Can vitamin D reduce the risk of a severe asthma attack?

An international team of researchers looked into this if vitamin D can reduce the risk of a severe asthma attack.  They analysed seven trails that included 435 children and two others that included 658 adults all of whom had mild-to-moderate asthma.

According to the study, Vitamin D halves (from 6% to 3%) the risk of a severe attack requiring hospital treatment.  None of the people who took a Vitamin D supplement suffered any adverse reactions.  So taking supplements or getting out in the sunshine during the summer months, could become an important part of asthma treatment.

What was unclear from the study what how many of the people taking part were already deficient in Vitamin D.

Reference

AR Martineau, CJ Cates, M Urashima et al, 2016, Does vitamin D prevent asthma attacks or improve control of asthma symptoms or both?, Cochrane Database System Review

See >> http://www.cochrane.org/CD011511/AIRWAYS_vitamin-d-prevent-asthma-attacks

 

 

Related Posts

  • Is eating organic food worth it?

    I have often wondered weather paying that bit more for organic food is worth it.  Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.  I normally buy organic eggs and meat but with vegatables I am really not very consistent.  I know with organic vegatables you get less pesticides but is it worth it.  I know in the past studies have shown that there was no benefit. However recently researches in France tracked 68,946 adults and decided to compare cancer rates in people who eat organic food and those who didn't.  They discovered that eating organic food

    • reduces your risk of cancer by 25%
    • reduces your risk of non-Hodgkins lymphoma by 73%
    • reduces your risk of post-menopausal breast cancer by 21%
    Non-Hodgkins lymphoma is a cancer of the infection fighting white blood cells of our immune system. They also discovered that those eating organic ready meals where also less likely to develop cancer thant those who rarely if ever choose organic. While the evidence of the reduce risk of cancer is very clear, and some of the numbers are very high,  I did wonder if there were other lifestyle differences between those that eat organic food and those that didn't which impacted the results. Reference Baudry J, Assmann KE, Touvier M, et al. Association of Frequency of Organic Food Consumption With Cancer Risk: Findings From the NutriNet-Santé Prospective Cohort Study. JAMA Intern Med. 2018;178(12):1597–1606.

  • Tai Chi and Chronic Pain

    Tai chi is a ancient chinese mind-body exercise that is low impact, that is like a moving meditation.  You move in slow-motion to stretch and strengthen muscles. The phyisical benefits of Tai Chi are that it improves balance, flexibility, coordination, muscle strenght and stamina hence why some people think it helps them stay young.  On the mental side, Tai Chi helps releive stress, improves body awareness and when done in a group setting reduces social isolation. Some recent research shows Tai Chi can help benefit people with ongoing painful conditions suchs as

    • osteoarthritis
    • fibromyalgia
    • rheumatoid arthritis
    • tension headaches
    In one trail, 66 people with fibromyalgia were randomised into two groups: one took tahi chi classes twice weekly, the other group attended wellness education and stretching classes twice a week.  After 12 weeks, those in the Tai Chi group reported
    • less pain
    • fewer depresession symptoms
    • better sleep
    when compared to the control group.  This study suggest that Tai Chi may assist those who have an ongoing painful condition manage their pain and improve their general sense of wellness. References Wang C, Schmid CH et al, 2o10, A randomized trail of Tai Chi for Fibromyalgia, New England Journal of Medicine, 363(8):743-54  

  • More causes of the low magnesium epidemic?

    In my last blog article, I started to explore how every day food choices and medications were having an adverse impact on our magnesium levels.  I now want to take a look at what we drink and ageing. 1. Cola drinks Most dark colored soft drinks contain phospates, which actually bind to magnesium inside the digestive tract making it unavailable to the body. 2. Caffinated drinks The kidneys regulate the level of magnesium in our body.  Caffine found in tea and coffee caues the kidnesy to release extra magnesium. 3. Alcohol Alcohol increased the excretion of magnesium by the kidneys. 4. Ageing Finally if the list wasn't long enough, we need to add one more thing that we can't avoid, getting older.  The over 55's are particularly vulnerable to low magnsium.  Magnesium metabolism may be less efficient as we grow older as changes to the GI tract and kidneys contribute to older adults aborbing less and retaining less magnsium. References Dean C. The Magnesium Miracle. New York: Ballantine Books; 2007. Weiss GH, Sluss PM, Linke CA. Changes in urinary magnesium, citrate and oxalate levels due to cola consumption. Urology 1992;39:331-3 Brink E. J., Beynen A. C., Dekker P. R., Beresteijn E.C.H., Meer R. Interaction of calcium and phosphate decreases ileal magnesium solubility and apparent magnesium absorption. The Journal of Nutrition. 1992; 122:580-586 Seelig M, Rosanoff A. The Magnesium Factor. New York: Avery Books; 2003 Heaney RP, Rafferty K. Carbonated beverages and urinary calcium excretion. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2001; 74:343–347 Irwin R, Rippe J. Irwin and Rippe’s Intensive Care Medicine. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins; 2008 Bernstein A, Luggen AS. Nutrition for the Older Adult. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers; 2010.