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White button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus), although often considered a poor relation of exotic, expensive varieties like maitake and matsutake mushrooms, provide as much or even more anti-oxidant activity as their costly cousins. Researchers at the Institut National de la Recherche Agrinomique in France found that the free radical scavenging ability of the humble button mushroom was equivalent to, if not higher than, that of maitake and the matsutake mushrooms - both of which are highly prized in Japanese cuisine for their reputed ability to lower blood pressure and fight cancer.

Differences in vitamin D status between countries in young adults and the elderly. McKenna MJ. Am J Med. 1992 Jul;93(1):69-77. PMID: 1385673 PURPOSE: To compare vitamin D status between countries in young adults and in the elderly. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Reports on vitamin D status (as assessed by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D) from 1971 to 1990 were reviewed. Studies were grouped according to geographic regions: North America (including Canada and the United States); Scandinavia (including Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden); and Central and Western Europe (including Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom). RESULTS: Vitamin D status varies with the season in young adults and in the elderly, and is lower during the winter in Europe than in both North America and Scandinavia. Oral vitamin D intake is lower in Europe than in both North America and Scandinavia. Hypovitaminosis D and related abnormalities in bone chemistry are most common in elderly residents in Europe but are reported in all elderly populations. CONCLUSIONS: The vitamin D status in young adults and the elderly varies widely with the country of residence. Adequate exposure to summer sunlight is the essential means to ample supply, but oral intake augmented by both fortification and supplementation is necessary to maintain baseline stores. All countries should adopt a fortification policy. It seems likely that the elderly would benefit additionally from a daily supplement of 10 micrograms of vitamin D.

As the U.S. struggles towards a system of universal health care, many have sought in the Canadian health system as a model. Only a few have looked to France. That's a mistake at least two reasons.

European nutrition and health report 2004

Healthy elderly French women living at home have secondary hyperparathyroidism and high bone turnover in winter. EPIDOS Study Group. Chapuy MC, Schott AM, Garnero P, Hans D, Delmas PD, Meunier PJ. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1996 Mar;81(3):1129-33. PMID: 8772587 These results show that vitamin D status of a French aged population in good health and living at home depends mainly on lifestyle. Like institutionalized women, old women living at home exhibit clear evidence of senile hyperparathyroidism in the winter, secondary in part to a reduced 25OHD level and associated with biological signs of increased bone turnover. The maintenance of PTH within the normal range for healthy adults by vitamin D and calcium treatment might constitute an approach for the prevention of bone loss in the entire

Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in an adult normal population. Chapuy MC, Preziosi P, Maamer M, Arnaud S, Galan P, Hercberg S, Meunier PJ. Osteoporos Int. 1997;7(5):439-43. PMID: 9425501

After weathering the patriotic fervor that led to "freedom fries" when France opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the humble spud is now getting mashed for its impact on the school lunch program.