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Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for maintaining normal calcium metabolism (1). Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) can be synthesized by humans in the skin upon exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation from sunlight, or it can be obtained from the diet. Plants synthesize ergosterol, which is converted to vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) by ultraviolet light. Vitamin D2 is less active in birds than vitamin D3 and may also be less active in humans (2). When exposure to UVB radiation is insufficient for the synthesis of adequate amounts of vitamin D3 in the skin, adequate intake of vitamin D from the diet is essential for health.

Beneficial effects of a Paleolithic diet on cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: a randomized cross-over pilot study. onsson T, Granfeldt Y, Ahren B, Branell UC, Palsson G, Hansson A, Soderstrom M, Lindeberg S. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2009 Jul 16;8(1):35. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19604407 doi:10.1186/1475-2840-8-35

MedWire News: Eating two eggs a day, as part of an energy-restricted weight-loss diet, does not increase levels of 'bad' or total cholesterol, results of a UK study show.

Postprandial improvement of endothelial function by red wine and olive oil antioxidants: a synergistic effect of components of the Mediterranean diet. Karatzi K, Papamichael C, Karatzis E, Papaioannou TG, Voidonikola PT, Vamvakou GD, Lekakis J, Zampelas A. J Am Coll Nutr. 2008 Aug;27(4):448-53. PMID: 18978163

ScienceDaily (Feb. 25, 2009) - Researchers at Purdue University have precisely measured the impact of a high-fat diet on the spread of cancer, finding that excessive dietary fat caused a 300 percent increase in metastasizing tumor cells in laboratory animals.

Nutrient intake and immune function of elderly subjects. Wardwell L, Chapman-Novakofski K, Herrel S, Woods J. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008 Dec;108(12):2005-12. PMID: 19027403 doi:10.1016/j.jada.2008.09.003

Fatty acid facts, part III: Cardiovascular disease, or, a fish diet is noy fishy. Pauwels EK, Kostkiewicz M. Drug News Perspect. 2008 Dec;21(10):552-61. PMID: 19221636

Egg breakfast enhances weight loss. Vander Wal JS, Gupta A, Khosla P, Dhurandhar NV. Int J Obes (Lond). 2008 Oct;32(10):1545-51. Epub 2008 Aug 5. PMID: 18679412 doi:10.1038/ijo.2008.130 Conclusions: The egg breakfast enhances weight loss, when combined with an energy-deficit diet, but does not induce weight loss in a free-living condition. The inclusion of eggs in a weight management program may offer a nutritious supplement to enhance weight loss.

Watercress supplementation in diet reduces lymphocyte DNA damage and alters blood antioxidant status in healthy adults. Gill CI, Haldar S, Boyd LA, Bennett R, Whiteford J, Butler M, Pearson JR, Bradbury I, Rowland IR. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Feb;85(2):504-10. PMID: 17284750

[Egg intake and cardiovascular risk] Schärer M, Schulthess G. Ther Umsch. 2005 Sep;62(9):611-3. Review. German. PMID: 16218496 The egg - rich in proteins, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins and minerals - should be part of our nutrition, and it is not justified to recommend a general limitation of egg intake. However, we do not advice unbalanced high egg consumption. A cardioprotective diet is characterized by high variability and contains plenty of fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates.

"Results indicated that mice on diets supplemented with flaxseed meal and flaxseed oil had, on average, 45 percent fewer tumors in the small intestine and the colon compared to the control group." The scientists published their research findings in February in the academic peer-reviewed international journal Nutrition and Cancer.

Prostate tumor growth and recurrence can be modulated by the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in diet: athymic mouse xenograft model simulating radical prostatectomy. Kelavkar UP, Hutzley J, Dhir R, Kim P, Allen KG, McHugh K. Neoplasia. 2006 Feb;8(2):112-24. PMID: 16611404

Food Choices and Coronary Heart Disease: A Population Based Cohort Study of Rural Swedish Men with 12 Years of Follow-up. Sara Holmberg, Anders Thelin and Eva-Lena Stiernström. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6(10), 2626-2638; doi:10.3390/ijerph6102626 - published online 12 October 2009 Coronary heart disease is associated with diet. Nutritional recommendations are frequently provided, but few long term studies on the effect of food choices on heart disease are available. We followed coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality in a cohort of rural men (N = 1,752) participating in a prospective observational study. Dietary choices were assessed at baseline with a 15-item food questionnaire. 138 men were hospitalized or deceased owing to coronary heart disease during the 12 year follow-up. Daily intake of fruit and vegetables was associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease when combined with a high dairy fat consumption (odds ratio 0.39, 95% CI 0.21-0.73), but not when combined with a low dairy fat consumption (odds ratio 1.70, 95% CI 0.97-2.98). Choosing wholemeal bread or eating fish at least twice a week showed no association with the outcome.

While sterols occur naturally in small quantities in food (nuts, vegetables, oils), food manufacturers are adding them to processed foods in order to earn a "heart healthy" claim. The FDA approved a cholesterol-reducing indication for sterols , the American Heart Association recommends 200 mg per day as part of its Therapeutic Lifestyle Change diet, and WebMD gushes about the LDL-reducing benefits of sterols added to foods. Sterols--the same substance that, when absorbed to high levels into the blood in a genetic disorder called "sitosterolemia"--causes extravagant atherosclerosis in young people. The case against sterols, studies documenting its coronary disease- and valve disease-promoting effects, is building

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who get plenty of mushrooms and green tea in their diets may have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, new study findings suggest. The study, of more than 2,000 Chinese women, found that the more fresh and dried mushrooms the women ate, the lower was their breast cancer risk.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have identified a gene that plays a critical regulatory role in the process of converting dietary carbohydrates to fat. In a new study, they disabled this gene in mice, which consequently had lower levels of body fat than their normal counterparts, despite being fed the equivalent of an all-you-can-eat pasta buffet. The authors of the study, to be published in the March 20 issue of the journal Cell, say the gene, called DNA-PK, could potentially play a role in the prevention of obesity related to the over-consumption of high-carbohydrate foods, such as pasta, rice, soda and sugary snacks.

Vitamin D may not just be good for you, it may help save your life. Recent research from Johns Hopkins University suggests that higher amounts of vitamin D in your diet decreases your likelihood of dying. Studies found that a vitamin D deficiency increases your risk of death by 26 percent, and vitamin D decreases the mortality rate from almost every type of cancer including breast, colon and prostate. Research also suggests that vitamin D helps prevent diabetes, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 11, 2009) - For every gram of salt that Americans reduce in their diets daily, a quarter of a million fewer new heart disease cases and over 200,000 fewer deaths would occur over a decade, researchers said at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.