Health, Microbes, and More
The use of silver instead of antibiotics is incredibly popular as an alternative medical treatment for various ailments. It can be taken by mouth and swallowed (colloidal silver supplements) or applied to skin wounds. However, when colloidal silver is ingested, it stays in the body and builds up over time - in the skin, the ...continue reading "Silver Supplements Build Up In the Body"
Another disappointing result for Vitamin D supplements. A large study, with school-aged children randomly assigned to either a vitamin D supplement group or no supplement, found that vitamin D supplementation had no effect on the number of fractures that occurred in the children. Vitamin D3 supplementation did not prevent fractures or have an effect on ...continue reading "Study Found Vitamin D Supplements Do Not Prevent Fractures In Children"
The results from well done studies on vitamin D supplements have frequently been disappointing due to lack of health benefits. However, a recent study found that the risk of melanoma (a skin cancer) was significantly reduced in persons taking vitamin D supplements. The Univ. of Eastern Finland researchers also found no link between vitamin D ...continue reading "Study Finds Vitamin D Supplements are Linked to Lower Risk of Melanoma"
Americans spend enormous amounts of money on vitamins and mineral supplements in an effort to stay healthy or to improve their health. Unfortunately, unless a person has an actual vitamin or mineral deficiency, studies are just not finding health benefits. Sometimes there are even harms. Physicians at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine weighed ...continue reading "Focus On Eating Healthy Food, Not Vitamin Supplements"
For years it has been generally accepted that vitamin D3 is superior to vitamin D2 when taken as a supplement. Another recent study confirms that they are not equivalent in their effects in the human body, and that vitamin D3 is far superior. Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) is plant and fungus-derived, and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is ...continue reading "All Vitamin D Supplements Are Not The Same"
Yesterday's post was about how several well-done large studies did not find the health benefits from vitamin D supplements that the researchers had hoped for. In one of the studies (the VITAL trial) discussed yesterday, Vitamin D supplements did not prevent cancer or cardiovascular events (e.g., stroke, heart attack), which was the focus of the ...continue reading "Vitamin D Supplements and Autoimmune Disease"
Several recent articles on Medscape (a site for medical professionals) highlight the debate over vitamin D. The question: Does daily vitamin D supplementation have positive health benefits or not? Everyone agrees that if there is an actual deficiency, then it has positive health effects. But how about the average person with levels above the deficiency ...continue reading "Some Large Studies Find No Benefit From Vitamin D Supplements"
Once again a study finds that taking supplements can be problematic. This time it's fish oil supplements for heart health. Researchers found that taking routine daily fish oil supplements was linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder. Atrial fibrillation is linked to higher risk of stroke and death. The international ...continue reading "Fish oil Supplements and Increased Risk of Atrial Fibrillation"
Many people complain of frequent colds and upper respiratory infections. Perhaps even every month. This is an especially big problem for those suffering from chronic sinusitis, because every cold and sore throat also leads to a sinus infection. So a goal is to try to reduce the number of infections, and daily vitamin D supplements ...continue reading "Fewer Respiratory Infections With Vitamin D Supplements"
A recent study found that giving daily vitamin D supplements to children with severe asthma and low vitamin D levels did not prevent severe asthma attacks, reduce the time to an asthmatic attack, or enable the children to reduce the maintenance dose of an inhaled corticosteroid. Very disappointing! As of 2018, it is estimated that ...continue reading "Children With Severe Asthma Not Helped By Vitamin D Supplements"