TabsMagic

Vitamin D is appearing in the news a lot recently, mostly due to deficiency of it. There have been several opinions abounding on what is the correct recommended daily amount of Vitamin D and also what is the best source of vitamin D.

Professor emeritus of biochemistry and biomedical sciences, Anthony Norman is an internationally recognised expert on vitamin D. He says that there is insufficient Vitamin D intake for over half the people of Western Europe and North America.

Professor Norman described his fears about vitamin D lack, saying, “Elsewhere, it is worse. Given that two-thirds of the people are vitamin D-insufficient or deficient. It is clear that merely eating vitamin D-rich foods is not adequate to solve the problem for most adults.”

Vitamin intake is measured in ‘IUs’ (international units) and the daily recommendation fro vitamin D is 200 for people up to 50 years old, 400 for those between 51 and 70, and 600 for those over 70.

Norman wants to up those recommendations considerably. He said: “There is a wide consensus among scientists that the relative daily intake of vitamin D should be increased to 2,000 to 4,000 IU for most adults.”
Norman described how it could be done, saying “A 2000 IU daily intake can be achieved by a combination of sunshine, food, supplements, and possibly even limited tanning exposure.”

There are some very pressing reasons why an increase in the dosage of vitamin D would be beneficial to health, or at least getting the majority of people up to the current RDA. Norman revealed that “Several studies have reported substantial reductions in incidence of breast cancer, colon cancer and type 1 diabetes in association with adequate intake of vitamin D, the positive effect generally occurring within five years of initiation of adequate vitamin D intake.

More and more experts are agreeing that seaweed can be categorized as a superfood. That claim is being supported by investigations that reveal that seaweed, which is a variety of algae, contains more calcium than cheese, more fibre than you will find in prunes and more iron than a sirloin steak. All these comparisons are weight for weight.

Other important vitamins and minerals contained in seaweed are potassium and iodine and it is the sole plant that is a source of vitamin B12. The most recent studies on seaweed revealed that its bioactive substances aid in reducing blood pressure and cholesterol, plus its ability to deal with free radicals that are the cause of cancer.

The American Association for Cancer Research has recently published their initial research that revealed how extracts of seaweed was able to inhibit cancer cell growth that would otherwise lead to lymphoma. They were interested to know the connection between seaweed and cancer reduction on account of the Japanese who eat more seaweed per capita than any other nation and have low cancer rates in their women.

The University of Newcastle conducted research that showed how seaweed fibres (alginates) were responsible for reducing the absorption of fat by the body and could thus be considered a viable weightloss ingredient.

From Newcastle University, research associate in human nutrition, Dr Iain Brownlee said: “We’ve found that by adding these natural fibres to food products, up to 75 per cent of the fat we consume could simply pass through the body – so in theory it could be used to fight obesity. Alginates could be used in place of the fat that gives food its flavour. In tests, people have actually preferred bread with small levels of alginate in it – so it’s not something you have to force yourself to eat.

The occurrence of dementia is continuing to rise and so scientists are looking for a way to prevent and treat it. One of the most natural ways of preventing dementia is blueberries according to results from a new study. This Most recent study confirms what was discovered in a study conducted in 2008, that easting Blueberries improves memory and world list recall.

The study involved 9 elderly people whose average age was 76, all recruited by study leader Dr Krikorian. They were administered a daily dose of wild Blueberry juice, the amount depending on their body weight. The average was about half a litre per day. The control group were a demographically matched and were given a placebo to drink.

Researcher Donal O’Mathuna said about the value of Blueberries that, “Because blueberries are high in antioxidants, which have beneficial health effects, they are being examined in many research projects,” adding that Blueberries are a nutritious and safe food… adding blueberries to a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is warranted.”
Dr Jeremy Spencer, who conducted the study at the University of Reading in 2008 into the effect of Blueberries, discovered that anthocyanins existing in blueberries were responsible for triggering the section of the brain that is concerned with learning and memory.

He said, “Scientists have known of the potential health benefits of diets rich in fresh fruits for a long time. Our research provides scientific evidence to show that blueberries are good for you and supports the idea that a diet-based approach could potentially be used to increase memory capacity. We will be taking these findings to the next level by investigating the effects of diets rich in flavonoids on individuals suffering from cognitive impairment and possibly Alzheimer’s disease.”

The study entitled ‘Blueberry Supplementation Improves Memory in Older Adults‘was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

The best thing about blueberries is that generally even avid fruit haters like them- you can bake them in muffins, mix in ice cream and milkshakes to get the fussiest of eaters to enjoy them. An all round super fruit!!

espite the powerful influence of genetics, studies show that exercise can enable children to reduce obesity. According to a person’s physical makeup and metabolism, some will find it easy to remain slim whereas other people find it a constant battle to keep off the pounds.

A recent study has revealed that the correct diet, good will power but most of all regular exercise can enable those people genetically predisposed towards obesity can lose weight and keep it off. The study especially focused on teenagers.

The study was carried out in 10 European countries over a 14 month period. 753 teenagers with a variety of genetic makeups took part. 16% of the group possessed 2 FTO mutations, 47% possessed one mutation and 37% did not possess any mutation. (An FTO mutation is fat mass-and-obesity-associated gene and one FTO mutation is equal to an average 3.3 pounds weight gain.)

Of all the teenagers in the group who had at least 1 hour of daily exercise, it was found that the body mass index was very close in both the group with gene mutations and those without. The difference was only 0.17 points higher. On comparing the ones who did no exercise the difference was greater at 0.65 points higher in the gene mutation teenagers.

Jonatan R. Ruiz, the lead researcher and scientist in physical activity and fitness epidemiology at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute said, “These findings have important public health implications, and indicate that meeting the physical activity recommendations may offset the genetic predisposition to obesity associated with the FTO [gene variant] in adolescents.”

So once again a study has just confirmed what most of us know to be common sense!!

Since attending a course on Advanced Sports Nutrition by Matt Lovell recently I have been interested in the effects of vitamin D on the athlete, and the sedentary individual.

One study that I have seen reported that 59% of study subjects had insufficient Vitamin D. In the study designed to test for the levels of Vitamin D in the blood stream, it was also found that nearly 25% of volunteers had serious Vitamin D deficiencies.
 
Not enough Vitamin D leads to reduced muscle strength, more body fat and several other health problems so proper Vitamin D levels are seen as an important indicator of good health. Without the high levels of sun in this country, coupled with the enforced time indoors that many people are forced to endure due to working environment in the modern world, I wonder do we need to supplement?
 
Co-director of the Musculoskeletal Axis of the Research Institute of the MUHC, Dr. Richard Kremer who also led the study said “Vitamin D insufficiency is a risk factor for other diseases,” adding that “Because it is linked to increased body fat, it may affect many different parts of the body. Abnormal levels of Vitamin D are associated with a whole spectrum of diseases, including cancer, osteoporosis and diabetes, as well as cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders.”
 
However as I read further I was amazed at discover that the study subjects were all young and healthy women living in California and as such were in a prime location and age group to be getting plenty of exercise, good diet and exposure to the sun, the trigger for Vitamin D production.
 
Dr. Kremer said “We are not yet sure what is causing Vitamin D insufficiency in this group.” He did suggest that “High levels of Vitamin D could help reduce body fat. Or, fat tissues might absorb or retain Vitamin D, so that people with more fat are likely to also be Vitamin D deficient.”
 
Further studies are being requested to more fully investigate the phenomena discovered.
 
The study received funding from several U.S. and Canadian organizations and the results were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
 
I know that I personally thrive on sunlight- so I’ll stick with that as an excuse to get into it regardless!

Have you ever even comtemplated making your own shampoo? I must admit I never have!!

But,people making herbal shampoo at home are claiming that it is making their hair grow faster. Although hair loss is a natural, although unwanted result of getting older, many people go to great lengths (excuse the pun) to stop it disappearing. Several herbs have been discovered to help in reducing the extent of hair loss and actually encourage healthy hair to grow faster.
 
Natural herbal shampoos work by enabling the herbs to be absorbed into the scalp and it is the effect of these herbs that lead to hair growth. The reason why homemade shampoos are proving more successful over their commercial counterparts is because they do not contain the damaging chemical agents that the commercial one does.
 
The main advice given to anyone wanting to get their hair back is to clean their scalp with a mild cleansing soap that does not contain any petroleum products. Castile is recommended. Essential oils or herbal tinctures can then be added so long as they are alcohol free. Add one teaspoon to the soap base. You will be able to get these from any health store.
 
If you are making a shampoo for more than one session, then make a volume of soap base and add the herbal tincture, herbal nettles (dried is fine) or Rosemary to the base and store it in a glass container. When taking a shower it is wise to take the amount of shampoo needed in a separate plastic container into the shower with you, sop as to avoid the chance of breaking the glass.
 
As homemade shampoo is totally natural and has no preserving chemicals it cannot be kept at room temperature .

So thats the report- its healthier- and cheaper to make your own shampoo, I will be trying this and will report back, and i hope that some of you will do the same and let us now?

Beauty.

Something sought after by all, if not in the physical sense then in the emotional and mental. What a person sees beauty in is as subjective as their tastebuds, but we all seek it.

What is it that makes a person beautiful?

Most of us would like to think that we look past the physical, and look for the ”inner beauty” of those that we love and are close to.
However we are all prone to fall for the seductive lure of physical beauty at various stages in our daily life, but does this mean that we are any less able to see the person underneath, and do we really treat all the people in out lives equally, regardless of their external appearance.

Many clients of mine have commented on this which causes me interest. Especially those in the weight loss departmant. ”i get much more attention from the oppersite sex thanks to you Tabs” was one I recieved last week from a 35 year old female who had lost 2 stone on a weight loss program with me.

So, am i right to assume that due to the weight loss she is deemed as more attractive to the opposite sex, hence the attention.

Thats what she thinks. I question it.

Could it not be possible that it is a change in her confidence levels that is allowing her to perceive that others are attracted to her, wheas before her low self esteem had already written herself off with respect to any man finding her attractive.

Is it more a case of her self confidence allowing her inner beauty to show?

I do not know the answer, but i do know that the way a person feels about themselves effects the way that they think, act and talk to others. Skin deep? As a sufferer of acne for most of her adult life Bethany Alderson has been interested in this issue for many years, working in the beauty industry she has fouud that the problem of skin disorders greatly effects the self confidence of her clients. The diffence the way a person projects themselves after they have had a make up consultation which has allowed them to feel confident about the way that they look is apparent the second that they look in the mirror. Bethany has worked with top end celebrites from both the TV and film industry but has started a personal campaign to research the roots of skin problems and how they can be dealt with so that she can use her own experinces to benefit anybody that suffers skin issues.

These women are often stunningly beautiful, but the detrimental effect on their self confidence that acne has can lead to depression and associated such problems. As is the effect that I have found with weight gain and poor diets.

There is a lot to be said for looking deeper than the surface to find inner beauty, but if the surface is the factor distorting the inner person, then maybe that treatment for the surface is indeed more than vanity.

A study has revealed that bone fracture risk is reduced by taking Vitamin D and calcium supplements. The study involved almost 70,000 patients from all over Europe and America. The study especially revealed that the benefits were applicable to all people male or female, young or old and those who had or had not experienced a bone fracture in the past.

Although the study was first published in 2006, it has only just been made available online on the British Medical Journal’s website.

Professor of internal medicine at UC Davis and a joint-author of the journal article, John Robbins said: “What is important about this very large study is that it goes a long way toward resolving conflicting evidence about the role of vitamin D, either alone or in combination with calcium, in reducing fractures.”

He further added that “Our WHI research in Sacramento included more than 1,000 healthy,
postmenopausal women and concluded that taking calcium and vitamin D together helped them preserve bone health and prevent fractures. This latest analysis, because it incorporates so many more people, really confirms our earlier conclusions.”

Researchers working at Denmark’s Copenhagen University led the study that analyzed results obtained from seven big clinical trials that were conducted around the world. Each study was aimed at determining whether just vitamin D on its own was most effective at reducing fractures in people 70 years old or more or whether the addition of calcium made a difference. No benefits of vitamin D supplementation alone were found.

Summing up, Robins said that “This study supports a growing consensus that combined calcium and vitamin D is more effective than vitamin D alone in reducing a variety of fractures,” and that “Interestingly, this combination of supplements benefits both women and men of all ages, which is not something we fully expected to find. We now need to investigate the best dosage, duration and optimal way for people to take it.”

Medical students have given a 75% approval to integrating more complementary and alternative medicine into conventional medicine. The survey was the largest undertaking of its kind with medical students across the country being surveyed by researchers from UCLA and UC San Diego. The result showed that most medical students felt that “conventional Western medicine would benefit by integrating more CAM therapies and ideas.”

Ryan Abbott, the study author and a researcher at the UCLA Centre for East-West Medicine said, “Complementary and alternative medicine is receiving increased attention in light of the global health crisis and the significant role of traditional medicine in meeting public health needs in developing countries.” He further went on to say that “Integrating CAM into mainstream health care is now a global phenomenon, with policy makers at the highest levels endorsing the importance of a historically marginalized form of health care.”
 
The survey team comprised experts from several fields, namely Western medicine, CAM, integrative medicine, medical education and survey development. Between them, they created a unique 30 question survey that they sent to 126 medical schools all across the United States. 3% of the medical students completed the survey making it 1,770 completed surveys.
 
74% of the responses “agreed to some extent that a system of medicine that integrates therapies of conventional and complementary and alternative medicine would be more effective than either type of medicine provided independently.”
 
Professor Michael S. Goldstein, a senior research scientist at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and also the professor of Public Health and Sociology was another study author. He said  “Even with the high prevalence of CAM use today, most physicians still know little about non-conventional forms of medicine,” adding that by “Investigating medical students’ attitudes and knowledge will help us assess whether this may change in the future.”
 
The National Institutes of Health, the Annenberg Foundation and the Gerald Oppenheimer Family Foundation provided funding for the project. The survey is to be published on the Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine website.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has discovered that 92% of mothers are duped by artificial food labeling. Only 8% of mothers rejected all claims made by food companies on their packaging labels. This was the result of mothers being shown a variety of slogans that are found on popular foods that kids eat. They were asked if the label meant the food was healthy to eat or not. The BHF chief executive, Peter Hollins, said: ”Mums are having the wool pulled over their eyes by food manufacturers,” adding that ”Smoke and mirror tactics means that foods targeted at children and high in fat, salt and sugar are being disguised with partial health claims suggesting they’re a healthy choice.” Such slogans such as ”a source of calcium, iron and six vitamins’,” can be found on the side of milk bars and Coco Pops ceareal when in actual fact they contain more sugar and saturated fat than a chocolate cake. ”Regularly eating these types of foods could have serious implications for kids’ future health.”,” says Peter Hollins. Nestlé’s Honey Shreddies are described as ”wholegrain” and can ”keep your heart healthy and maintain a healthy body”, despite the fact that a serving of 45g contains 13.6g of sugar. A ring doughnut has 9.2g. The answer says the BHF is for the traffic light labeling system to be used by food manufacturers on the front of the products. ”Partial health claims and the mish mash of food labelling systems serve only to confuse shoppers about the nutritional value of what they’re putting in their shopping baskets,” said Hollins. He gave a clear message to food manufacturers by saying: ”It’s time for food companies to stop making excuses, support one system and ensure shoppers are given ‘at a glance’ information about the foods they’re giving their kids.”