Vitamin D News and Research

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Vitamin D is a nutrient that the body needs in small amounts to function and stay healthy. Vitamin D helps the body use calcium and phosphorus to make strong bones and teeth. It is fat-soluble (can dissolve in fats and oils) and is found in fatty fish, egg yolks, and dairy products. Skin exposed to sunshine can also make vitamin D. Not enough vitamin D can cause a bone disease called rickets. It is being studied in the prevention and treatment of some types of cancer. Also called cholecalciferol.

Researchers compare impact of different diets on health, animal welfare and the environment

Which diet is better: moderately reduce meat consumption and eat more fruit, vegetables and wholegrain products, as recommended by the German Nutrition Society? Follow Germany's southern neighbors' example and eat more fish and seafood? Or even switch completely to a vegan diet?

1 Dec 2021

Low dose of pollutants in food leads to high activation of antibodies that cause allergic response

Exposure to the heavy metal cadmium is known to irritate the stomach and lungs or cause kidney disease, but new research links another health issue to inadvertently ingesting low doses of the pollutant: high activation of the antibodies that cause an allergic response.

27 Oct 2021

Study explores dietary supplementation with vitamin D to support cows’ immune function

Known as a crucial component in the body's ability to absorb and retain calcium, essential to processes such as the development and maintenance of healthy bones, vitamin D has also been found to play important roles in immune defense.

18 Oct 2021

Skipping breakfast may lead to loss of key nutrients

Adults who skip breakfast are likely to miss out on key nutrients that are most abundant in the foods that make up morning meals, a new study suggests.

16 Jun 2021

Food scientists aim to create healthier and tastier plant-based proteins

As meat consumption grows throughout the world, food scientists are working to develop better-tasting, more sustainable, and healthier plant-based protein products that replicate cheese, fish, eggs, milk, and meat.

8 Jun 2021

Adequate calcium, vitamin D intake should be ensured when adopting an increasingly plant-based diet

In a study conducted at the University of Helsinki, Finland, 136 adults adhered to one of three study diets for 12 weeks. One of them corresponded to the average Finnish diet, containing roughly 70% animal-derived protein of total protein, while most of the plant-based protein originated from cereal products.

11 Feb 2021

Study: Vegan diet has broad effect on children's metabolism

The study concludes that vegan diet has a broad effect on children's metabolism. Serum biomarker levels for vitamins A and D, cholesterol forms and essential amino acids were significantly lower in children on vegan diet compared to age-adjusted omnivores.

22 Jan 2021

Research may lead to new strategies for calcium malabsorption

A Rutgers study has discovered that vitamin D regulates calcium in a section of the intestine that previously was thought not to have played a key role.

2 Dec 2020

Placental gene expression related to preeclampsia may be affected by vitamin D status

According to the World Health Organization, preeclampsia affects between 2% to 8% of pregnancies. It can cause serious, sometimes fatal, complications in the mother and child.

10 Nov 2020

Consumption of high doses of vitamin D supplements is unnecessary

In humans, vitamin D is formed in the skin following its exposure to sunlight. In comparison to the body's own formation of vitamin D, dietary consumption generally makes up only a relatively small proportion of the vitamin D supply to the body.

21 Oct 2020

Study examines the impact of low-carb, high-fat diet in older people

A new study, published in Nutrition and Metabolism, from researchers with the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Nutrition Obesity Research Center observed improvements in body composition, fat distribution and metabolic health in response to an eight-week, very low-carbohydrate diet.

21 Aug 2020

Supercomputer analyses point to a new pathway for COVID-19 inflammatory response

Analyses of lung fluid cells from COVID-19 patients conducted on a supercomputer point to patterns that may explain the body's response to SARS-CoV-2.

29 Jul 2020

A new method to fortify shellfish for tackling human nutrient defiiciencies

Cambridge scientists have developed a new way to fortify shellfish to tackle human nutrient deficiencies which cause severe health problems across the world. The team is now working with major seafood manufacturers to further test their microencapsulation technology, or "Vitamin Bullets".

20 Jul 2020

How upregulation of a single gene by SARs-CoV-2 can trigger cytokine storm

The SARS-CoV-19 virus initially has a limited capability to invade, attacking only one intracellular genetic target, the aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AhRs).

29 Jun 2020

Vitamin D shows promise to alleviate side effects of chemotherapy

As many cancer patients will confirm, the chemotherapy prescribed to kill the disease is often more debilitating than the cancer itself, with a range of horrendous side effects.

19 Jun 2020