January 2010 News Articles
Vitamin K for Long-Term Health
Doctors say U.S. should raise vitamin K limits
The body needs more vitamin K to ensure healthy aging and vitamin K reduced bone fractures and slowed coronary artery calcium buildup, in several new studies.
Dr Bruce Ames, from the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, Calif., has proposed a new theory that when essential nutrients such as vitamin K are scarce, the body uses them first for essential short-term needs at the expense of long-term health. Dr Ames reviewed hundreds of articles on vitamin K and found links between low vitamin K levels and age-related conditions such as fragile bone, calcified arteries and kidneys, heart disease, and possibly cancer. Government recommendations, according to Dr Ames, consider the short-term need for vitamin K to coagulate blood, but omit the role vitamin K plays in curbing these long-term conditions. Correcting even slight deficiencies in essential nutrients such as vitamin K may preserve health in later years, the doctor concluded. Researchers reviewed seven vitamin K bone studies, each with 50 or more postmenopausal women and lasting at least two years, and found that those who took higher doses of vitamin K1 or vitamin K2 had stronger hip bones and fewer fractures than those who took less, leading doctors to conclude that postmenopausal women may require higher doses of vitamin K for optimal bone health. Doses were 200 mcg or higher of vitamin K1 per day, and up to 45 mg per day for vitamin K2.
Doctors reviewed nutrition data from an annual survey of the Japanese people and found that men and women who consumed high amounts of vitamin K—often from green and yellow vegetables and a fermented soy food called natto—had far fewer fractures than those who got less vitamin K.
In a coronary-artery calcium (CAC) study, calcium built up 6 percent more slowly in those with CAC who took 500 mcg of vitamin K1 per day, for three years, compared to those who did not.
Reference: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 2009, Vol. 90, No. 4, 889-907
Controlling Stress
Under stress, the adrenal glands secrete extra dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). This study measured how different levels of DHEA affected performance under stress. Researchers checked DHEA blood levels in 41 healthy soldiers the day before the men began a month-long combat diver training course. Men with higher DHEA levels performed better during the final nighttime underwater navigation test than men with lower levels. Underwater navigation relies on an area of the brain called the hippocampus, which has stress receptors DHEA regulates. Researchers believe the findings help explain why soldiers handle stress differently, and that compounds like DHEA may help protect them in the future.
Reference: Biological Psychiatry; 2009, Vol. 66, No. 4, 334-40
Healthier Dieting, Healthier Life
Vitamin C decreased waist size, blood pressure and inflammation, healthy oils helped diabetics lose weight and control blood sugar, and vitamin D cut weight and chances of heart disease, in three new studies.
In a vitamin C study, doctors wanted to know if vitamin C levels could predict signs of chronic disease in the young. Researchers measured blood levels of ascorbic acid and signs of the inflammation that can lead to chronic disease, in about 1,000 nonsmoking men and women, aged 20 to 29. Compared to those who were deficient in vitamin C, those with adequate vitamin C levels had about half the signs of inflammation, lower blood pressure, smaller waist size, and lower body mass index (BMI).
In a diet study, 35 obese women with type 2 diabetes took 8 grams of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) or safflower oil—both are omega-6 fatty acids¬—per day while keeping their diet and exercise routines the same. After 16 weeks, those in the CLA group had lower BMI and less body fat. Those in the safflower oil group had lower blood sugar levels on an empty stomach, less body fat, and more lean muscle tissue. Doctors noted that omega-6s must come from diet, and that the American Heart Association recently recommended eating omega-6 fats for heart health.
Doctors in a vitamin D study measured levels of vitamin D and signs of cardiovascular disease, including metabolic syndrome, in about 250 men and women aged at least 18. About 30 percent of those with the lowest vitamin D levels had metabolic syndrome compared to 10 percent for those with the highest vitamin D. People with more vitamin D also had lower BMI and waist size, and lower levels of triglycerides. In what researchers said was the most notable finding, as vitamin D levels increased, levels of HDL-C, the good cholesterol, also rose, cutting the chances of coronary heart disease significantly.
Reference: American Journal of Epidemiology; 2009, Vol. 170, No. 4, 464-71
Easing Knee Pain
Nutrients eased symptoms of osteoarthritis
Vitamin D preserved knee cartilage and hyaluronic acid, glucosamine, chondroitin, and quercetin eased pain in osteoarthritis, three new studies reveal.
Doctors in a vitamin D study measured knee cartilage and vitamin D levels in about 350 men and women, average age 61, and followed up three years later. Those with sufficient vitamin D levels at the start and end of the study had lost 1.5 percent less knee cartilage per year and had less pain than those who were deficient in vitamin D.
In a knee osteoarthritis (OA) study, doctors explained that hyaluronic acid (HA) occurs naturally in the body and is part of synovial fluid, the clear liquid that protects and lubricates joints and tendons, nourishes cartilage, and eases movement. Twenty men and women, aged at least 40, with knee OA, took an 80 mg HA supplement that contained 60 percent HA, per day, or a placebo. In order to qualify for the study, participants had to have knee pain for 15 of the last 30 days, and to have OA symptoms for at least six months. After eight weeks, compared to placebo, those in the HA group had less pain, better movement, improved quality of life, and also had needed to take about half the amount of the pain reliever acetaminophen.
In another OA study, 46 men and women with OA of the knee took 1,200 mg of glucosamine, 90 mg
of chondroitin, and 45 mg of quercetin per day. After three months, researchers found that the quality
of the synovial fluid had improved, and that all participants had less pain and could walk, climb stairs, and perform other daily physical tasks better.
Reference: Arthritis & Rheumatism; 2009, Vol. 60, No. 5, 1381-9
Nutrients Improve Speech and Autism Symptoms
Doctors discover a new speech-autism-allergy connection
Vitamin E and omega-3s dramatically improved symptoms of a speech disorder and autism in a groundbreaking new study.
There is a speech disorder called verbal apraxia in which people can't easily plan the facial movements for proper speech. The disorder begins in the brain, where nerve cells that control speech are impaired and unable to translate the intention to speak into the proper muscle movements.
Doctors in a brain and speech study explained that vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids protect these speech-control nerves, and have discovered that some people with verbal apraxia—common in autism—have symptoms similar to vitamin E deficiency. Researchers said that without enough vita-min E, fatty acids in cell membranes oxidize prematurely, leading to impaired nerve cells.
About 200 children with verbal apraxia took 800 IU of vitamin E plus 280 mg to 840 mg of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and 695 mg to 2,085 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) per day. After taking the vitamin E and omega-3s, nearly all (97 percent) of families reported the children had dramatically improved speech, imitation, coordination, eye contact, behavior, and touch and pain sensation. Researchers said the benefits from taking vitamin E and omega-3s exceeded those from speech therapy alone.
In a subgroup of children that tended to have autism, scientists also discovered that the apraxia is part of a syndrome that includes low levels of carnitine and zinc, deficiency in vitamin D, poor absorption of nutrients, food allergies, and gluten sensitivity. The doctors noted a recent study in Pediatrics that found children born to mothers with celiac disease were more than three times as likely to have autism, and that the findings from the current study add credibility to recent reports that some autistic children with apraxia improve on gluten-free diets.
Reference: Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine; 2009, Vol. 15, No. 4, 34-43
Kids Need More Vitamin D
Kids need vitamin D for stronger bones, better blood pressure, lower cholesterol, healthier hearts, and normal metabolism, and are often deficient, in two new studies.
In a vitamin D and heart health study, researchers measured vitamin D levels and factors for cardiovascular problems in a nationally representative group of about 6,300 children, aged one to 21. About 9 percent of the kids—which would represent 8 million kids nationwide—were deficient in vitamin D, and 61 percent—representing another 51 million more—had too little vitamin D; 70 percent of all kids. Vitamin D was most often low in kids who were older, female, obese, African- or Mexican-American, or who drank milk less than once per week, or watched TV, played video games, or used computers for more than four hours per day. Doctors said the findings mean these children are more likely to develop high blood pressure and heart disease.
Kids with low or deficient vitamin D had signs of weaker bones, higher blood pressure, lower calcium levels, and lower levels of HDL, the good cholesterol, all key factors in heart disease, doctors said. Kids in the study who took vitamin D supplements, usually 400 IU per day, were more likely to have adequate vitamin D levels, but only 4 percent overall took supplements. "We expected the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency would be high, but the magnitude of the problem nationwide was shocking," study authors said.
In a related study, doctors measured vitamin D and heart disease factors in about 3,600 non-pregnant adolescents without diagnosed diabetes. African-American children had insufficient vitamin D levels on average, followed by Mexican-Americans, whose levels were barely sufficient. Caucasian kids had low but adequate levels. Kids with the lowest vitamin D levels were most likely to have high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and low HDL, and were about four times as likely to have metabolic syndrome. Doctors urge parents to get kids outside more often.
Reference: Pediatrics; August, 2009, Electronic Pre-publication
Easy to See
Blackcurrant extract, lutein, and zeaxanthin helped reduce eye fatigue and strain in this new study.
People who visually concentrate for hours at a time may have asthenopia; weak, tired, achy, itchy, teary, burning eyes, and dim vision. Researchers in this study gave 13 participants a supplement containing 200 mg of blackcurrant fruit extract, 5 mg of lutein, and 1 mg of zeaxanthin per day, or a placebo, for two weeks. Everyone completed four, two-hour proofreading tasks on four separate days, which did produce visual fatigue. After each session, scientists tested rapid eye movement, electrical activity along visual pathways in the brain, facial muscle movement, and heart rate. In the movement tests, participants had to focus and quickly move their eyes back and forth between targets at the center of two checkerboards. The blackcurrant, lutein, zeaxanthin group performed much better in all tests compared to placebo, and researchers concluded that blackcurrant, lutein, and zeaxanthin can counteract, prevent, and help eyes recover from, visual fatigue.
Reference: Applied Ergonomics; 2009, Vol. 40, No. 6, 1047-54
