Category: Nutrition

One-quarter of people may have a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Sores around the mouth or ulcers inside it can be a sign of vitamin B12 deficiency.

The sores can appear at the corner of the mouth and may appear at the edge of the lip.

These are not blisters, but raw areas that come and go.

Mouth ulcers — also known as canker sores — are small shallow lesions inside the mouth that can make eating painful.

They are not usually serious and often clear up within a week or two.

However, they can be a sign that vitamin B12 levels are low.

Other common signs of vitamin B12 deficiency include a lower appetite, headaches, a feeling of tiredness or depression and feeling breathless after minimal exercise.

One study has found that taking vitamin B12 supplementation can reduce mouth ulcers and the pain associated with them.

For the study, 58 people with mouth ulcers either took vitamin B12 supplements or a placebo for six months.

Three-quarters of people who took the vitamin were free of ulcers by the end of the study.

Only 32% of people who took a placebo were free of ulcers over the same period.

The authors explain the results:

“The average outbreak duration and the average number of ulcers per month decreased in both groups during the first four months of the trial.

However, the duration of outbreaks, the number of ulcers, and the level of pain were reduced significantly at five and six months of treatment with vitamin B12, regardless of initial vitamin B12 levels in the blood.

During the last month of treatment a significant number of participants in the intervention group reached ‘no aphthous ulcers status’”

Vitamin B12 deficiency is easy to rectify with supplements or by dietary changes.

The body uses vitamin B12 to make red blood cells and to keep the nervous system healthy.

Vitamin B12 levels can be boosted through supplementation or by eating foods such as dairy, liver, salmon and eggs.

Fortified breakfast cereals also contain vitamin B12.

The study was published in The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine (Volkov et al., 2009).

Higher levels of this type of fat in the blood can add five years to your lifespan.

A study has found that raising levels of omega−3 fatty acids in blood can lower the risk of premature death similar to quitting smoking, an equivalent to adding 4.7 years of life.

Omega-3 fatty acids are well-known for their beneficial health effect, thus the American Heart Association recommends eating oily fish such as trout, salmon, sardines, and anchovies twice weekly.

For the study, researchers used the omega-3 index test to measure EPA and DHA content in red blood cells (RBC), an excellent way to predict the risk of death from all causes.

They analysed data from the Framingham Offspring Cohort study, which has tracked Massachusetts residents in the United States over 11 years.

Dr Aleix Sala-Vila, the study’s co-author, said:

“Having higher levels of these acids in the blood, as a result of regularly including oily fish in the diet, increases life expectancy by almost five years.

Being a regular smoker takes 4.7 years off your life expectancy, the same as you gain if you have high levels of omega-3 acids in your blood.”

The study compared RBC fatty acids levels with standard risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in predicting premature death.

Some well known risk factors are age, total cholesterol, high blood pressure, and smoking.

The results show that four types of fatty acids, including omega-3 are better predictors of mortality risk.

Two of these predictors belong to saturated fatty acids which have often been associated with heart disease risk but in this study were linked to longer life.

A diet rich in omega−3 fatty acids improves the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content in erythrocytes (red blood cells) resulting in nearly 5 years of human life expansion.

Dr Sala-Vila said:

“This reaffirms what we have been seeing lately, not all saturated fatty acids are necessarily bad.”

The correct amount of dietary fatty acids may contribute considerably to individual health.

Dr Sala-Vila added:

 “What we have found is not insignificant.

It reinforces the idea that small changes in diet in the right direction can have a much more powerful effect than we think, and it is never too late or too early to make these changes.”

The study was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (McBurney et al., 2021).

82 percent had insufficient levels of the vitamin, the results of the study found.

Gut problems are a simple sign of vitamin D deficiency.

This can include bloating, diarrhea, stomach pain and cramps.

Vitamin D helps keep the immune system and the gut healthy.

Indeed vitamin D deficiency makes people vulnerable to coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, a recent report reveals.

Fully 82% of people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) are deficient in vitamin D, research finds.

Vitamin D deficiency has also been linked to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Dr Bernard Corfe, who led the study, said:

“Our work has shown that most IBS sufferers in our trial had insufficient levels of vitamin D.

Furthermore there was an association between vitamin D status and the sufferer’s perceived quality of life, measured by the extent to which they reported impact on IBS on life.”

The study included 51 people with IBS, 82% of whom had insufficient vitamin D levels.

Around half the world’s general population is deficient in vitamin D.

From October to March many people in northern climes do not get enough vitamin D.

Vitamin D is found in oily fish, egg yolks, fortified cereals and some margarine spreads.

Most people need around 10 micrograms per day, which can also be obtained from supplements.

Dr Corfe said:

“It was clear from our findings that many people with IBS should have their vitamin D levels tested, and the data suggests that they may benefit from supplementation with vitamin D.

As a result of this exploratory study, we’re now able to design and justify a larger and more definitive clinical trial.”

IBS affects around 10-15% of people around the world.

The cause is unknown, but both diet and stress affect the symptoms.

One IBS sufferer, researcher Vicky Grant, explained:

“I read about other IBS patients experiencing success with vitamin D, via the online patient community.

I wasn’t really expecting the vitamin D supplements to work as I had tried and failed with so many other treatments.

I’m not cured but I have found that supplementation has dramatically improved my IBS.”

The study was published in the journal BMJ Open Gastroenterology (Tazzyman et al., 2015).

The deficiency is easy to rectify with diet or supplementation.

Mental confusion can be a sign of vitamin B12 deficiency, research suggests.

People with a B12 deficiency can have problems with their memory and concentration.

Depression symptoms like low mood and low energy are also linked to the deficiency.

Low levels of vitamin B12 can even contribute to brain shrinkage, other studies have suggested.

Around one-in-eight people over 50 are low in vitamin B12 levels, recent research finds.

The rates of deficiency are even higher in those who are older.

Fortunately, these deficiencies are easy to rectify with diet or supplementation.

Good dietary sources of vitamin B12 include fish, poultry, eggs and low-fat milk.

Fortified breakfast cereals also contain vitamin B12.

People who may have difficulty getting enough vitamin B12 include vegetarians, older people and those with some digestive disorders, such as Crohn’s disease.

One study has found that high doses of B vitamins can help reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is one of the most serious types of mental illness.

It can cause delusions, hallucinations, confused thinking and dramatic changes in behaviour.

The study reviewed 18 different clinical trials, including 832 patients.

It found that high doses of B vitamins helped reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia.

The vitamins were particularly effective if used early on in treatment.

Dr Joseph Firth, the study’s lead author, said:

“Looking at all of the data from clinical trials of vitamin and mineral supplements for schizophrenia to date, we can see that B vitamins effectively improve outcomes for some patients.

This could be an important advance, given that new treatments for this condition are so desperately needed.”

Professor Jerome Sarris, study co-author, said:

“This builds on existing evidence of other food-derived supplements, such as certain amino-acids, been beneficial for people with schizophrenia.”

The study was published in the journal Psychological Medicine (Firth et al., 2017).

A simple modification in this diet improves psoriasis skin and reduces joint inflammation.

A high-sugar and moderate-fat diet such as the Western diet can upset the gut microbiota leading to joint inflammation and inflammatory skin disease.

However, according to a study, a simple diet modification of less fat and less sugar will restore gut health and lower inflammation.

Professor Sam Hwang, the study’s senior author, said:

“Earlier studies have shown that Western diet, characterized by its high sugar and fat content, can lead to significant skin inflammation and psoriasis flares.

Despite having powerful anti-inflammatory drugs for the skin condition, our study indicates that simple changes in diet may also have significant effects on psoriasis.”

Psoriasis is an immune system disorder in which immune cells mistakenly attack skin cells causing inflammation and red itchy scaly patches of skin.

Nearly one third of people with psoriasis suffer from psoriatic arthritis, showing symptoms such as fatigue, morning stiffness, joint pain, swollen fingers or toes, changes in the nails, and lower back pain.

Modern dietary patterns such as the Western diet appear to have a direct impact on skin inflammation by changing the gut microbial balance.

A Western-style diet is generally high in sugar and fat, which both have a harmful effect on the microbial community and their function leading to gut dysbiosis and so inflammatory diseases.

The study tested if gut dysbiosis can lead to skin and joint inflammation.

They injected interleukin-23 minicircles in mice to produce an immune response that looked like psoriatic arthritis.

Interleukin-23 is secreted by the inflammatory immune cells accountable for conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and psoriasis.

The research team noticed that consuming a Western diet, even for a short period of time, causes microbial imbalance and increases the levels of interleukin-23-mediated psoriasis.

Professor Hwang said:

“There is a clear link between skin inflammation and changes in the gut microbiome due to food intake.

The bacterial balance in the gut disrupted shortly after starting a Western diet, and worsened psoriatic skin and joint inflammation.”

The team then wanted to see if the gut microbiota can be restored by changing to a balanced diet.

For six weeks, mice were fed a Western diet and then an interleukin-23-inducing agent to set off psoriatic skin and joint inflammation.

Later, the mice were divided into two groups; one continuously received the diet for one more month and the second group was fed with a balanced diet instead.

Ten weeks eating a Western diet caused skin and joint inflammation in mice, whereas shifting to a balanced diet reduced scaling skin in the second group.

This indicates that reducing sugar and fat intakes can lower the pro-inflammatory response and gut microbiota alteration (dysbiosis).

Dr Zhenrui Shi, the study’s first author, said:

“It was quite surprising that a simple diet modification of less sugar and fat may have significant effects on psoriasis.

These findings reveal that patients with psoriatic skin and joint disease should consider changing to a healthier dietary pattern.”

The study was published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology (Shi et al., 2021).

74% of people were free of this after vitamin B12 supplementation.

Mouth ulcers — also known as canker sores — are a sign of vitamin B12 deficiency.

They are small shallow lesions inside the mouth that can make eating painful.

The sores can develop around the tongue, cheek or gums.

They are not usually serious and generally clear up within a week or two, but can be irritating.

Taking vitamin B12 can help reduce the number of mouth ulcers and the pain, a study has found.

Fully 74% of people were free of ulcers after vitamin B12 supplementation.

Dr Ilia Volkov, the study’s first author, said:

“…the frequency of RAS [Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis, or mouth ulcers] is as much as 25 percent in the general population, however, until now, there has been no optimal therapeutic approach.”

Vitamin B12 is involved in the production of red blood cells.

A deficiency — which is more frequent in those over 60 — can cause anemia, which is a lack of red blood cells.

This can make people feel fatigued due to a lack of oxygen.

For the study, 58 people with mouth ulcers either took vitamin B12 supplements or a placebo for six months.

Three-quarters of people who took the vitamin were free of ulcers by the end of the study.

Only 32% of people who took a placebo were free of ulcers over the same period.

The authors explain the results:

“The average outbreak duration and the average number of ulcers per month decreased in both groups during the first four months of the trial.

However, the duration of outbreaks, the number of ulcers, and the level of pain were reduced significantly at five and six months of treatment with vitamin B12, regardless of initial vitamin B12 levels in the blood.

During the last month of treatment a significant number of participants in the intervention group reached ‘no aphthous ulcers status'”

The study was published in The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine (Volkov et al., 2009).

Become biologically 3 years younger within two months by following this intervention program.

Biological age can be reduced by more than 3 years in just 8 weeks using specific diet and lifestyle interventions, a clinical trial reveals.

DNA methylation age (DNAmAge) was reversed when a group of healthy men aged from 50 to 72 followed a treatment program (below) consisting of diet, sleep, exercise, relaxation, and phytonutrients and probiotic supplements.

The program was designed to target the methylation system of the body and help balance DNA methylation.

Chronic diseases are mostly products of aging, but improving diet and lifestyle can greatly reduce biological age, resulting in a better and longer life.

Dr Kara Fitzgerald, the study’s first author, said:

“The combined intervention program was designed to target a specific biological mechanism called DNA methylation, and in particular the DNA methylation patterns that have been identified as highly predictive of biological age.

We suspect that this focus was the reason for its remarkable impact.

These early results appear to be consistent with, and greatly extend, the very few existing studies that have so far examined the potential for biological age reversal.

And it is unique in its use of a safe, non-pharmaceutical dietary and lifestyle program, control group, and the extent of the age reduction.

We are currently enrolling participants for a larger study which we expect will corroborate these findings.”

The diet for long life

Here is a summary of the dietary and lifestyle intervention program (all figures are per week):

Dietary prescription:

• 3 servings of organic liver (3 ounce per serving)
• 5-10 organic eggs
• 2 cups of dark leafy greens, 2 cups of cruciferous vegetables, 3 additional cups colourful vegetables of your choice, and 1-2 medium beet
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, and 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 6 ounces organic animal protein
• 2 servings of low glycemic fruit

1+ serving methylation adaptogens from:

• 1/2 cup berries, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 2 medium cloves garlic, 2 cups green tea (brewed 10 minutes), and 3 cups oolong tea (brewed 10 minutes)

Additional guidance:

• Use healthy oils such as coconut, olive, flaxseed, and pumpkin seed oil
• Avoid added sugar, candy, dairy, grains, legumes, and beans
• Minimize plastic food containers

Supplement Prescription:

• PhytoGanix®, a combination of organic vegetables, fruits, seeds, herbs, plant enzymes, prebiotics and probiotics (2 servings daily)
• UltraFlora® Intensive Care, containing Lactobacillus plantarum 299v (2 capsules daily)

Exercise Prescription:

• Minimum of 30 minutes of exercise per day for at least 5 days per week, at an intensity of 60-80 percent of maximum perceived exertion

Sleep Prescription: average a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per night

Stress Management Prescription:

• Breathing exercise: Steps to Elicit the Relaxation Response developed by Herbert Benson MD (twice daily)

Biological aging was assessed by DNA methylation patterns which outlines the loss of function or damage to the human body’s organs, cells, and tissues leading to age-related diseases.

Dr Fitzgerald said:

“What is extremely exciting is that food and lifestyle practices, including specific nutrients and food compounds known to selectively alter DNA methylation, are able to have such an impact on those DNA methylation patterns we know predict aging and age-related disease.

I believe that this, together with new possibilities for us all to measure and track our DNA methylation age, will provide significant new opportunities for both scientists and consumers.”

The study was published in the journal Aging (Fitzgerald et al., 2021).

Diets high in this ingredient could cause early death by producing a natural waste product in the body.

Foods and drinks high in sugar can cause serious health problems quite apart from obesity or diabetes.

Avoiding sugar-rich diets will increase our lifespan by many years, however a high sugar intake causes the accumulation of uric acid in the body resulting in early death.

Uric acid is a natural waste product from the breakdown of substances called purines that are fundamental building blocks of DNA.

However, uric acid has the ability to crystallize and form kidney stones as a study in fruit flies has found.

Dr Helena Cochemé, study co-author, said:

“Just like humans, flies fed a high-sugar diet show many hallmarks of metabolic disease—for instance, they become fat and insulin resistant.

Obesity and diabetes are known to increase mortality in humans, and so people always assumed that this was how excess sugar is damaging for survival in flies.”

Fruit flies, when fed a high-sugar diet, were dehydrated so researchers added more water to their diet.

Thirst is an early indicator of elevated blood sugar and so diabetes.

Dr Cochemé said:

“Water is vital for our health, yet its importance is often overlooked in metabolic studies.

Therefore, we were surprised that flies fed a high-sugar diet did not show a reduced lifespan, simply by providing them with an extra source of water to drink.

Unexpectedly, we found that these flies still exhibited the typical metabolic defects associated with high dietary sugar.”

Seeing the effect of water made the research team examine the fly urinary system.

They noticed that the high sugar intake led to accumulation of uric acid and build up of kidney stones in flies.

But they prevented the stones issue by reducing uric acid production with a drug or by diluting the fly’s food with water.

Consequently, this protected the flies from dying due to their sugar-rich diet.

Could this mean if we drink lots of water then we can eat as many as sweet treats we like?

No, unfortunately.

Dr Cochemé explained:

“The sugar-fed flies may live longer when we give them access to water, but they are still unhealthy.

And in humans, for instance, obesity increases the risk of heart disease.

But our study suggests that disruption of the purine pathway is the limiting factor for survival in high-sugar-fed flies.

This means that early death by sugar is not necessarily a direct consequence of obesity itself.”

To see if dietary sugars would cause any damage to kidney function in humans, the researchers carried out an experiment on a group of healthy adults.

Professor Christoph Kaleta , study co-author, said:

“Strikingly, just like flies, we found that dietary sugar intake in humans was associated with worse kidney function and higher purine levels in the blood.”

Uric acid build up has been known to cause gout and kidney stones in human.

With aging the levels of uric acid increase in the body.

An increased level of uric acid will also foretell the beginning of metabolic disorders like diabetes.

Dr Cochemé concluded:

“There is substantial evidence that what we eat influences our life expectancy and our risk for age-related diseases.

By focusing on the purine pathway, our group hopes to find new therapeutic targets and strategies that promote healthy ageing.”

The study was published in the journal Cell Metabolism (Van Dam et al., 2020).