, said: “We could find no evidence to support taking antioxidant supplements to reduce the risk of dying earlier in healthy people or patients with various diseases.

“If anything, people in trial groups given the antioxidants beta-carotene, vitamin A and vitamin E showed increased rates of mortality.”

Catherine Collins of the British Dietetic Association said: “This study is deeply worrying and shows that there should be more regulation for vitamins and minerals.

“The public can buy vitamins as easily as sweets. They should be treated in the same way as paracetamol with maximum limits on the dosage.”

Camille Clarke, a naturopathic nutritionist, based at the Natural Health Clinic in Cathedral Road, Cardiff, backed calls for tighter controls.

“It [the industry] needs to be regulated, vitamins are too freely available,” said Camille, who urged people to opt for naturally- occurring vitamins.

“People read things in magazines and they are taking huge amounts of vitamins and minerals but have a terrible diet.

“There’s no point in taking vitamins if you don’t have a healthy diet. You should only take them if you have a health problem and only for a little while.”

Denise Parish, a lecturer in dietetics at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, and a state registered dietician of 14 years, said: “As a general rule there is no evidence to say taking vitamins is of any benefit. Actually eating the foods that contain them is the best way of getting antioxidants.”

She said the only people who should take vitamin supplements are those who have particular health problems or pregnant women who are advised to take folate.

The chief medical officer for Wales, Dr Tony Jewell, said: “A good balanced diet which includes fresh fruit and vegetables will always provide individuals with the vitamins that they need.

“We would always advise people not to rely on such supplements as their primary source of vitamin intake.”

The benefits of vitamin D have long been known. It’s central for healthy bones and preventing some cancers.

A recent study boosted D’s profile, saying people with a moderate vitamin D deficiency had a 60-percent increased risk of cardiovascular problems, and those with a severe deficiency a almost 100-percent risk.

Since we get vitamin D from the sun along with food, it seemed great news for those who like to catch some rays. But not so fast, says Judy Dowd, a physician’s assistant with Cotton-O’Neil Dermatology. She says one source says all you need is five to 10 minutes of sun exposure on the hands, arm and face, two to three times a week, to get enough sun exposure to get the vitamin D you need and metabolize it usefully.

That’s about a half hour total. Other health officials said up to two hours total a week is what’s needed. But you also get vitamin D from food. Dowd says it is milk, cereals, breads and other foods are fortified with it and it’s also in eggs and liver.

Dowd advocates minimal sun exposure, so that you get enough vitamin D without adding to the risk sun exposure poses. She says it can cause early signs of aging, like wrinkles. It can also impact the immune system and cause skin cancers.

Dowd says it’s projected there’ll be 1.3 million new cases of skin cancer in the next couple years. She says many health experts attribute this to the increased use of tanning beds. As for tanning beds and vitamin D, she says we get vitamin D from UVB rays, not UVA rays, and most tanning beds use only UVA rays.

The number of skin cancers continues to climb and successful treatment means catching it early. The Cotton-O’Neil Cancer Center will have free skin cancer screenings Saturday, April 26th. It’s free, but you do have to register for an appointment by calling HealthConnections at 785-354-5225.

Men who have their diet based on green vegetables, fruits and lentils have a higher chance of fathering a healthy child, a new research shows.

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that men with relatively low levels of folate (a B Vitamin) had increased risks for sperm containing either too few or too many chromosome, a condition known as aneuploidy. This condition is connected to failure to conceive, miscarriages, and children born with conditions such as Down’s syndrome, Turner’s syndrome and Klinefelter’s syndrome.

“We looked at sperm to find different kinds of genetic abnormalities. The abnormalities we looked at here were having too few or too many chromosomes,” lead researcher Brenda Eskenazi, a professor of maternal and child health and epidemiology and director of the Center for Children’s Environmental Health at Berkeley’s School of Public Health said, according to the Washington Post.

The researchers analyzed sperm samples from 89 healthy, non-smoking men and questioned them about their daily intake of zinc, folate, vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene. They found men with the highest intake of folate or folic acid (between 722 and 1150 micrograms a day) had 20 percent to 30 percent lower frequencies of aneuploidy compared to men with a lower intake. No correlation was made between the other vitamins and sperm aneuploidy.

The current recommended daily intake of folate for men over the age of 19 is 400 micrograms. Health experts recommend women of childbearing age maintain a healthy intake of folate because it is essential for healthy fetal developmental and to prevent neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida or anencephaly (severe type of brain damage). That’s the reason why folic acid is now added to bread, cereal, flour and other grain products in the U.S.

This study is the first to “say that male diet may be important for healthy offspring as well.”

“The emphasis related to the birth of a healthy baby has been weighted towards the health and diet of women, not just during pregnancy, but before. What we’re finding now is that a nutritious diet, specifically folate intake, may be beneficial for men as well when it comes to producing healthy offspring,” Dr. Eskenazi said.

She also adds that if other studies confirm her team’s findings of the link between folate intake and aneuploidy, scientists may recommend men tale folic acid for at least three months before trying to conceive.

The idea that diet can improve sperm quality is less well established. “There is increasing evidence from a number of studies to suggest that dietary factors can correlate with sperm health. The story so far suggests that dietary factors won’t help you make more sperm, but good diet might just improve that quality of the ones that are made,” said Dr. Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield and honorary secretary of the British Fertility Society, BBC News reported.

The study findings are published in the March 20 issue of the journal Human Reproduction.

The colon is responsible for absorbing the vitamins, nutrients, and water from the things we consume. Then, it’s in charge of eliminating the waste items from the body. However, all the processed foods that most people are accustomed to eating today causes our waste to be thick and pasty. This waste sticks to our intestine walls and doesn’t eliminate properly. We then develop problems like constipation, irritable bowel or diarrhea. This is one of the main reasons a colon cleansing may be called for.
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Soy protein is emerging as one of the great alternative protein sources for human consumption. Health experts are all excited about how soy protein can change the face of nutrition. What’s all the rage? Here are some great reasons to get with soy protein.
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