In this week’s article we provide a roundup of some of the most recent health and nutrition related articles to be in the news, five items comprising:
- Hour’s activity ‘offsets sedentary day’
- Vitamin D supplements ‘advised for everyone’
- Neonatal nutrition gap could explain weighty issue of disease inheritance
- Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil, may aid healing after heart attack
- Breastfeeding associated with better brain development, neurocognitive outcomes
Hour’s activity ‘offsets sedentary day’
“An hour’s “brisk exercise” each day offsets the risks of early death linked to a desk-bound working life, scientists suggest.
The analysis of data from more than a million people is part of a study of physical activity published in the Lancet to coincide with the Olympics.
Watching TV was found to be worse than sitting at a desk, probably because of associated habits like snacking.
Current NHS guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.
Being inactive is known to increase the risk of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
It has been linked to 5.3 million deaths globally a year – compared with 5.1 million linked to smoking.”
Related Cytoplan blogs
Reversing Insulin Resistance – The Role of Physical Activity
Vitamin and Mineral Loss in Hot Weather and when Exercising
Vitamin D supplements ‘advised for everyone’
“Everyone should consider taking vitamin D supplements in autumn and winter, public health advice for the UK recommends.
It comes as a government-commissioned report sets the recommended levels at 10 micrograms of the vitamin a day.
But officials are concerned this may not be achievable through diet alone, particularly when sunlight, which helps in vitamin D production, is scarce.
Low vitamin D levels can lead to brittle bones and rickets in children.
Top-ups
Limited amounts of the vitamin are found in foods such as oily fish, eggs and fortified cereals.
But, for most people, the bulk of their vitamin D is made from the action of sunlight on their skin.
And official estimates suggest one in five adults and one in six children in England may have low levels.
Now, an extensive review of the evidence, carried out by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), suggests everyone over the age of one needs to consume 10 micrograms of vitamin D each day in order to protect bone and muscle health.
And public health officials say, in winter months, people should consider getting this from 10 microgram supplements, if their diet is unlikely to provide it.”
Related Cytoplan blogs
Vitamin D – A Timely Reminder on its Importance
The Health Benefits of Vitamin D
Neonatal nutrition gap could explain weighty issue of disease inheritance
“The nutritional quality of a mother’s diet during pregnancy has a huge say in determining offspring attributes, such as weight and even susceptibility to chronic conditions, a UK study has speculated.
The epigenetic study revealed that a diet low in protein resulted in a direct link between restricted growth and DNA modifications during protein production.
Investigations into the nutrition the foetus receives during pregnancy has become popular as this period is considered critical in the development of the infant. Much has been said about an infant’s first 1000 days of life in which policies have been implemented that focus on what essential nutrition actions (ENA) could be taken during this period that could reduce infant and child mortality, whilst improving physical and mental growth.
It has been shown that nutrients such as omega-3’s, vitamins and iron have a huge impact on the health of the developing offspring in the long term.
The collaboration involved researchers from Queen mary University of London, King’s College London, and the University of Cambridge, who look at the offspring of pregnant mice, which had been given a low protein diet (8% protein) and a normal diet (20% protein).”
Related Cytoplan blogs
Food-Based Supplements – Bridging your ‘Nutrition Gap’
Cytoplan & ‘The Nutrition Gap’
Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil, may aid healing after heart attack
“Giving heart attack patients a high dose of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil, daily for six months after a heart attack improved the function of the heart and reduced scarring in the undamaged muscle, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.
The heart’s shape and function can be altered after a heart attack, a condition known as post-heart attack remodelling and it is linked with poor patient outcomes and could lead to heart failure. Therapies that can improve healing of the heart or prevent adverse remodelling, remain scarce.
A previous study found that omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil were associated with improved survival for heart attack patients, but the role of omega-3 fatty acids in improving the structure and tissue of the heart in patients receiving current guideline-based therapy after a heart attack was unknown.
In the new OMEGA-REMODEL randomized clinical trial, researchers found compared to those taking a placebo, patients taking a dose of 4 grams of omega-3 fatty acids daily for six month experienced:
A 5.8 percent reduction in left ventricular end-systolic volume index: a clinical marker that can predict patient outcome after a heart attack; and had a 5.6 percent reduction in a measurement of scarred connective tissue (fibrosis) formation in the non-damaged heart muscle.”
Related Cytoplan blogs
Omega 3 Fatty Acids – DHA, EPA & ALA
Omega 3 Supplements – Fish, Krill or Algae?
Nutrient Support for Cardiovascular Health
Breastfeeding associated with better brain development, neurocognitive outcomes
“A new study, which followed 180 pre-term infants from birth to age seven, found that babies who were fed more breast milk within the first 28 days of life had had larger volumes of certain regions of the brain at term equivalent and had better IQs, academic achievement, working memory, and motor function.
The findings were published online in The Journal of Pediatrics.
“Our data support current recommendations for using mother’s milk to feed preterm babies during their neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization. This is not only important for mums, but also for hospitals, employers, and friends and family members, so that they can provide the support that’s needed during this time when mothers are under stress and working so hard to produce milk for their babies,” says Mandy Brown Belfort, MD, a researcher and physician in the Department of Newborn Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and lead author.”
Related Cytoplan blogs
Iodine, Pregnancy and Children’s Brain Development
If you have any questions regarding the topics that have been raised, or any other health matters please do contact me (Amanda) by phone or email at any time.
amanda@cytoplan.co.uk, 01684 310099
Amanda Williams and the Cytoplan Editorial Team: Joseph Forsyth, Emma Williams, Simon Holdcroft, Clare Daley and Helen Drake
Last updated on 3rd August 2016 by cytoffice
