Vitamins

Posted on Cardiovascular disease, Diet, Vitamins

Caffeine is a heart-healthy habit

Coffee doesn't raise your risk for heart rhythm problems

A new paper “In Rheumatology, published by Oxford University Press,” finds that consuming more caffeine may improve heart health.

Vascular disease, which involves damage to blood vessels and can lead to serious consequences like heart attacks and strokes, is one of the main causes of death in the general population. For individuals with inflammatory rheumatic diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, the risks are even greater. This is partly because of the diseases themselves and also due to certain treatments, especially cortisone derivatives.

Until now, doctors’ recommendations to reduce these vascular risks focused on avoiding risk factors, such as addressing inflammation, discontinuing cortisone medications, quitting smoking, lowering cholesterol, and managing high blood pressure.

The researchers from Sapienza University of Rome in Italy believe that patients may be able to improve their vascular health by doing something enjoyable. According to their study, caffeine, which is found in coffee, tea, and cocoa, may actively help endothelial progenitor cells. These cells play a role in regenerating the lining of blood vessels and are involved in vascular growth.

It is widely known that a diet rich in vitamin D (found in oily fish and eggs) and vitamin A (found in many fruits), as well as polyunsaturated fatty acids and low in sodium, seems to play a role in decreasing the inflammatory burden. Scientists have also been interested in the potential impact of caffeine. In addition to its well-known stimulant effect, caffeine also has an anti-inflammatory effect because it binds to receptors expressed on the surface of immune cells. The impact of caffeine consumption on cardiovascular health has been extensively studied, but the results have been conflicting.

Researchers conducted a study on 31 lupus patients who did not have traditional cardiovascular risk factors. They used a seven-day food questionnaire to assess the patient’s diet. After a week, the investigators took the patients’ blood to measure the health of their blood vessels. The study found that patients who consumed caffeine had better vascular health, as measured by the health of their endothelial cells, which are an important component of the inner layer of blood vessels.

“The present study aims to provide patients with information about the potential role of diet in managing the disease,” stated Fulvia Ceccarelli, the paper’s lead author. “It will be important to validate these findings through a longitudinal study to assess the actual impact of coffee consumption on the progression of the disease.”

Posted on autoimmune conditions, Diet, Vitamins

8 Incredible Foods That Calm Autoimmune Diseases

Discover how specific foods can help alleviate the symptoms of autoimmune diseases and improve your overall health.

8. Sunflower Seeds Sunflower seeds are a great way to boost your immune system and alleviate the symptoms of autoimmune diseases. They are packed with nutrients, especially vitamin E, that can help rebalance your immune cells and fight chronic inflammation.

7. Extra Virgin Olive OilRecent studies have shown that extra virgin olive oil contains components like oleic acid and oleocanthal antioxidants, which play an essential role in managing inflammation.

6. Sweet Potatoes Sweet potatoes are a versatile and nutrient-packed option that can benefit your immune system. They do not contain nightshade alkaloids and are rich in potassium, beta-carotene antioxidants, vitamin C, and vitamin A.

5. Fatty Fish Certain types of fatty fish, such as salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, or anchovies, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, can inhibit an inflammatory marker called C-reactive protein, which has been linked to worsening autoimmune reactions.

4. Turmeric Turmeric contains the active ingredient curcumin, which has been found to reduce the production, activation, and migration of antibodies, making it an excellent tool for autoimmune balance.

3. Green Tea Green tea is packed with epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a potent antioxidant that has been found to reduce the production of cytokine cells, which play a role in autoimmune diseases.

2. Mushrooms Mushrooms are one of the few plant sources of Vitamin D and are especially rich in this nutrient, which is beneficial for the immune system.

1. Leafy Greens are packed with a range of nutrients and antioxidants that help fight inflammation and protect the body against free radical damage.

Posted on Vitamins

Low levels of vitamin D linked to long COVID

Vitamin D
Vitamin D

Long COVID risk has been found to increase with low levels of vitamin D, according to research presented at the 25th European Congress of Endocrinology in Istanbul. The findings suggest that individuals should have their vitamin D levels checked after COVID-19.

Also known as post COVID-19 syndrome, long COVID is a new condition in which the effects of COVID-19 last for more than 12 weeks after contracting the initial infection. Studies have shown that it affects 50-70% of patients previously hospitalised for COVID-19, yet very little is known about the condition. One risk factor for worse outcomes for hospitalised COVID-19 patients, such as intubation and mechanical ventilation or death, is low vitamin D levels, but its role in long COVID has not been adequately investigated.

For this study, supported by Abiogen Pharma SpA, researchers from the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Milan examined 100 patients aged 51-70 years, with and without long COVID. They measured their vitamin D levels when first admitted to hospital for COVID-19 and six months after being discharged, and found lower vitamin D levels in patients with long COVID compared to those without. This result was more evident in patients who experienced ‘brain fog’ symptoms, such as confusion, forgetfulness and poor concentration, at the six-month follow-up.

The researchers included patients without any bone conditions and only those who went to hospital for COVID-19, without ending up in the intensive care units (ICUs). They matched the two groups, with and without long COVID, in terms of age, sex, pre-existing chronic diseases and COVID-19 severity. “Previous studies on the role of vitamin D in long COVID were not conclusive mainly due to many confounding factors,” said lead investigator Professor Andrea Giustina. “The highly-controlled nature of our study helps us better understand the role of vitamin D deficiency in long COVID, and establish that there is likely a link between vitamin D deficiency and long COVID.”

While Professor Giustina acknowledges that larger studies are needed to confirm this link, he and his team are now focussed on finding out whether vitamin D supplements can reduce the risk of long COVID. “Our study shows that COVID-19 patients with low vitamin D levels are more likely to develop long COVID but it is not yet known whether vitamin D supplements could improve the symptoms or reduce this risk altogether.”

Posted on Diet, Vitamins

Study suggests vitamin D benefits and metabolism may depend on body weight

People with higher body mass index had a blunted response to vitamin D supplementation, explaining observed differences in outcomes such as cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune disease


Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, have found new evidence that vitamin D may be metabolized differently in people with an elevated body mass index (BMI). The study, appearing in JAMA Network Open, is a new analysis of data from the VITAL trial, a large nationwide clinical trial led by Brigham researchers that investigated whether taking vitamin D or marine omega-3 supplements could reduce the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, or stroke.

“The analysis of the original VITAL data found that vitamin D supplementation correlated with positive effects on several health outcomes, but only among people with a BMI under 25,” said first author Deirdre K. Tobias, ScD, an associate epidemiologist in Brigham’s Division of Preventive Medicine. “There seems to be something different happening with vitamin D metabolism at higher body weights, and this study may help explain diminished outcomes of supplementation for individuals with an elevated BMI.”

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient involved in many biological processes, most notably helping our body absorb minerals, such as calcium and magnesium. While some of the vitamin D we need is made in the body from sunlight, vitamin D deficiencies are often treated with supplementation. Evidence from laboratory studies, epidemiologic research and clinical research has also suggested that vitamin D may play a role in the incidence and progression of cancer and cardiovascular disease, and it was this evidence that prompted the original VITAL trial.

The VITAL trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 25,871 U.S. participants, which included men over the age of 50 and women over the age of 55. All participants were free of cancer and cardiovascular disease at the time of enrollment. While the trial found little benefit of vitamin D supplementation for preventing cancer, heart attack, or stroke in the overall cohort, there was a statistical correlation between BMI and cancer incidence, cancer mortality, and autoimmune disease incidence. Other studies suggest similar results for type 2 diabetes.

The new study aimed to investigate this correlation. The researchers analyzed data from 16,515 participants from the original trial who provided blood samples at baseline (before randomization to vitamin D), as well as 2,742 with a follow-up blood sample taken after two years. The researchers measured the levels of total and free vitamin D, as well as many other novel biomarkers for vitamin D, such as its metabolites, calcium, and parathyroid hormone, which helps the body utilize vitamin D.

“Most studies like this focus on the total vitamin D blood level,” said senior author JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH, chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at the Brigham and principal investigator of VITAL. “The fact that we were able to look at this expanded profile of vitamin D metabolites and novel biomarkers gave us unique insights into vitamin D availability and activity, and whether vitamin D metabolism might be disrupted in some people but not in others.”

The researchers found that vitamin D supplementation increased most of the biomarkers associated with vitamin D metabolism in people, regardless of their weight. However, these increases were significantly smaller in people with elevated BMIs.

“We observed striking differences after two years, indicating a blunted response to vitamin D supplementation with higher BMI,” Tobias said. “This may have implications clinically and potentially explain some of the observed differences in the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation by obesity status.”

“This study sheds light on why we’re seeing 30-40 percent reductions in cancer deaths, autoimmune diseases, and other outcomes with vitamin D supplementation among those with lower BMIs but minimal benefit in those with higher BMIs, suggesting it may be possible to achieve benefits across the population with more personalized dosing of vitamin D,” said Manson. “These nuances make it clear that there’s more to the vitamin D story.”

The authors conclude that the VITAL findings are a call to action for the research community to continue exploring the potential benefits of vitamin D supplementation for preventing cancer and other diseases and to take BMI into account when evaluating the supplement’s health impacts.

Posted on Vitamins

Are You Vitamin B12 Deficient? Here’s What You Need To Know

Are You Vitamin B12 Deficient? Here's What You Need To Know - YouTube


In this video, we’re going to talk about Vitamin B12 and its importance in the body. We’ll cover how it works, and what it does as well as who is more prone to deficiency and what medications can cause a person to be predisposed to lower levels of Vitamin B12.