Group items tagged

Maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D during winter months requires a daily dose of 20 micrograms, four times the current recommended dose, says a new study. The study, led by Susan Sullivan from the University of Maine, has important implications for ongoing consultations on vitamin D recommendations, with the current level of five micrograms (200 International Units) seen by many as insufficient.

Increased intakes of vitamins C and E and beta-carotene may reduce the risk of cancer of the uterus, according to a new review and meta-analysis of the science to date. Writing in Cancer Causes and Control, US scientists report that for every 1,000 microgram increase per 1,000 kcal of diet of beta-carotene was associated with a 12 per cent reduction in the risk of endometrial cancer.

White button mushrooms appear to boost immune function It appears that a little fungus may be good for what ails you. That's the conclusion of a new study that found that eating white button mushrooms may boost the immune system and protect against infection. If the research, done on animals, translates to people, it could raise the health-benefit profile of the fungus, which also contains high concentrations of the super-antioxidant ergothioneine, which protects cells from damaging free radicals. "This is the first published study showing the effect of white button mushrooms on immune function," Dayong Wu, a scientist in the Immunology Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts and lead author of the study, published in the June issue of the Journal of Nutrition, told NutraIngredients.com. The research also suggests that the mushroom may boost both innate and acquired immune system health. The innate immune system, the one you're born with, is the body's first line of defense. The acquired immune system revs up if a pathogen makes its way past the innate system and customizes the immune response to target the invader.

The in vitro study, reported in the journal Carcinogenesis (Vol. 27, pp. 32-42), showed that vitamin D, in the form of the highly active 1alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-VD), inhibited the function of protease enzymes that are involved in tumour invasion. "We found that 1,25-VD decreased matric metalloproteinases (MMP-9) and cathepsins (CPs), while it [also] increased the activity of their counterparts, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) and cathepsin inhibitors," wrote lead author Bo-Ying Bao from the University of Rochester and Taipei Medical University. "Mechanistic studies showed that 1,25-VD did not suppress MMP-9 expression at the transcriptional level, but reduced its mRNA stability," said Bao.

Extracts from blueberries may reduce the size of tumours primarily found in infants and children, and improve survival, suggest new findings from a study with mice. According to new results from the Ohio State University, mice fed the blueberry extract doubled their lifespan, and had tumours 60 per cent smaller that in control mice.

Low doses of the active form of vitamin D and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs act as a powerful combination to halt the growth of prostate cancer cells, say US scientists. Writing in Cancer Research, a team from Stanford University says it discovered that the amount of both activated vitamin D, or calcitriol, and NSAIDs could be reduced by half to one-tenth the dosage to thwart prostate cancer cell growth in cell lines and primary tissue culture

Higher blood levels of selenium may reduce the incidence of skin cancer by about 60 per cent, according to a new study from Dutch and Australian researchers. Writing in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, the researchers report that the mineral was associated with reduced risks of both basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). On the other hand, blood levels of carotenoids and alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) were not associated with any influence on skin cancer risks, report the researchers from Queensland Institute of Medical Research, the University of Queensland, and Maastricht University.