Nature’s Sunshine Herbs

Researchers found lung cancer rates were highest in countries furthest from the equator, where exposure to sunlight is lowest.

It is thought vitamin D - generated by exposure to sunlight - can halt tumor growth by promoting the factors responsible for cell death in the body.

Source: BBC News

If you live in an area that does not see much sun, consider supplementing with Nature’s Sunshine’s new Vitamin D3.

In April 2005, an influenza epidemic started sweeping through the maximum-security hospital for the criminally insane where Dr. John Cannell worked.

As the epidemic progressed, he noticed something unusual: although wards all around his became infected, no patients on his ward became ill, despite intermingling of both patients and nurses.

The only difference was that all of the patients on Dr. Cannell’s ward had been taking 2,000 units of vitamin D every day for several months or longer.

Shortly after the epidemic, a paper in the journal Nature showed that vitamin D was a potent antibiotic, working by increasing the body’s production of proteins called antimicrobial peptides. Antimicrobial peptides destroy the cell walls of bacteria, fungi, and viruses, including the influenza virus.

Dr. Cannell posits that this explains such matters as:

• Why the flu predictably occurs in the months following the winter solstice, when vitamin D levels are at their lowest
• Why influenza is more common in the tropics during the rainy season
• Why children exposed to sunlight are less likely to get colds
• Why cod liver oil (which contains vitamin D) reduces the incidence of viral respiratory infections
• Why the elderly who live in countries with high vitamin D consumption, like Norway, are less likely to die in the winter

Epidemic influenza kills roughly a million people every year worldwide, usually by causing pneumonia.

What does this mean for you? It certainly can’t hurt!  Nature’s Sunshine offers Vitamin A & D, a natural fish oil capsules.  Beware:  If the word “acetate” appears on a vitamin label as an ingredient, it is a synthetic fat-soluble vitamin.  Synthetic vitamins are harder on the body than no vitamins at all.

Source: Epidemiology and Infection September 7, 2006
Medical News Today September 15, 2006

Nutrition Hints
from Betty Kamen, PhD, and Dr. Michael Rosenbaum, MD
Copyright © 2000-2005 by Nutrition Encounter, all rights reserved
May be redistributed only with full attribution
and a link to www.bettykamen.com

Increasing the daily intake of selenium from dietary and supplement sources could cut the risk of bladder cancer by 70 percent.

Every ten micrograms per liter (about a quart) increase in serum selenium levels is associated with a 14 percent reduction in bladder cancer risk, a cancer that is diagnosed in about 336,000 people every year worldwide, and is three times more likely to affect men than women.

Selenium supplements are available both in combination with other nutrients and alone.

The European recommended daily intake is 65 micrograms.

What does this mean for you? While selenium is getting a reputation for being an excellent supplement for heart health, it is not a supplement that should be taken by everyone.  If you suffer from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Crohn’s Disease or Alzhiemer’s Disease, you should not take a selenium supplement as these conditions generally present with already high levels of this mineral.

However, if you do not have one of these disorders, selenium (in combination with Vitamin E) can be beneficial for other things as well including binding with mercury for removal from the body.  Try Nature’s Sunshine’s Vitamin E with Selenium.

Source: International Journal of Urology 2006;13:1180-1184.
Nutrition Hints
from Betty Kamen, PhD, and Dr. Michael Rosenbaum, MD
Copyright © 2000-2005 by Nutrition Encounter, all rights reserved
May be redistributed only with full attribution
and a link to www.bettykamen.com
 

A new study published online in Alcohol and Alcoholism indicates that supplementation with B Complex vitamins may actually reverse polyneuropathy (a tingling and burning sensation usually located in the feet and hands) associated with Alcoholism. 

B vitamins have previously been shown beneficial for diabetic and other forms of neuropathy so this comes as no surprise.

What Does This Mean for You?
B Vitamins are water soluable meaning that you can not overdose in any way.  Taking more B vitamins than your body needs simply results in them being flushed from the body in your urine.  During times of stress, our bodies use more b vitamins than at other times.  If you do not experience neuropathy, daily use of a good multivitamin with B vitamins and supplementing with extra B vitamins during times of stress may be enough.

However, if you do experience any forms of neuropathy, increasing your intake of b complex may help to alleviate the pain and discomfort associated with this persistant condition.

Nutrition Hints
from Betty Kamen, PhD, and Dr. Michael Rosenbaum, MD
Copyright © 2000-2005 by Nutrition Encounter, all rights reserved
May be redistributed only with full attribution
and a link to www.bettykamen.com
——————————————————————————–

Hint 2214: New research suggests that vitamin D intake above current recommendations may be associated with better health.

Your vitamin D status is linked to your bone mineral density, your lower extremity function, your dental health, and your risk of falls, fractures and colorectal cancer.

For most people, adequate concentrations cannot be reached with the currently recommended daily intakes of 200 IU for younger adults and 600 IU of vitamin D for older adults. Researchers suggest an increase in the currently recommended intake across the board.

For all adults, an intake of more than 1000 IU (40 micrograms) of vitamin D (cholecalciferol) a day is needed to bring up the vitamin D concentrations to an adequate level in no less than 50 percent of the population. Given the low cost, the safety, and the demonstrated benefit of higher vitamin D concentrations, supplementation of this nutrient should become a public health priority to help combat common and costly chronic diseases.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2006;84:18-28.

[Nature’s Sunshine offers Vitamin A & D natural fish oil in a little pearl.  Each pearl contains 10,000 units of vitamin A and 400 units of vitamin D, stock number 4065-3.  Synthetic vitamin A, D, or E contains the word acetate in the ingredient panel.  Synthetic vitamins are actually worse than taking no vitamins because of the toxic load they put on the liver.  Remember, most vitamin companies have one goal—to be the least expensive on the shelf.  At Nature’s Sunshine the goal is to improve your health.]