Stay up-to-date on the latest health and nutrition information with Virtual Health Info's monthly HealthWatch bulletin, America's premier source for health information. The September issue of HealthWatch features the following articles:The Importance Of Strong Immunity and National Cancer Institute Encourages Eating Blue And Purple Fruits And Vegetables
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The Importance Of Strong Immunity

When the seasons change from summer to fall and children go back to school, the chances of getting a cold are increased. That's why it's important to do all we can to stay healthy and fit by bolstering the body's defenses.

The body's defenses are influenced by the strength of our immunity. The strength of our immune system determines our ability to resist infection and suppress the growth of abnormal cells. It's the key to fighting every kind of insult to the body; from those little scratches kids get on the playground to the massive amount of viruses that constantly try to invade us. Even the aging process may be related to deteriorating immunity.

Several factors reduce the strength of our immune system such as poor nutrition, stress, environmental pollutants, and overexposure to the intake of drugs and chemicals from processed foods. Click here for more information.

Nutrients and the Body's Defenses

In order for the immune system to function at its best it must have access to nutrients. For this reason, individuals who are malnourished develop more infections than individuals who are well-nourished. Some of the effects of malnutrition on the body's immune system are a thinning of the skin with less connective tissue, weakness, poor wound healing, and a lack of defense against disease. So, an important key to health and longevity is a nutritionally well balanced diet and supplementation when necessary.

Here is a smal sampling of nutrients and their relationship to a healthy functioning immune system:

Vitamin A helps support immunity by playing a role in the development of helper cells.
Vitamin A maintains healthy epithelial tissues to fight infection by preventing the invasion of bacteria and viruses.
Vitamin C strengthens our resistance to infection.
Vitamin E protects white and red blood cells, thus participating in the body's defenses against foreign material and disease.
Iron helps fight infection.
Magnesium supports normal functioning of the immune system.
Manganese is a facilitator, with enzymes, of many cell processes.

Source: Understanding Nutrition, 7th Edition

Vitamin D Lauded as Super Vitamin

An article featured in a recent Reader’s Digest magazine, citing evidence from the University of California, San Diego, proclaimed incredible value in vitamin D from sunlight. One study showed that colon cancer rates in less-sunny northeastern states was higher than in sunny climates. Lack of vitamin D may be a cause of many types of cancers, according to some research 18 types of cancer are more common among people with low levels of vitamin D. Exposure to sunlight creates vitamin D in people through the skin, and some physicians are recommending vitamin D supplements, according to the article. Other illnesses, including multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and diabetes were linked to low vitamin D levels, the article said. Sun, supplements, and fortified foods were recommended for improving levels of vitamin D. Read More.

Vitamin D Linked to Lowered Pancreatic Cancer Risk

The good news on vitamin D continued recently in a study from Northwestern University in Chicago. Researchers reported in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention that vitamin D...exhibit(s) potent antitumor effects in many tissues, including the pancreas. Higher intakes of vitamin D were associated with lower risks for pancreatic cancer, prompting researchers to suggest that vitamin D may have a role in the future prevention of this specific form of cancer. Read More.

Vitamin D May Reduce Falls in Elderly

A study out of Amsterdam concluded that poor vitamin D status is independently associated with an increased risk of falls in the elderly population. The results were particularly strong in people aged 65 to 75 years. Falls are a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Researchers recommended an increase in vitamin D intake through diet, supplementation, and/or exposure to sunlight. Read More.

Learn about the latest health discoveries and the nutrients your body needs for optimal health.

To learn about the latest health discoveries and the nutrients your body needs for optimal health. Read More.

Recommended Intakes of Vitamins and Essential Minerals

Vitamins are substances, that by definition, are essential to life itself, but are not made in the body - or not made in sufficient quantities to support life. Essential minerals are likewise substances required for the day-by-day, minute-to-minute functions of the body. Both must be obtained from foods. Read More.

The Vitamin D Questions: How Much Do You Need and How Should You Get It?

UV radiation is a well-documented human carcinogen, indisputably linked to the current continued increased rate of skin cancer. UV radiation is also responsible for cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D₃, a substance that is then sequentially hydroxylated in the liver and kidney to yield 1,25(OH)₂ vitamin D, a hormone critical for calcium homeostasis and skeletal maintenance. Because the UV action spectra for DNA damage leading to skin cancer and for vitamin D photosynthesis are virtually identical, the harmful and beneficial effects of UV irradiation are inseparable. This has given rise to the argument that sun avoidance, with a goal of skin cancer prevention, may compromise vitamin D sufficiency. Public interest in this matter has been heightened in recent years by multiple studies correlating the level of 25-OH vitamin D, the readily measurable "storage" precursor form of the vitamin, with a variety of benefits separate from skeletal health. Although the studies are of increased sun exposure, they have been interpreted by some as support for advocating increased sun exposure of the public at large. Read More.

The Effects of a Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement on Micronutrient Status, Antioxidant Capacity and Cytokine Production in Healthy Older Adults Consuming a Fortified Diet

Inadequate micronutrient intake among older adults is common despite the increased prevalence of fortified/enriched foods in the American diet. Although many older adults take multivitamin supplements in an effort to compensate, studies examining the benefits of this behavior are absent. Read More.

Vitamins for Chronic Disease Prevention in Adults: Scientific Review

Context: Although vitamin deficiency is encountered infrequently in developed countries, inadequate intake of several vitamins is associated with chronic disease. Objective: To review the clinically important vitamins with regard to their biological effects, food sources, deficiency syndromes, potential for toxicity, and relationship to chronic disease. Read More.

Vitamins for Chronic Disease Prevention in Adults: Clinical Applications

Vitamin deficiency syndromes such as scurvy and beriberi are uncommon in Western societies. However, suboptimal intake of some vitamins, above levels causing classic vitamin deficiency, is a risk factor for chronic diseases and common in the general population, especially the elderly. Suboptimal folic acid levels, along with suboptimal levels of vitamins B₆ and B₁₂ are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, neural tube defects, and colon and breast cancer; low levels of vitamin D contribute to osteopenia and fractures; and low levels of chronic diseases. Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone. Pending strong evidence of effectiveness from randomized trials, it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements. Read More.

The Role of Vitamin D in Cancer Prevention

Vitamin D status differs by latitude and race, with residents of the northeastern United States and individuals with more skin pigmentation being at increased risk of deficiency. A PubMed database search yielded 63 observational studies of vitamin D status in relation to cancer risk, including 30 of colon, 13 of breast, 26 of prostate, and 7 of ovarian cancer, and several that assessed the association of vitamin D receptor genotype with cancer risk. The majority of studies found a protective relationship between sufficient vitamin D status and lower risk of cancer. The evidence suggests that efforts to improve vitamin D status, for example by vitamin D supplementation, could reduce cancer incidence and mortality at low cost, with few or no adverse effects. Read More.

Vitamin Requirements for the Treatment of Hyperhomocysteinemia in Humans

We have previously shown that a modest vitamin supplement containing folic acid, vitamin B-12 and vitamin B-6 is effective in reducing elevated plasma homocysteine concentrations. The effect of supplementation of the individual vitamins on moderate hyperhomocysteinemia has now been investigated in a placebo-controlled study. One hundred men with hyperhomocysteinemia were randomly assigned to five groups and treated with a daily dose of placebo, folic acid (0.65 md), vitamin B-12 (0.4 mg), vitamin B-6 (10 mg) or a combination of the three vitamins for 6 weeks. Folic acid supplementation reduced plasma homocysteine concentrations by 41.7%, whereas the daily vitamin B-12 supplement lowered homocysteine concentrations by 14.8%. The daily pyridoxine dose did not reduce significantly plasma homocysteine concentrations. Read More.

More Folic Acid for Everyone, Now

Research during the last five years has made it clear that people who do not take folic acid supplements are at increased risk for functional folate deficiency, which has been proven to cause spina bifida and anencephaly and also has been associated with an increased risk for occlusive cardiovascular disease. The overriding folate policy issue is how to increase dramatically the folate consumption of 75% of the population who are not now consuming 0.4 mg of folic acid in a supplement. The most expedious way to increase consumption is through fortification of a food staple. Public health programs are also needed to educate people about the vital importance of increased consumption of folic acid vitamin supplements and of foods rich in natural folates. Read More.

Chronic Intake of Pharmacological Doses of Vitamin E Might Be Useful in Therapy of Elderly Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Thirty elderly nondiabetic, moderately obese patients with stable effort angina underwent an oral-glucose-tolerance test and a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic glucose clamp before and after vitamin E supplementation (900 mg/d for 4 months). The study was of a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, and crossover design. Anthropometric indexes were stable throughout the study. Read More.

Risk of Angina Pectoris and Plasma Concentrations of Vitamins A, C, and E and Carotene

The relation between risk of angina pectoris and plasma concentrations of vitamins A, C, and E and carotene was examined in a population case-control study of 110 cases of angina, identified by the Chest Pain Questionnaire, and 394 controls selected from a sample of 6000 men aged 35-54. Plasma concentrations of vitamins C and E and carotene were significantly inversely related to the risk of angina. There was no significant relation with Vitamin A. Smoking was a confounding factor. The inverse relation between angina and low plasma was substantially reduced after adjustment for smoking. Vitamin E remained independently and inversely related to the risk of angina after adjustment for age, smoking habit, blood pressure, lipids, and relative weight. Read More.

Low-Dose Vitamin B-6 Effectively Lowers Fasting Plasma Homocysteine in Healthy Elderly Persons Who Are Folate and Riboflavin Replete

Current data suggest that physiologic doses of vitamin B-6 have no significant homocysteine-lowering effect. It is possible that an effect of vitamin B-6 was missed in previous trials because of a much greater effect of folic acid, vitamin B-12, or both. Read More.

Multivitamin/Mineral Supplementation Improves Plasma B-Vitamin Status and Homocysteine Concentration in Healthy Older Adults Consuming Folate-Fortified Diet

Elevated homocysteine has been identified as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Although multivitamin use has been associated with low plasma homocysteine concentrations in several observational studies, no clinical trials have been conducted using multivitamin/mineral supplements to lower homocysteine. We determined whether a multivitamin/mineral supplement formulated at about 100% Daily Value will further lower homocysteine concentration and improve B-vitamin status in healthy older adults already consuming a diet fortified with folic acid. Read More.