According to a new study by Belgian investigators, vitamin D supplements do not seem to help most patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

“There are studies showing that patients with vitamin D deficiency are more susceptible to different inflammatory, infectious and autoimmune diseases, and most likely COPD,” said lead investigator Dr. Wim Janssens, from the respiratory division at University Hospital Gasthuisberg in Leuven.

“Vitamin D restoration to normal levels in COPD patients does not reduce the number of exacerbations, does not reduce the infections and inflammation,” Janssens said. “But this does not allow us to conclude that we need to give all COPD patients these high doses of vitamin D; it just strengthens us in the idea that severe deficiency many enhance inflammation in COPD,” Janssens said.

“New studies are needed to confirm what we found,” he added.

The report was published in the Jan. 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Many people make use of health supplements (or dietary supplements) in efforts to become and stay healthy. While professional sportsmen admire these fitness supplements to stay ahead of the competition, budding sportsmen use them to create a niche in quick time, and others use them to create and maintain high standards of body strength and appearance.

However, most supplements users are clueless when it comes to buying best supplements online and how to use supplements in the best possible manner. It is because of these reasons that every potential and existing supplement user should be well-aware of dietary supplements, safety considerations, tips and precautions associated with use of health and fitness supplements, etc. to reap the best of health and supplements.

Health Benefits Of Dietary Supplements- Health And Supplements

The scientific and medical communities have accumulated powerful evidence about the benefits of nutritional supplements in disease prevention and health promotion. This is one of the biggest reasons why health professionals are encouraging people to get into a regular and defined routine of supplementation. Many health experts believe that it is never too late to make use of the best supplements as their long term use is associated with the strongest benefits and buying supplements is equivalent to making a sound investment in good health. It is also believed that rational use of dietary supplements may help in reducing health care costs that escalate every year as our population grows older.

Health and fitness supplements have the ability to promote healthy living and the overall sense of well being. They are also useful in promoting enhancements in terms of muscle function, muscle mass, muscle definition, body strength, stamina, performance, protein synthesis, nitrogen retention, and production of red blood cells within the body.

In addition to all these benefits, health supplements can also help those suffering with health conditions such as sexual dysfunction, infertility, menstrual irregularities, ovulation, erectile dysfunction, sleep apnea, and cardiovascular diseases. Some health supplements are second to none when it comes to boosting the immune system, enhancing mental clarity, and providing vibrant health to men and women while some other supplements are extremely beneficial in reducing pain and inflammation, promoting better circulation and blood pressure, and preventing the production of free radicals which damage cells in the body.

How To Buy Best Muscle Supplements Online?

While buying natural herbal supplements or muscle supplements online, it is important for you to purchase them ONLY from a reputed provider of health supplements and sports supplements. This is simply because you have to trust nothing but the best when your good health is at stake.

In short, you should only buy premium supplements online and avoid inferior or diluted supplements. It is worthwhile to note here that natural health products and herbal supplements should be your first choices as they create and maintain high standards of good health. In order to get the best from these health supplements, you need to augment them with nutritious diets and regular exercises. Remember, best supplements can deliver only when they are complemented with a healthy lifestyle program.

In addition to these tips, it is important for you to seek consultation from your healthcare provider before you initiate with such a health and fitness program. While seeking medical advice, you should tell the health care provider everything about any complementary and alternative practices followed by you, including use of dietary supplements. By offering a clear picture of what all you do for managing your health and fitness, you would be better positioned than ever to receive safe care.

If you are new to the world of legal supplements online, it is best to visit Google and enter keywords such as “sport nutrition supplements“, “body building supplements“, “muscle supplements“, or “energy supplements.” You may alternatively search for “creatine“, “vitamin and mineral supplements“, or “whey protein supplements.” If you only want to concentrate on body weight, you may make a specific search such as “weight loss pills“, “weight gain supplements“, “weight loss supplements“, and “slim fast supplements.”

Last but not the least, it is very important for you to ensure that supplements should be used in strict accordance with medical instructions and should never be abused as supplement abuse may lead to side effects, which could have been easily avoided by using supplements safely in the first place itself. We hope that this information on health and supplements would have surely helped you redefine the standards of health and fitness in your life.

China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd, the nation’s biggest dairy firm, has disclosed that it destroyed milk found to be contaminated with a cancer-causing substance. By doing this, the dairy firm has solved the latest food safety problem to hit the country’s dairy industry.

“Mengniu would like to express our sincere apologies to consumers,” the company said. “We will draw a big lesson from this incident and will work harder to meet all national and corporate standards on quality in the future,” it said.

Mengniu said in a statement posted on its website that a batch of products at a plant in the southwestern province of Sichuan found by the government quality watchdog to contain aflatoxin has been destroyed.

Researchers from Britain’s University College London (UCL) have found a way to map both the connections and functions of nerve cells in the brain together for the first time.

In a study in the journal Nature, the involved researchers described a technique developed in mice that enabled them to combine information about the function of neurons with details of their connections.

From Reuters.com:

The study is part of an emerging area of neuroscience research known as ‘connectomics’. A little like genomics, which maps our genetic make-up, connectomics aims to map the brain’s connections, known as synapses.

By untangling and being able to map these connections — and deciphering how information flows through the brain’s circuits — scientists hope to understand how thoughts and perceptions are generated in the brain and how these functions go wrong in diseases such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and stroke.

“We are beginning to untangle the complexity of the brain,” said Tom Mrsic-Flogel, who led the study.

“Once we understand the function and connectivity of nerve cells spanning different layers of the brain, we can begin to develop a computer simulation of how this remarkable organ works.”

John Williams, head of neuroscience and mental health at the Wellcome Trust medical charity, which helped fund the study, said, “This important study presents neuroscientists with one of the key tools that will help them begin to navigate and survey the landscape of the brain.”

A lifetime history of daily smoking and nicotine dependence can increase the risk of asthma, according to a new research from the University of Cincinnati.

The study analyzed data from the National Comorbity Survey-Replication (NCS-R) – a large epidemiological survey of American adults.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

The study found that individuals who were diagnosed with asthma were 1.26 times more likely to have been a smoker, and twice as likely to have been nicotine dependent at some point in their lifetimes – compared to individuals without asthma. The researchers also found that the asthma-smoking association was stronger when focusing on nicotine dependence in the past 12 months.

“Individuals with asthma were nearly three times as likely as those without asthma to have reported nicotine dependence in the past 12 months after controlling for demographic and drug abuse/dependence variables,” the authors state in the article.

The findings are reported in the online preview issue of the Journal of Health Psychology.

Middle-aged women at risk for heart disease derive little benefit from taking vitamins C, E, or beta-carotene according to researchers in the U.S.

The researchers remarked eating a diet rich in those vitamins does benefit the heart.

From News-medical.net:

A new study by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston says vitamin supplements may not reflect the complex vitamins and nutrients found in foods, which possibly explains the discrepancies between most intervention trials and studies of fruits and vegetables.

Experts say a nutritious diet rich in the vitamins which protect the body’s cardiovascular system counteract compounds known as “free radicals” which are harmful as they build up in the body and can damage artery linings, encourage blood clots and alter the function of blood vessels.

Study author Nancy Cook says though additional research into combinations of agents, particularly for stroke, may be of interest, widespread use of these individual agents for cardiovascular protection does not appear to be warranted.

The study is published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Health authorities in Britain have issued a warning regarding Vitamin supplements. The authorities said vitamin supplements are probably ineffective and are possibly harmful.

The advice from the Department of Health was issued after a large review of scientific evidence published last year and the Department advised caution over the use of Vitamin supplements.

From News-medical.net:

Health officials say most people’s nutritional needs are met by eating a balanced, varied diet including plenty of fruit and vegetables, and dietary supplements may do more harm than good.

The scientific review included 67 studies involving more than 230,000 people and has been republished by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organisation for evidence-based research.

The review involved trials on beta-carotene, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and selenium, with varying doses of each antioxidant.

The review found no evidence that the nutrition supplements extend life but found in fact that Vitamins A and E and beta carotene appear to slightly increase premature death rates among those taking them while Vitamin C and selenium have no effect.

The researchers say they found no evidence to support antioxidant supplements for primary or secondary prevention and beta-carotene, Vitamin A and Vitamin E given singly or combined with other antioxidant supplements significantly increase mortality.

Current evidence does not support the use of antioxidant supplements in the general healthy population or in patients with certain diseases, according to the researchers.

Multivitamin supplements that are gaining popularity in today’s busy world where people do not have enough time to eat right, sleep well, and exercise constitute a good choice according to medical practitioners.

This is simply because these supplements make up for all the vitamin deficiency caused by missing important meals of the day or nutrition through healthy food.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

With high stress and less nutrition, this is just what one would resort to – the multivitamins supplements. With men and women sharing equal amounts of stress at work and home, couples are missing out most on a healthy diet and the right nutrition. And it all begins by missing out on breakfast to reach office on time, to skipping lunches and dinners and more.

“And that’s just how the problem of vitamin or calcium deficiency creeps in. This deficiency is also prominent in people who’re completely vegetarians, people who’re averse to having even eggs. Add to that, the lifestyle people have today, doubles the reason as to why an increasing number of people are deficient in vitamins,” says Dr Rohit Kumar, consultant, Artemis Hospital.

And so, Dr Kumar, suggests, “Multivitamin supplements, recommended by doctors, do good in such a scenario. They make up for all the vitamin deficiency caused by not having important meals of the day or nutrition through home-made healthy food.”

The fact that multivitamin supplements are an equivalent substitute for the vitamins gained through the food that we eat means that it makes sense to use one tablet a day for three months and give a break of one month after every months of such intake.

If you have been actively involved in the world of health or professional sports, you must have surely heard about the endless benefits of DHEA. In this blog, we will be reading about DHEA and its benefits.

DHEA or Dehydroepiandrosterone is a hormone produced primarily in the adrenal glands of the human body. Production of this hormone is also made by the brain, ovaries, and testicles. Once DHEA is produced, it is carried to body tissues and cells by the bloodstream for conversion to testosterone and estrogens, the sex hormones.

The natural production of this steroid hormone slows down after an individual has passed the age of 20 years and this is the time when DHEA supplements can be taken, but only under a qualified medical practitioner’s advice.

DHEA is highly effective for building muscles, reducing body fat, and improving body strength. It is also admired for its ability to promote improvements in terms of body immunity and energy. The steroid hormone is also recommended to patients suffering from AIDS or multiple sclerosis in order to promote the sense of well being. Available in capsule and tablet form, DHEA can be used by professional sportsmen to deliver dramatic on-field performances in as short as 5-7 weeks.

The recommended dose of DHEA is 20 mg per day but use of DHEA must be made only after a medical advice. This dietary supplement is not to be used by pregnant or breastfeeding women.

We hope that this blog on DHEA was useful to you in order to help you understand it.

If you want to have blemish-free skin then Accutane is the best option for you. This wonder drug is also effective for treating nodular or cystic acne problems for people of all ages and even for steroid-induced acne.

Isotretinoin (13-cis-retinoic acid and related to both retinoic acid and retinol (vitamin A), a retinoid, is available as Accutane in form of soft gelatin capsules of 10, 20, and 40 mg.

Accutane promotes clinical improvements in individuals with nodular acne by facilitating a reduction in secretion of sebum, which is temporary and related to the doses and duration of Accutane treatment. This drug can work from inside-out to clear skin from acne and scars and is an admired product in the professional sports dominated by anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs that can lead to oily skin and acne.

Benefits from this drug for clear skin can be experienced after a single course of therapy for 15-20 weeks. In case a second course is needed, the same should not be initiated until at least a period of eight weeks has elapsed after completion of the first course.

It is highly important to note that Accutane is not at all recommended for expecting or nursing patients, even for short periods of time as it can lead to abnormalities of the eyes, ears, face, and central nervous system. This drug is also not meant for people having sensitivity to parabens that are used as preservatives in the gelatin capsules. When abused or of a low grade, Accutane can lead to increased aggression, depression, and psychosis.