Should we be taking nutritional supplements?

Source: Dr Gerald Lewis MB ChB, FRCP. FRACP, MD, Cardiologist and a General Physician

Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue

Source: Dr Gerald Lewis MB ChB, FRCP. FRACP, MD, Cardiologist and a General Physician

Why we should be taking probiotics

Source: Dr Gerald Lewis MB ChB, FRCP. FRACP, MD, Cardiologist and a General Physician

USANA-supported clinical study demonstrates improved bone health in girls

New Study Involving Active Calcium™ Chewable Offers Promising Results

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 2009-- USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: USNA) announced today that a third-party clinical study led by Dr. David Greene at Australian Catholic University (ACU National) found that use of USANA’s Active Calcium™ Chewable supplement improves bone health in young girls.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved 20 pairs of identical twin girls, ages 9-12 years old, who were randomly assigned to receive USANA’s Active Calcium Chewable or a matching placebo. The results of the study found that after six months of supplementation, Active Calcium Chewable improved measures of bone mineral content, bone mineral density, and bone strength in these girls.

“We are delighted with the results of the ACU National study,” said Dr. Tim Wood, USANA’s Executive Vice President of Research and Development. “These results confirm the findings of a similar 2003 clinical trial conducted at the University of Utah. The ACU National study design, in which one twin received Active Calcium Chewable while her sister received the placebo, goes a step further and factors out genetic influences.”

Results of the ACU National study are particularly significant, because young women accumulate bone mass most rapidly during adolescence, and ideal skeletal development can only be achieved when dietary intakes of calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium are optimal during this period. Dr. Greene of ACU National said maximizing bone during the growing years was essential to offsetting the effects of osteoporosis in later life.

“It is estimated that only 10 to 25 percent of children and teens get adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D,” said Dr. Christine Wood. “My own experience as a pediatrician confirms this when I question my patients about their calcium intakes. Parents and teens need to understand the potential long-term risks of chronic calcium and vitamin D deficiency during adolescence. We can’t turn back the clock as these children age into adults.”

Dr. Christine Wood is an expert in nutritional medicine for children and speaks on healthy lifestyles to parents worldwide. She is also a member of USANA’s Scientific Advisory Council.

Source: USANA Health Sciences

Maternal vitamin D status influences early childhood dental health

For the first time, new clinical research out of Canada provides evidence for a relationship between maternal vitamin D levels and select markers of infant dental health.

The relationship between vitamin D and adult bone health is well-understood. However, until recently, less has been known about the relationship between maternal vitamin D status and infant bone health. A new study out of the University of Manitoba sheds new light on this subject by examining the relationship between maternal vitamin D status and two measures of infant dental health: enamel hypoplasia (EH) and early childhood caries (ECC).

206 pregnant women enrolled in the study during their second trimester. Serum vitamin D analyses revealed that more than a third of the women were vitamin D deficient (34.5%, deficiency defined as <= 35 nmol/L). Only 21 women had adequate levels of vitamin D (10.5%, adequacy defined as >= 80 nmol/L).

Over the next two years, 135 infants returned for a dental health examination. 21.6% had EH while 33.6% had ECC. Mothers of children with EH had lower vitamin D concentrations during pregnancy, though the result didn’t quite reach statistical significance (43.2 vs 51.4 nmol/L, p=0.07). However, mothers of children with ECC had significantly lower vitamin D levels than those whose children were caries-free (43.9 vs 52.8 nmol/L, p=0.034).

This study is the first to provide evidence for a correlation between maternal vitamin D levels and infant dental health, and additional research currently underway should shed further light on this important issue.

Source: Influence of maternal vitamin D status on infant oral health, Schroth R, Lavelle C, Moffatt ME,Proc Int Assoc Dent Res Meet, Abs 1646, 2008