Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Nutrients in the news this week...

VITAMIN D PREVENTS CANCER

San Diego researchers urged people to take more vitamin D to lower their risk of colon, breast and ovarian cancers, saying a host of studies showed a clear link. "Our suggestion is for people to increase their intake through food or vitamin supplements," said Dr. Cedric Garland, a professor at the University of California, San Diego and the Moores Cancer Center.

Garland’s team reviewed 63 studies, including several long-term ones involving large numbers of patients. The studies looked at the relationship between vitamin D and certain types of cancer worldwide from 1996 through 2004. The scientists published their analysis in the online version of the American Journal of Public Health.

The benefit of vitamin D was as clear as the harmful link between smoking and lung cancer, Garland said. "There’s nothing that has this proven ability to prevent cancer," he said. Dr. Garland advocated a minimum of 1,000 IU’s per day with more being better. This is well within the new guidelines of safety and considerably more than most supplement products contain.

The authors said taking more vitamin D could be especially important for people living in northern areas of the United States or anywhere where sunshine is a premium during many months of the year. Blacks, who don’t produce as much of the vitamin because of their skin pigment, also could benefit significantly from a higher intake, the researchers said.

Comment: There is enough evidence today to suggest that 2,000 to 4,000 IU's is a healthy overall dosage range with 1,000 IU's a minimum.


2 Studies that show promise for slowing down Alzheimer's Disease...

Red wine again linked to slowing Alzheimer's
9/28/2006 - A Mount Sinai School of Medicine study found giving mice with amyloid plaques red wine slows their memory loss and brain cell death - adding to a body of science linking compounds in the beverage to slowing the Alzheimer's disease-related symptom.

Curcumin could cut plaque build-up linked to Alzheimer’s
10/4/2006 - Curcumin, found extensively in curries, could boost the body’s ability to clear the build up of plaques in the brain that are linked to Alzheimer’s disease, suggest results from a small laboratory study from the US.


Christopher Wiechert, C.N.C.


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