Millions Of US Children Low In Vitamin D

Seven out of 10 U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, raising their risk of bone and heart disease, according to a study of over 6,000 children by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The striking findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency could place millions of children at risk for high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease. The study is published today in the online version of Pediatrics.

Vitamin D deficiency was thought to be relatively rare in the U.S. However, recent studies have documented this growing problem in adults. With cases of rickets (a bone disease in infants caused by low vitamin D levels) on the rise, it became clear that many children were also not getting enough of this essential vitamin, which is needed for healthy bone growth, among other biological processes.

"Several small studies had found a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in specific populations of children, but no one had examined this issue nationwide," says study leader Dr. Michal Melamed, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and of epidemiology & population health at Einstein. Dr. Melamed has published extensively on the importance of vitamin D.

To learn more about the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (defined as less than 15 ng/mL of blood) and vitamin D insufficiency (15 to 29 ng/mL), the researchers analyzed data on more than 6,000 children, ages one to 21, collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2004.

The researchers found that 9 percent of the study sample, equivalent to 7.6 million children across the U.S., was vitamin D deficient, while another 61 percent, or 50.8 million, was vitamin D insufficient. Low vitamin D levels were especially common in children who were older, female, African-American, Mexican-American, obese, drank milk less than once a week, or spent more than four hours a day watching TV, playing videogames, or using computers.

The researchers also found that low levels of vitamin D deficiency were associated with higher parathyroid hormone levels, a marker of bone health, higher systolic blood pressure, and lower serum calcium and HDL (good) cholesterol levels, which are key risk factors for heart disease.

"We expected the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency would be high, but the magnitude of the problem nationwide was shocking," says lead author Dr. Juhi Kumar, M.D., a fellow in pediatrics at Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Kumar will become an assistant professor of pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College in August.

"We know from earlier NHANES data that vitamin D levels have declined over the last 20 years," says Dr. Melamed. "Kids have more sedentary lifestyles today and are not spending as much time outdoors. The widespread use of sunscreens, which block UV-B rays, has only compounded the problem." The body uses UV-B sunlight to convert a form of cholesterol in the skin into vitamin D.

Dr. Melamed recommends that children should consume more foods rich in vitamin D, such as milk and fish. "But it's very hard to get enough vitamin D from dietary sources alone," she says.

Vitamin D supplementation can help. In the study, children who took vitamin D supplements (400 IU/day) were less likely to be deficient in the vitamin. However, only four percent of the study population actually used supplements. The American Academy of Pediatrics, which recently updated its vitamin D guidelines, now recommends that infants, children, and teens should take 400 IU per day in supplement form.

Supplements are especially important for those living in the country's northern regions where the sun may be too weak to maintain healthy vitamin D levels. Supplements are also critical for infants who are breast-fed, say the researchers. Breast milk contains relatively little vitamin D, while formula is fortified with the vitamin.

The authors recommend that pediatricians should routinely screen high-risk children for vitamin D deficiency, and that parents should ensure that their kids get adequate amounts of the vitamin through a combination of diet, supplements, and exposure to sunlight.

"The message for pediatricians is that vitamin D deficiency is a real problem with consequences not only for bone health but also potentially for long-term cardiovascular health. Pediatricians should be screening children for vitamin D levels, especially in the high-risk populations," says Dr. Kumar. A study co-led by Dr. Melamed and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in August 2008 reported that individuals with low levels of vitamin D may have an increased risk of death from all causes.

As for parents, says Dr. Melamed, "It would good for them to turn off the TV and send their kids outside. Just 15 to 20 minutes a day should be enough. And unless they burn easily, don't put sunscreen on them until they've been out in the sun for 10 minutes, so they get the good stuff but not sun damage."

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Resource For New Nutrition

If you're like me, you're very excited to hear about new nutritional developments to fight off disease and maintain general health. But you may hear about these new phytonutrients like lutein, lycopene and beta-carotene and wonder what exactly they are, what they do, and how you can incorporate them into your life.

We hear that these plant-based nutrients can improve everything from eyesight to prostate health, to to our immune systems.

That's where the Phytolife website comes in. Featuring the experts Phil Lempert and Elizabeth Somer, this webite seeks to explain these different compounds, and how you can add them to your diet. For instance, what are the top 10 fruits for antioxidant support? Visit the website and find out.

Plus, the website features a variety of delicious recipes -- like easy tomato soup, warm wedding soup, new salads and more -- that incorporate these new nutrients into your diet so that you and your family can begin experiencing their benefits.

This was a sponsored post.

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Plants With More Vitamin C May Result From University Discovery

UCLA and Dartmouth scientists have identified a crucial enzyme in plant vitamin C synthesis, which could lead to enhanced crops. The discovery now makes clear the entire 10-step process by which plants convert glucose into vitamin C, an important antioxidant in nature.

"If we can find ways to enhance the activity of this enzyme, it may be possible to engineer plants to make more vitamin C and produce better crops," says Steven Clarke, UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry, director of UCLA's Molecular Biology Institute and co-author of the research study, to be published as a 'Paper of the Week' in the Journal of Biological Chemistry and currently available online.

"We hit on gold," Clarke says, "because we now have a chance to improve human nutrition and to increase the resistance of plants to oxidative stress. Plants may grow better with more vitamin C, especially with more ozone in the atmosphere due to pollution."

Carole Linster, a UCLA postdoctoral fellow in chemistry and biochemistry and lead author of the study, discovered the controlling enzyme, GDP-L-galactose phosphorylase, which serves as the biosynthetic pathway by which plants manufacture vitamin C.

"Our finding leads to attractive approaches for increasing the vitamin C content in plants," Linster says. "We now have two strategies to provide enhanced protection against oxidative damage: Stimulate the endogenous activity of the identified enzyme or engineer transgenic plants which overexpress the gene that encodes the enzyme."

When life on Earth began, there was almost no oxygen, Clarke notes.

"Two billion years ago, plants devised an efficient way to get sunlight to make sugar from carbon dioxide that produced oxygen as a waste product; that waste product probably killed off most of all living species at that time," Clarke says. "The only organisms that survived developed defenses against it, and one of the best defenses is vitamin C. Plants learned how to make vitamin C to protect themselves."

Prior to the new research, vitamin C may have been the most important small molecule whose biosynthetic pathway remained a mystery.

An essential vitamin for humans, vitamin C is also an important antioxidant for animals and plants. Humans do not have the ability to make vitamin C and get it from dietary sources, especially from plants. It was not until 1998 that a biosynthetic pathway was proposed to explain how plants make this compound. Research confirmed much of the pathway, although one crucial missing link continued to baffle scientists and remained unknown until this new research.

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Study Confirms Health Benefits of Whole Grains

A diet high in whole grain foods is associated with a significantly lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, according to an analysis conducted by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

"Consuming an average of 2.5 servings of whole grains each day is associated with a 21 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared to consuming only 0.2 servings," says Philip Mellen, M.D., lead author and an assistant professor of internal medicine. "These findings suggest that we should redouble our efforts to encourage patients to include more of these foods in their diets."

These results were published on line in Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases and will appear in a future print issue.

The findings are based on an analysis of seven studies involving more than 285,000 people. By combining the data from these seven studies, researchers were able to detect effects that may not have shown up in each individual study. The studies were conducted between 1966 and April 2006.

Mellen says the findings are consistent with earlier research, but that despite abundant evidence about the health benefits of whole grains, intake remains low. A nutrition survey conducted between 1999 and 2000 found that only 8 percent of U.S. adults consumed three or more servings of whole grain per day and that 42 percent of adults ate no whole grains on a given day.

"Many consumers and health professionals are unaware of the health benefits of whole grains," says Mellen.

A grain is "whole" when the entire grain seed is retained: the bran, germ and the endosperm. The bran and germ components are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and healthy fats. These are the parts removed in the refining process, leaving behind the energy-dense but nutrient-poor endosperm portion of the grain. Examples of whole grain foods include wild rice, popcorn, oatmeal, brown rice, barley, wheat berries and flours such as whole wheat.

In addition to protecting against cardiovascular disease, which accounts for one-third of deaths worldwide, there is evidence that whole grains also project against diabetes and other chronic conditions.

"Years ago, scientists hypothesized that the higher rates of chronic diseases we have in the West, including heart disease, are due, in part, to a diet full of processed foods," Mellen says. "Subsequent studies have born that out – especially with whole grains. Greater whole grain intake is associated with less obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol – major factors that increase the risk for heart disease and stroke."

According to nutritionists, consumers should look for "100 percent whole grain" on food labels or look for specific types of whole-grain flour as the main ingredient, such as "whole wheat."

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Vitamin Supplements: More Not Necessarily Better

All vitamin supplements are not created equal. In fact, you need to do a little research when it comes to what supplements you should be taking, according to a new report from Harvard Medical School.

The report offers the following advice:

• Look for a seal of approval. Choose products that bear the U.S. Pharmacopeia Dietary Supplement Verification Program (USP-DSVP) mark, which indicates that the manufacturer has complied with certain standards.


• Consider safe levels. All dietary supplements have a "Supplement Facts" label that lists the percentage of the daily value (DV) of each nutrient per serving, as well as the actual amount of each. Multivitamin and multimineral supplements shouldn't exceed 150% of the DV for any nutrient. In fact, for trace minerals, such as iron, fluoride, and zinc, it's safest not to exceed the DV at all.


• Ignore marketing gimmicks. It doesn't matter whether vitamin C is derived from organic rose hips or synthesized in large batches in a laboratory; your body will use the resulting product similarly. Also, if you're not sensitive to specific ingredients, such as wheat, rice, or lactose, there's no need to pay more for allergen-free products.
• Don't pay more for unproven extras. There is virtually no evidence that herbs and other nonvitamin ingredients added to supplements -- such as echinacea, bioflavonoids, and ubiquinone (coenzyme Q10) -- are essential for your health.
• Beware of potentially dangerous interactions. Pay attention to warnings on the label, and tell your doctor and pharmacist what supplements you take.

"Vitamins and Minerals: What you Need to Know" is a 48-page report edited by Meier Stampfer, M.D., Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health.

Also included in the report:

• detailed explanations of each vitamin's and mineral's physiological effects
• the latest recommendations on each vitamin and mineral
• current research on how specific vitamins and minerals affect health
• how to create a healthy and balanced diet.

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Catholic Charities Launches Campaign To Cut Poverty In Half

Catholic Charities USA today announced a new multi-year initiative to cut poverty in half by2020, urging Congress and the Bush administration to give a much higher priority to the needs of the poor in budget and policy decisions on issues such as health care, housing, nutrition, and economic security.

"Poverty is a moral and social wound on the soul of our country and threatens the health and economic well-being of both families and our nation," Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, said at a briefing this morning on Capitol Hill. "We must marshal the strength andthe collective will of our nation to take on this tragedy that affects 37 million people who are living in poverty in one of the wealthiest nations in the world."

"The Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America is about who we are as a nation," Father Snyder said. "We must no longer ignore the injustice ofpoverty and the extreme in equality in America and instead must seize this opportunity to advocate for changes that promote human dignity and thecommon good."

The goal of Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America is to cut the poverty rate in the United States in half by 2020. Catholic Charities USA is leading a broad effort that will involve partners in social serviceagencies, the faith community, and other groups in a sustained effort to convince government officials of the importance of making systemic changes in government programs to help the poor and most vulnerable in our society.

With more than 275 years of experience in serving those living in poverty, Catholic Charities has a unique understanding of this growing problem and its devastating impact on families and the nation.

"Catholic Charities agencies provide help and offer hope to more than 7.4 million people each year, and in communities across the country, our agencies have been coping with a steady increase in demand for emergencyassistance, primarily among working families," Father Snyder said. "Each day, our agencies serve families who work hard but still do not earn enough to provide for their basic needs."

"Catholic Charities USA pledges its experience and resources to help reduce poverty in America. But, we can only succeed with the activeinvolvement of Congress and the administration. Only through partnershipsbetween government and community leaders like Catholic Charities, will we develop the capacity and the scale necessary to attack poverty in a comprehensive and sustained way," said Father Snyder.

Catholic Charities USA's Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America will urge Congress and the administration to improve programs and policies in four key issue areas: health care, affordable housing, nutritionassistance, and family economic security for the poor and vulnerable.

"Good government is about making choices and setting priorities that serve the common good, and we will work in partnership in this campaignwith Catholic organizations and other partners to encourage elected leaders to give greater priority to attending to the needs of the poorest and mostvulnerable persons in society," Father Snyder said. "Choices made in the federal budget process about what is funded -- and how to pay for it --must be judged by whether the life and dignity of families are protected or undermined."

Key components of the campaign will include sustained and comprehensive outreach to the administration and Congress as well as activities in local communities throughout the country on the need for action to reduce poverty, Catholic Charities says.


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