Category: Nutrition

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

Weak muscles and general tiredness can be signs of vitamin D deficiency, studies find.

For muscles to work effectively, vitamin D is essential.

When these levels are low, it can lead to tiredness and low levels of energy.

Other signs of vitamin D deficiency include poor sleep, symptoms of depression and headaches.

The vitamin is thought to play a role in regulating serotonin, a neurotransmitter important for mood.

One study that included 12 people with severe vitamin D deficiency scanned their muscles for their response to exercise.

Taking vitamin D supplements for around 12 weeks led to participants feeling much less tired.

Dr Akash Sinha, the study’s first author, explained the results:

“The scans provided a unique window into what is really going on in the muscle as it works.

Examining this small group of patients with vitamin D deficiency who experienced symptoms of muscle fatigue, we found that those with very low vitamin D levels improved their muscle efficiency significantly when their vitamin D levels were improved.”

The tiredness people experience is probably caused by problems with the mitochondria, the ‘power stations’ within each cell in our bodies.

After supplementation, participants’ mitochondria recovered more quickly from exertion.

Dr Sinha said:

“We have proved for the first time a link between vitamin D and mitochondria function.

Of the patients I see, around 60% are vitamin D deficient and most people living north of Manchester will struggle to process enough vitamin D from sunlight alone, particularly during winter and spring.

So a simple vitamin D tablet could help boost your energy levels – from within the cells.”

Foods that are rich in vitamin D include oily fish and eggs, but most people get their vitamin D from the action of sunlight on the skin.

That is why levels are typically lower in the body through the winter months in more northern climes.

Studies have also linked vitamin D deficiency to dementia.

The study was published in the Journal of Endocrinology (Sinha et al., 2013).

Up to 25 percent of people may have a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Difficulties with thinking and memory can be symptomatic of a deficiency in vitamin B12, research suggests.

People low in vitamin B12 can report having a worse memory for both ideas and events.

Low levels of vitamin B12 may also contribute to brain shrinkage and has even been linked to depression.

Vitamin B12 is critical for the body’s production of red blood cells and for keeping the nervous system healthy.

Other, common signs of vitamin B12 deficiency include experiencing muscle weakness, feeling tired,  and being constipated.

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

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

A study of 3,156 children in Columbia has found that those who are deficient in vitamin B12 were twice as likely to repeat a grade.

They were also at double the risk of being absent from school.

The children, aged 5-12, were all tested for various nutritional markers, including B12, folate, zinc and vitamin A.

Fully 15 percent were marginally deficient in vitamin B12 and it was the only deficiency linked to repeating a grade at school.

Dr Eduardo Villamor, who led the study, said:

“Vitamin B12 is necessary for adequate brain development.

Deficiency very early in life or in old age has been linked to cognitive and behavioral problems, but it was not known whether it could be related to academic difficulties during school age.

Grade repetition and school absenteeism are important outcomes because they predict school dropout and impair children’s options for educational advancement and development.”

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

The study was published in The Journal of Nutrition (Duong et al., 2015).

The study found that 68% were vitamin D deficient.

Chronic headaches could be a sign of vitamin D deficiency, research suggests.

People with low levels of vitamin D are at twice the risk of chronic headaches.

These headaches are also twice as likely to occur in the winter months, when vitamin D levels are at their lowest in the body.

During the winter, less sunshine striking the skin means the body is not able to produce enough vitamin D.

The conclusions come from a Finnish study of 2,601 men.

It found that 68% had deficient vitamin D levels.

The current medications for migraine — painkillers — could be doing more harm than good in some cases.

People are frequently taking the wrong medication, or too much of it, the study’s authors write:

“Primary headaches, including migraine, are among the leading health problems and causes of disability in the modern working population.

Currently, there is a global trend in chronification of migraine and a growing number of cases of medication overuse headache due to improper use and/or overuse of painkillers.”

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports (Virtanen et al., 2017).

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential as our body cannot make them.

Feeling depressed can be a sign of a poor diet, research suggests.

Indeed, healthy diets are often overlooked as a major factor in recovering from depression.

An important component of a healthy diet is omega-3 fatty acids.

Studies have found that omega-3 supplements can be beneficial for people with depression.

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential as our body cannot make them.

Omega-3 can be obtained from the diet or through supplementation.

Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids include walnuts, chia seeds, soybean, hemp seed, salmon, trout, sardines, and mackerel.

While the standard treatment for depression is antidepressants, many people discontinue them for fear over the side-effects and start using alternative treatments.

Dr. François Lespérance, who has studied the effects of omega-3 on depression, said:

“Despite significant progress in neuroscience over the past two decades, depression is difficult to treat.

Many of these treatments have not been adequately evaluated.

That is why it was important to assess the efficacy of Omega-3, one of the most popular alternative approaches.”

The study included 432 people with depression.

Half took 1050mg of EPA each day for eight weeks.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is one of the three main omega-3 fatty acids.

The other group took a placebo that was flavoured with fish oil so they would not know the difference.

The results showed that for people who were depressed, but not anxious, the omega-3 fatty acid was effective at reducing depression.

The study’s authors conclude:

“In this heterogeneous sample of patients with MDE, there was only a trend toward superiority of omega-3 supplementation over placebo in reducing depressive symptoms.

However, there was a clear benefit of omega-3 supplementation among patients with MDE without comorbid anxiety disorders.”

The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (Lespérance et al., 2011).

Vitamin B12 deficiency is easy to correct for most people.

Memory and thinking problems can be a sign of vitamin B12 deficiency, research finds.

People with low vitamin B12 can find it harder to sustain attention, learn words and names and solve puzzles.

Low levels of the vital vitamin have also been linked by research to brain shrinkage.

Vitamin B12, along with folate, help to protect the cognitive function of older people.

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

Fortified breakfast cereals also contain vitamin B12.

The study included 1,459 older people whose vitamin B12 and folate levels were measured.

They were also given tests of their cognitive skills.

Dr Martha Savaria Morris, the study’s first author, explained the results:

“We found a strong relationship between high folate status and good cognitive function among people 60 and older who also had adequate levels of vitamin B12.”

Folates include vitamin B9, folacin and folic acid.

Some of the best dietary sources of folates include:

• vegetables,
• fruits,
• liver,
• and whole-grains.

Folate levels are particularly high in chickpeas, yeast extract, lentils and broad beans.

Dr Morris said:

“People with normal vitamin B12 status performed better if their serum folate was high.

But for people with low vitamin B12 status, high serum folate was associated with poor performance on the cognitive test.”

In contrast, low vitamin B12 was problematic:

“For seniors, low vitamin B12 status and high serum folate was the worst combination.

Specifically, anemia and cognitive impairment were observed nearly five times as often for people with this combination than among people with normal vitamin B12 and normal folate.”

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

Dr Morris concluded:

“Our findings support the often-expressed idea that many seniors would benefit from more folate, but the research shows that we must look at the effects this would have on seniors with age-related vitamin B12 deficiency, who may be more numerous than once realized.”

The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Morris et al., 2007).

Supplementation of this compound, also naturally found in animal proteins, has been called the elixir of life.

Taurine supplementation extends the health and life span of middle-aged mice by 12 percent, research finds.

In humans it is also a semi-essential nutrient that is crucial for longevity and wellbeing.

Taurine is synthesised from cysteine in the pancreas, however, as the body does not produce enough, the rest must be obtained from the diet.

Also, taurine concentration drops as we age and the vegetarian and vegan population are at a higher risk of taurine deficiency.

For optimum levels, taurine can be obtained from high-protein foods such as meat, fish, and dairy, or taurine supplements.

Taurine plays a pivotal role related to the aging process: a deficiency reduces life expectancy, while supplementation could delay aging and help us look younger.

Taurine deficiency can lead to health issues such as hypertension, abdominal obesity, inflammation, type 2 diabetes, and aging-related diseases.

Animal research shows that taurine supplements slow the aging process by reducing DNA damage and improving an enzyme called telomerase which protects the ends of chromosomes.

Dr Vijay Yadav, the study’s senior author, said:

“For the last 25 years, scientists have been trying to find factors that not only let us live longer, but also increase health span, the time we remain healthy in our old age.

This study suggests that taurine could be an elixir of life within us that helps us live longer and healthier lives.”

Taurine has been known for its role in improving bone density, supporting the immune system and nervous system function, lowering blood glucose, and increasing weight loss.

Exercise and taurine

Another study found higher levels of taurine in athletes compared to sedentary individuals.

To see the impact of exercise, they measured taurine levels in participants’ blood before and after a vigorous cycling session.

Normally sedentary individuals experienced increased amounts of taurine after the workout as was seen in runners, bodybuilders, cyclists, and other athletes.

Dr  Yadav said:

“No matter the individual, all had increased taurine levels after exercise, which suggests that some of the health benefits of exercise may come from an increase in taurine.”

Researches also compared the levels of taurine in different age groups and found that with aging a large quantity is lost.

For example, taurine levels in a 60-year-old person were only one-third of a five-year-old child.

Dr  Yadav said:

“That’s when we started to ask if taurine deficiency is a driver of the aging process, and we set up a large experiment with mice.”

Anti-aging process

The aging process adversely affects human health so as people are living longer staying healthy in older age is a challenge.

Scientists acknowledge that some molecules such as taurine are important in aging, if so, the process can be controlled.

With the knowledge that a molecule like taurine is a driver of aging, increasing its levels should slow aging and improve the ‘healthspan’ (being healthy for a longer span).

Dr Yadav said:

“We realized that if taurine is regulating all these processes that decline with age, maybe taurine levels in the bloodstream affect overall health and lifespan.”

Taurine supplementation

Dr Yadav and the team examined the effect of taurine supplementation on both health and lifespan in middle-aged mice and monkeys.

Daily taurine supplements for six months in monkeys and one year in mice provide remarkable health benefits.

It improved the immune system, lowered blood glucose and some markers of liver damage, increased bone density in the legs and spine, and prevented weight gain in monkeys.

Taurine supplements improved muscle endurance and strength, increased bone mass, reduced insulin resistance, increased energy expenditure, reduced weight, decreased depression-like and anxious behaviours in mice.

Taurine supplements reduced “zombie cells” which are old cells that continue living and produce toxins in the body.

It also increased telomerase, elevated stem cell levels important for healing tissues after injury, slowed DNA damage, and improved mitochondria function.

These experiments suggest taurine probably can increase longevity and improve health in humans.

Dr Yadav said:

“I think taurine should also be considered.

And it has some advantages: Taurine is naturally produced in our bodies, it can be obtained naturally in the diet, it has no known toxic effects (although it’s rarely used in concentrations used), and it can be boosted by exercise.

Taurine abundance goes down with age, so restoring taurine to a youthful level in old age may be a promising anti-aging strategy.”

The studies were published in the journal Science (Singh et al., 2023; McGaunn et al.,2023)

Around one-in-eight people over 50 are low in vitamin B12 levels.

Poor memory, problems with thinking skills and even depression have all been linked to vitamin B12 deficiency.

Lack of vitamin B12 has also been linked to brain shrinkage with age.

People with higher vitamin B12 levels are six times less likely to suffer brain shrinkage, one study has found.

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

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

Along with cognitive warnings, a physical sign of vitamin B12 deficiency is weakness in the muscles.

A review of the research has found that vitamin B12 is important in improving muscle strength and function.

A B12 deficiency, along with other dietary factors, can contribute to sarcopenia, which is the gradual loss of muscle mass.

Sarcopenia can lead to falls and increase the risk of bone fractures, as well as other injuries.

Professor Jean-Philippe Bonjour, study co-author, said:

“The most obvious intervention against sarcopenia is exercise in the form of resistance training.

However, adequate nutritional intake and an optimal dietary acid-base balance are also very important elements of any strategy to preserve muscle mass and strength during aging.”

Other dietary factors are also important in maintaining muscles with age.

Naturally, getting enough protein, the building blocks of muscle, is vital.

Similarly, vitamin D also plays a role in maintaining strength.

More fruits and vegetables in general are good for health and also for musculoskeletal health.

In contrast, high intakes of meat and cereal grains can increase acidity in the body, which is bad for the muscles.

Dr Ambrish Mithal, the study’s first author, said:

“Strategies to reduce the numbers of falls and fractures within our aging populations must include measures to prevent sarcopenia.

At present, the available evidence suggests that combining resistance training with optimal nutritional status has a synergistic effect in preventing and treating sarcopenia.”

The study was published in the journal Osteoporosis International (Mithal et al., 2012).

B12 deficiency is relatively easy to correct with a change in diet or supplementation.

A poor memory can be a sign of vitamin B12 deficiency, studies find.

People with a vitamin B12 deficiency sometimes have worse memories for both events and ideas.

Indeed, low levels of vitamin B12 and folate have both been linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Folates include vitamin B9, folacin and folic acid.

Memory problems are one of the key symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

This link has been observed by researchers for more than three decades.

A deficiency in B12 or folate can cause higher levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the body.

Homocysteine has a neurotoxic effect and could lead to neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s.

One study followed 370 people over 75-years-old for three years.

In that time, 78 had developed Alzheimer’s disease, with more than half having a vitamin B12 or folate deficiency.

Dr Hui-Xin Wang, the study’s first author, said:

“In our study, we found that low levels of either of these two vitamins were related to an increased Alzheimer’s disease risk.

Monitoring B12 and folate levels is important in order to avoid unfavorable conditions, even for those elderly people who are quite healthy in terms of cognition.”

The good news is that B12 deficiency is relatively easy to correct with a change in diet or supplementation.

Good sources of vitamin B12 include liver, beef, 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 and vegans, older people and those with some digestive disorders, such as Crohn’s disease.

If taking supplements, be careful not to have more than 2 mg per day — any more could be harmful.

The study was published in the journal Neurology (Wang et al., 2019).

Around one-in-four people may have a vitamin B12 deficiency, according to research.

Small white spots on the skin can be a sign of vitamin B12 deficiency.

The white spots often appear on the outside of the forearm, but can be anywhere.

Around one-in-four people may have a vitamin B12 deficiency, according to a recent study.

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

Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to low levels of melatonin, which contributes to the white spots on the skin.

Other, more common signs of vitamin B12 deficiency include feeling tired, experiencing muscle weakness and being constipated.

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

The study examined blood samples from 1,079 older adults in Germany.

The results showed that 27 percent were deficient in vitamin B12.

Along with this, over half were vitamin D deficient.

Ms Romy Conzade, the study’s first author, said:

“The results are very clear.

Fifty-two percent of the examined older adults had vitamin D levels below 50 nmol/L and thus had a suboptimal vitamin D status.”

Dr. Barbara Thorand, study co-author, said:

“Our study also shows that regular intake of vitamin-containing supplements goes along with improved levels of the respective vitamins.

However, vitamin-containing supplements are not a universal remedy, and particularly older people should watch out for maintaining a healthy and nutritious diet.”

The study was published in the journal Nutrients (Conzade et al., 2017).