Vitamin A News and Research

Latest Vitamin A News and Research

Excess of vitamin D during pregnancy can increase risk of food allergy in children

Pregnant women should avoid taking vitamin D supplements. Substitution appears to raise the risk of children developing a food allergy after birth.

28 Feb 2013

Complementary medicine risks: an interview with Dr Andrew Boyden, NPS MedicineWise

Complementary medicines include products containing herbs, vitamins, minerals, nutritional supplements, homoeopathic medicines, certain aromatherapy products and traditional Chinese medicines. For this reason they are also called herbal, natural or alternative medicines.

26 Feb 2013

Orphan, CU to develop enzyme replacement therapy for CBS-deficient homocystinuria

The University of Colorado (CU) has signed exclusive, worldwide licensing and collaboration agreements with rare-disease research-and-development firm Orphan Technologies Ltd to develop an enzyme replacement therapy for Cystathionine Beta-Synthase (CBS) -deficient homocystinuria, a rare, inherited metabolic disease that is often fatal at a young age.

25 Feb 2013

Study shows how hyperparathyroidism affects people of different racial backgrounds

Unusually high calcium levels in the blood can almost always be traced to primary hyperparathyroidism, an undertreated, underreported condition that affects mainly women and the elderly, according to a new study by UCLA researchers.

22 Feb 2013

Positive health indicators associated with avocado consumption

New analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) , a program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), indicates that consuming avocados may be associated with better diet quality and nutrient intake level, lower intake of added sugars, lower body weight, BMI and waist circumferences, higher "good cholesterol" levels and lower metabolic syndrome risk.

22 Feb 2013

Study finds new mutation in UBIAD1 gene that causes Schnyder corneal dystrophy

Research conducted by Dr. Jayne S. Weiss, Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, and colleagues has discovered a new mutation in a gene that causes Schnyder corneal dystrophy (SCD.)

22 Feb 2013

Selenium supplements and heart disease risk: an interview with Dr Saverio Stranges, University of Warwick

Selenium is a micronutrient which has antioxidant properties by means of selenoproteins which play many important functions in the body. They actually are contained in many different foods. The amount of selenium we get from diet is closely linked to the amount of selenium in the soil.

21 Feb 2013

Calcium supplement intake may increase risk of death from heart disease in men

In a new study from the National Institutes of Health, startling results showed that men who took calcium supplements were more apt to die of heart disease than those who didn't get extra calcium in supplement form.

20 Feb 2013

Caffeine intake during pregnancy associated with low birth weight babies

Maternal nutrition is important to a developing embryo and to the health of the child later in life. Supplementing the diet with specific vitamins is known to increase health of the foetus for example folic acid (vitamin B9) reduces the risk of spina bifida. However not everything an adult might consume is beneficial to a developing baby.

19 Feb 2013

Pediatric blindness etiology varies around the globe

The causes and prevalence of blindness in children vary markedly by geography, presumably as a proxy for socioeconomic factors influencing prevention and treatment schemes, conclude the authors of a literature review.

15 Feb 2013

Potency of vitamin D pills ‘often at variance with labeling’

A survey of over-the-counter vitamin D tablets in the USA has revealed very wide variations in pill potency, with different tablets containing as little as 9% or as much as 146% of the stated dose.

15 Feb 2013

New paper advances scientific understanding of glycoproteins’ structure and function

A Simon Fraser University chemist is the lead author on a new paper that advances scientific understanding of the structure and function of glycoproteins, in particular the number and positioning of sugars on them.

14 Feb 2013

Updated Cochrane review on vitamin C and common cold

According to an updated Cochrane review on vitamin C and the common cold, vitamin C seems to be particularly beneficial for people under heavy physical stress. In five randomized trials of participants with heavy short-term physical stress, vitamin C halved the incidence of the common cold.

14 Feb 2013

African-American and Caucasian women absorb, metabolize vitamin D at same rate

African-American women battling vitamin D deficiencies need the same dose as Caucasian women to treat the condition, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

13 Feb 2013

UV prevention measures may influence rheumatoid arthritis incidence

Increased ultraviolet-B exposure reduces the risk for rheumatoid arthritis in women, US researchers suggest, but the drive to protect against skin cancer in recent years may have negated this benefit.

12 Feb 2013

Low vitamin D not linked to poor physical performance in octogenarians

Researchers have found no evidence for a link between low vitamin D levels and impaired physical performance in people aged 80 years or older.

12 Feb 2013

Eight ways to say ‘I love you’ from Loyola dietitian

If you want to keep your true love's heart beating strong, Susan Ofria, clinical nutrition manager at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, said the real food of love is dark chocolate and red wine. In moderation, red wine and dark chocolate are good health choices not just on Valentine's Day, but for any occasion.

12 Feb 2013

Certain nutrients may play an underlying role in short and long sleep duration

"You are what you eat," the saying goes, but is what you eat playing a role in how much you sleep? Sleep, like nutrition and physical activity, is a critical determinant of health and well-being. With the increasing prevalence of obesity and its consequences, sleep researchers have begun to explore the factors that predispose individuals to weight gain and ultimately obesity.

9 Feb 2013

Researchers pinpoint how vitamin D3 and omega-3 may boost immunity to help fight Alzheimer's

A team of academic researchers has pinpointed how vitamin D3 and omega-3 fatty acids may enhance the immune system's ability to clear the brain of amyloid plaques, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.

5 Feb 2013

Vitamin C supplements increase risk of kidney stones in men

New research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that men who take vitamin C supplements regularly run a higher risk of developing kidney stones. The study, which is published in the scientific periodical JAMA Internal Medicine, did not however observe an increased risk between kidney stones and multivitamins - which contain lower concentrations of vitamin C.

5 Feb 2013