Category: Nutrition

A Physical Sign Of Vitamin D Deficiency

Taking around 4,000 IU of vitamin D could help to ward off this symptom.

Taking around 4,000 IU of vitamin D could help to ward off this symptom.

Frequently becoming sick from respiratory infections like colds and the flu can be a sign of vitamin D deficiency, research suggests.

Vitamin D is critical to supporting the immune system and fighting off infection.

Taking around 4,000 IU of vitamin D can help to ward off infections, some studies have found.

One recent study found that taking vitamin D supplements could reduce the risk of infection by 40 percent.

Professor Adit Ginde, the study’s first author, said:

“After studying these patients for a year, we found a 40 percent reduction in acute respiratory illness among those who took higher doses of vitamin D.

Vitamin D can improve the immune system’s ability to fight infections because it bolsters the first line of defense of the immune system.”

The conclusions come from a clinical trial of 107 patients in nursing homes.

Half received high doses of vitamin D supplements (up to around 4,000 IU per day) and the other half lower doses (up to 1,000 IU per day).

They were followed for 12 months to observe the number of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) they suffered.

The results showed that higher doses of vitamin D reduced the risk of ARIs by almost half.

Professor Ginde said:

“This is a potentially life-saving discovery.

There is very little in a doctor’s arsenal to battle ARI, especially since most are viral infections where antibiotics don’t work.

But vitamin D seems able to potentially prevent these infections.”

Taking vitamin D supplements has few risks, although the study did find that the higher level was linked to more falls.

Professor Ginde said:

“If our results are confirmed by a larger trial, high dose vitamin D, ideally using daily dosing to minimize fall risk, has the potential for substantial public health benefit through ARI prevention for the large and growing population of long term care residents.”

Other signs of vitamin D deficiency include fatigue and tiredness, back pain, depression, muscle pain and even hair loss.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (Ginde et al., 2016).

The Sleep Pattern Linked To Better Physical Health (M)

The sleep pattern is linked to eating more healthy foods and having steadier eating patterns.

The sleep pattern is linked to eating more healthy foods and having steadier eating patterns.

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The Western Diet: 12 Alarming Effects It Has On Your Mind & Brain (P)

What you eat shapes your mind — these studies reveal the hidden dangers of Western-style diets.

The Western diet is everywhere -- fast, processed and packed with red meats, junk foods, sugars and saturated fats, while lacking fresh vegetables, grains and seafood.

It is cheap, convenient, addictive and linked to all kinds of physical problems, including heart disease, immune system damage and inflammation.

But food shapes more than the body -- it shapes the mind in all kinds of ways.

The Western diet rewires the brain, altering thoughts, mood and memory --even increasing the risk of mental illness.

Here are 12 ways the typical Western diet is affecting both mind and brain.

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This Simple Mealtime Ritual Could Be Key To A Happier Life (M)

How this forgotten tradition could boost happiness and fight loneliness.

How this forgotten tradition could boost happiness and fight loneliness.

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Eating This Food Is A Sign You Are Extraverted

What your diet says about your personality.

What your diet says about your personality.

Eating more meat is a sign of being extraverted.

Vegetarians and vegans, meanwhile, are more likely to be introverted.

However, vegetarians also tend to be slimmer than their meat- eating peers.

This is probably because avoiding animal foods reduces the intake of fat and sugar.

Dr Veronica Witte, study co-author, is not sure exactly why vegetarians tend to be more introverted:

“It could be because more introverted people tend to have more restrictive eating habits or because they are more socially segregated because of their eating habits.”

The conclusions come from a study of 8,943 people in Germany who were given a test of personality, along with other measures.

The researchers had expected to find a link between diet and neuroticism, but did not.

Dr Witte said:

“Earlier analyses had found that more neurotic people were generally more likely to avoid certain groups of foods and to behave more restrictively.

We focused here solely on the avoidance of animal products and could not observe any correlation.”

People who are neurotic are more likely to experience depression and anxiety.

Indeed, some research finds that plant-based diets are linked to depression.

However, there was no evidence of this in the current study.

Dr Witte said:

“It is possible that in previous analyses other factors had blurred the results, including the BMI or conspicuous personality traits that are known to be associated with depression.

We accounted for them.”

The lower weight of vegetarians and vegans is less mysterious.

Ms Evelyn Medawar, the study’s first author, said:

“Products that are excessively rich in fat and sugar are particularly fattening.

They stimulate the appetite and delay the feeling of satiety.

If you avoid animal foods, you consume fewer such products on average.

People who eat predominantly vegetable foods may therefore absorb less energy.”

The study was published in the journal Nutrients (Medawar et al., 2020).

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