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From 9 Recent Studies & Articles on the Benefits of Vitamin D

There are a number of reasons why people are deficient in vitamin D, and why it is so beneficial to a person's overall health

1. Vitamin D deficiency is Widespread and on the Increase
(PhysOrg.com)
...report by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) in the scientific journal Osteoporosis International shows that populations across the globe are suffering from the impact of low levels of vitamin D... potentially severe repercussions for overall health and fracture rates.

2. Vitamin D May Help Prevent Knee Osteoarthritis
(ChiroEco.com/Reuters)
Low levels of vitamin D are associated with the loss of cartilage in the knee joint of older individuals, researchers in Australia report.
"Cartilage loss is the hallmark of osteoarthritis. By the time patients reach the point of needing knee replacement, 60 percent of cartilage has been lost," Dr. Changhai Ding told Reuters Health.

3. Vitamin D, Green Tea and Cocoa Help Prevent Alzheimer's Disease
(NaturalNews)
London (UK). Dr Robert Williams, Wolfson Centre for Age Related Diseases, examined the effects of epicatechin, a nutrient found abundantly in the three foods, in a model of Alzheimer's disease and assessed the potential effectiveness to slow signs of deterioration leading to the Alzheimer's.
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4. Pre-Birth Vitamin D Levels Determine Your Health for Life
(NaturalNews)
...Vitamin D is even MORE vital than was previously thought.
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5. 70 PerCent of Children Don't Get Enough VitaminD
(WDDTY.com)
...up to 58 million American children either have an insufficiency, or are deficient... this can lead to high blood pressure, rickets and unhealthy bone growth.
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6. Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Metabolic Syndrome
(NutraIngredients.com)
Increased blood levels of vitamin D are linked to a lower prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, as well as improved good cholesterol levels- report in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology.
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7. Daily Dose of Vitamin D Hones Men's Minds
(Ottawa Citizen)
...research involving more than 3,000 European men suggests vitamin D may boost cognitive function in middle-aged and older brains. Men with higher levels of vitamin D performed consistently better in a simple pen and paper test that measured attention and how fast the brain processes information.

8. Canada Examines Vitamin D for Swine Flu Protection
(NutraIngredients.com)
Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has confirmed that it will be investigating the role of vitamin D in protection against swine flu.

9. Vitamin D Key to Healthy Brain
(NaturalNews)
Sufficient vitamin D intake may play a critical role in maintaining brain function later in life- published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry

Australia starts flu vaccine trial
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Scientists in Australia have begun the first human trials of an experimental vaccine for the H1N1 flu strain, hoping to introduce a working vaccine against a virus that has so far killed more than 700 people worldwide. The trials will be conducted on some 600 adult and child volunteers at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia.
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Australia is among the countries worst-hit by the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, with more than 14,000 cases and 41 deaths linked to the disease. The virus first broke out in Mexico and was initially linked to a flu virus in pigs.
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In a statement the Australian pharmaceutical company conducting the trial said participants will be injected twice with the vaccine, three weeks apart, with a comparison between a standard and an increased dosage.  
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"We appreciate that new influenza strains like the swine flu can surprise us with properties that mean they might require higher dosing and two injections rather than one to provoke the desired level of immune response in humans," Dr Russell Basser, CSL Biotherapies' global director of clinical development, said.
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Doctors will be looking for the dosage at which volunteers develop an appropriate immune response, the company said, adding that trials will take about seven months to complete.
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Rising toll
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On Tuesday the World Health Organisation said the global death toll from the virus had shot up to more than 700, a sharp jump of some 40 per cent, since the start of the outbreak in March.

Australia has seen almost daily deaths linked to the H1N1 virus, with a 59-year-old woman with other health problems becoming the latest fatality late on Tuesday. Some 231 people have been hospitalised, including 96 in intensive care, across the country. The government has pre-ordered 21 million shots of the trial vaccine, and hopes to start distribution in October should the trials be proven to work.
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"As soon as I have confirmation that the vaccine is safe and effective, I will ensure it can be rolled out to the community," Nicola Roxon, the Australian health minister, said.
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As winter sets in scientists fear the virus, which has so far been reasonably mild, could mutate to a more deadly form in a reprise of the Spanish and Asian influenza pandemics of 1918 and 1958, and become resistant to drugs.
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Visit original news webpage:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/07/200972261134861739.html
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Related news:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/29/2611426.htm