Acidic blood could mean lower bone density
According to a January 2009 study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism titled Treatment with Potassium Bicarbonate Lowers Calcium Excretion and Bone Resorption in Older Men and Women, diets that are high in protein and cereal grains produce an excess of acid in the body which may increase calcium excretion and weaken bones, according to a new study. The study found that increasing the alkali content of the diet, with a pill or through a diet rich in fruits and vegetables has the opposite effect and strengthens skeletal health.
Vitamin K may help diabetics.
Vitamin K slowed the development of insulin resistance in elderly men in a study of 355 non-diabetic men and women ages 60 to 80 that completed a three-year clinical trial at the Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (USDA HNRCA). “Men who received vitamin K supplementation had less progression in their insulin resistance by the end of the clinical trial,” said Sarah Booth, senior author and director of the Vitamin K Laboratory at the USDA HNRCA. “Conversely, we saw progression in insulin resistance in women who received vitamin K supplementation, and in the men or women who were not given vitamin K supplements.”
Source: Effect of vitamin K supplementation on insulin resistance in older men and women.
Fast food advertising leads to obese children and adults
A ban on fast food advertisements in the United States could reduce the number of overweight children by as much as 18 percent, according to a new study. Research indicates that there is an 80 percent chance an overweight adolescent will be an obese adult and that over 300,000 deaths can be attributed to obesity and weight in the United States every year.
Source: Fast-Food Restaurant Advertising on Television and Its Influence on Childhood Obesity.
Sex hormones and cancer risk
Sex hormones circulating in the blood do not appear to be associated with prostate cancer risk, according to data from 18 prior studies. Having high levels of male sex hormones, known as androgens, has long been hypothesized as a risk factor for prostate cancer but the researchers found no association between prostate cancer risk and blood levels of different forms of testosterone or estrogen after collecting the original data from 18 studies and analyzing it to determine the relationship between blood levels of sex hormones and prostate cancer.
Sources:
1. Endogenous sex hormones and prostate cancer: a collaborative analysis of 18 prospective studies.
2. Getting Over Testosterone: Postulating a Fresh Start for Etiologic Studies of Prostate Cancer
Vitamin D supplementation guidelines
Recommended daily intakes of vitamin D should be raised to 2,000 International Units, says a group of 18 scientists from the University of California. The call to action by the UC scientists, led by Anthony Norman, echoes a number of others from leading academics across the globe, and may increase the need for policy makers to review current guidelines for the vitamin. Our consensus on vitamin D is intended to support public health action, said Norman. The amount of research that is currently available provides us enough information to release such a consensus at this time.
IPM’s pharmaceutical grade vitamin D formulas provide 1000IU or 5000IU of vitamin D per capsule.
Source: Short- and long-term safety of weekly high-dose vitamin D3 supplementation in school children.