Latest Health News ... Nov 08
Doctors advise more vitamin D for infants
In a clinical report published in 
Pediatrics the American Academy of Dermatologists has doubled its advice on vitamin D intake for children and infants, saying the recommended level should be 400IU per day. This level is needed for prevention of rickets and deficiency as well as having the potential to prevent diabetes and cancer.
Their new advice, which updates that issued in 2003, covers all infants (including those who are exclusively breastfed), children and adolescents, and involves supplementation of the diet. This is because vitamin D occurs naturally in very few foods – mainly fish and those purposefully fortified with it, such as milk and breakfast cereals.
Source: Pediatrics Volume 122, Number 5, November 2008
Chamomile tea may prevent diabetes complications
A laboratory study published 
in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry suggests that drinking chamomile tea may prevent blood sugar increases and other complications associated with diabetes. The study found that chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) tea was associated with lower production of the sugar alcohol sorbitol from glucose, a build-up of sorbitol is linked to damage in the eyes or of nerve cells. So while the results indicate that daily consumption of chamomile tea with meals could contribute to the prevention of the progress of hyperglycemia and diabetic complications, further human studies are required before a potential role for chamomile tea in diabetes prevention and management can be substantiated.
Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2008;
Vol 56; 8206-8211
Vitamin D may protect skin from within
A small 
study reported in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology found that oral supplements of vitamin D may boost production of protective compounds in the skin, and may ultimately help prevent skin infections. The study focused on patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), characterised by areas of severe itching, redness and scaling, and found that supplements of vitamin D enhanced the skin’s ability to produce a peptide called cathelicidin, which protects against microbial invasion. The study recruited people with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis as well as those with normal skin. All of the participants were given 4000 IU of vitamin D daily for 21 days.
Source: Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology,
October 2008; Volume 122 (4); 829-831
Fish may reduce eczema risk in children
Including 
fish in the diet of an infant before nine months of age may reduce the risk of developing eczema by 25 percent, suggests new research from Sweden reported in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. At six months of age, 13 percent of the children had developed eczema. At 12 months of age, the figure had risen to 20 percent. Symptoms first appeared after an average of four months. Children born into families with a history of the condition were twice as likely to be affected by the age of 12 months. While the study could not link omega-3 intake to the relative risk of eczema, previous studies have reported beneficial effects. A study published in the British Journal of Dermatology reported a 23 percent improvement in eczema after consuming DHA supplements for eight weeks.
Source: Archives of Disease in Childhood; doi:10.1136/adc.2008.140418
perforatum) are effective in reducing the symptoms of major depression, according to a new review in the prestigious Cochrane Systematic Review. Previously reviews by scientists reported that St John’s wort is effective against mild to moderate depressive disorders.
Overall, the researchers found that the St. John's wort extracts tested in the trials were superior to placebos and as effective as standard antidepressants, with fewer side effects. However they add the proviso that while using a St. John’s wort extract might be justified, the products on the market vary considerably.
new study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, supplements of omega-3 or soy may protect the heart against certain damaging effects of air pollution. It is believed that high levels of particulates from vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions can detrimentally affect the heart, possibly by inducing oxidative stress. Particulate matter may also inhibit the action of protective antioxidant enzymes in the body, such as copper/zinc (Cu/Zn) superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). Researchers recruited elderly nursing home residents and observed them for seven months; they also established that they had chronic exposure to particulate matter. The first three months there was no supplementation and then the next four months they either received 2 grams fish oil or 2 grams soy oil. The study found that supplementation with omega-3 or soy was associated with lower levels of oxidative damage in blood cells, with the greater effect observed in the fish oil group. It also showed that Cu/Zn SOD activity increased significantly as did GSH levels. In the fish oil group levels of lipoperoxidation (LPO) products– a marker for oxidative stress – were reduced by
72.5 percent.
