Parents, now you have one more reason to keep a strong grip on your girls’ vitamin D levels: a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found higher levels of vitamin D were associated with greater muscle strength in five-year-old girls. The study included data from 881 children participating in the Odense Child Cohort—a Danish population-based study that has been monitoring the health of participating children since before they were born. When the children were five years old, researchers measured their blood vitamin D levels, hand grip strength, incidence of muscle tissue diseases, and body metrics like weight, height, and fat percentage, and found that:

• Girls with vitamin D levels of 75nmol/L or higher had greater hand grip strength than girls with vitamin D levels below 50nmol/L—the cutoff for vitamin D insufficiency. This association was not seen in boys and was unrelated to body size or composition.
• Girls with vitamin D sufficiency—50 nmol/L or higher—were 70% less likely to have muscle tissue diseases, compared with girls with vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency. This association was also not seen in boys.

This study supports other research suggesting vitamin D intake—even during pregnancy—is important for children’s muscle development. To ensure your child is getting enough vitamin D, include fatty fish and vitamin D-fortified foods like milk and cereal in their diet. If your child is a picky eater or you are concerned about their vitamin D level, talk with their doctor. They may recommend a vitamin D supplement if their levels are subpar.

Source: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

As we age, our skin becomes less firm and our joints stiffen and ache. Why is this? It’s partially due to the slowing of the body’s ability to produce collagen, the main structural protein of connective tissues that, among other things, helps repair our skin and joints. Those seeking to maintain youthful skin and ease joint pain may turn to collagen supplements for a lift, but are these supplements really the fountain of youth they claim to be? To cut through the hype, the Washington Post reported on the following studies exploring collagen’s effects in the body:

• A research review, published in the Open Nutraceuticals Journal, found hydrolyzed collagen supplements, which contain small collagen peptides that are easy to digest and absorb, improved skin hydration and elasticity and reduced the formation of deep wrinkles in women taking 10 grams daily for more than six weeks.
• A 2017 study, published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, found 25 participants had increased nail growth and decreased nail brittleness after taking 2.5 grams of collagen peptides daily for 24 weeks.
• A 2018 review and meta-analysis, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, looked at randomized controlled trials testing supplements used to treat osteoarthritis and found both hydrolyzed and un-denatured collagen supplements were associated with meaningful reductions in joint pain.

While collagen’s benefits seem promising, it’s important to note that much of the research so far has come from small trials looking at short-term benefits. Longer and larger clinical trials are needed to understand collagen’s role, if any, in your beauty or pain management regimen. While we wait for answers, look to a nutritious diet containing plenty of vitamin C, which plays an essential role in your body’s collagen production.

Source: Washington Post

It’s that time of year again: cold and flu season is upon us. Luckily, research has found that several supplements may help reduce your risk of getting a cold or the flu, or help ease your cold or flu symptoms. Cold-and-flu-fighters such as echinacea, probiotics, vitamin C, green tea, and even exercise already have big reputations, but you may not have heard of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), another supplement that could also help you feel better when you’ve caught a bug.

• NAC is an altered form of the amino acid, cysteine, which is made by the body and is found in most high-protein foods. One double-blind study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, found that people supplementing with NAC (600 mg twice daily) had less frequent flu-like bouts of illness, less severe symptoms of the flu, and spent less time confined to bed. However, it did not decrease the number of flu infections.

These findings suggest that NAC may help prevent symptoms in people who develop the flu. Check with your healthcare practitioner before adding NAC, or any new supplement, to your health regimen.

Source: European Respiratory Journal

You may not hear as much about potassium as some other popular nutrients, but it sure is important. One study published in Stroke found that women with higher intakes of potassium reduced their risk of stroke and dying compared with women with lower intakes. For the study, researchers tracked 90,137 postmenopausal, stroke-free women between the ages of 50 and 79 for 11 years and discovered that:

• Women with the highest potassium intakes reduced their chance of stroke by 12% and lowered their risk of dying from any cause by 10%.
• Of that high-potassium group, women without high blood pressure experienced a 21% reduction in stroke risk; while women with high blood pressure saw their chance of dying go down, but not their stroke risk.

It is noteworthy that the average daily potassium intake (2,611 mg) for all study participants, fell far below the federal recommendation of 4,700 mg; in fact, only 2.8% of the women had adequate potassium in their diet. These findings are consistent with federal guidelines indicating that most Americans don't consume enough potassium. The good news is that potassium is found in many foods, including milk, yogurt, potatoes, cantaloupes, beans, and bananas (of course), and also in some supplements, such as multivitamins.

Source: Stroke

With the rising popularity of the Paleo diet and other low-carb eating styles, many people have questions about which carbohydrates, specifically sugars, they should and shouldn’t be consuming. Ellie Krieger, a registered dietician, recently took on this issue in her healthful eating column for the Washington Post. Krieger explains that there is an important difference between added sugars and naturally occurring sugars: Added sugars, such as white sugar, agave, honey, and evaporated cane juice, are not present in foods to begin with; instead, they are added during the manufacturing process. Naturally occurring sugars are exactly what they sound like—they are already present in foods without further processing.

Krieger, along with the FDA, recommends limiting the amount of added sugars you consume to less than 10 tsp per day. And while this limit is currently not on Nutrition Facts labels, the FDA recently announced a proposal to include the percent daily value of added sugars in packaged foods so consumers can better monitor their sugar intake. As for foods with notable amounts of naturally occurring sugars, such as fruits and dairy products, Krieger says these are usually fine as a part of a balanced diet, as they also contain fiber, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. The same goes for smoothies, although Krieger recommends adding in some protein to make them a more balanced meal or snack.

Source: Washington Post