For the first time, Canada's official Food Guide has made
provisions for supplements. A trade association has endorsed these
changes though it is calling on the government to give dietary
supplements more play in the document.
Increased intake of the antioxidant vitamins C and E could cut the
risk of kidney cancer by 28 and 44 per cent, respectively, says a
new study from Italy.
While more and more beverages are fortified, it would appear
Americans are still not deriving nutritional benefit from their
drinks in line with their calorie intake from these goods.
A multivitamin and mineral supplement boosted the birth weight of
children born to undernourished women, says a trial from India,
results that could have lifelong implications for the offspring.
The past 12 months have seen several important developments on the
European regulatory scene, which will play a big role in shaping
the supplements and health foods industries for the future.
A high-dose vitamin K supplement reduced calcium precipitates
associated with hardening of the arteries by 37 per cent in rats,
scientists from The Netherlands have reported.
The UK's food standards agency has launched a consultation into the
addition of calcium-L-methylfolate and ferrous bisglycinate to the
positive list of vitamins and minerals.
Researchers from Cornell University have linked low serum
concentrations of selenium and vitamins B6 and B12 to age-related
difficulties in conducting in daily activities, leading them to
conclude that nutritional status is a key...
Daily supplements of vitamin K could help to control
anticoagulation in over half the people taking the blood thinning
medication warfarin, scientists from the UK have reported.
EU stakeholders are moving closer to consensus over the setting of
maximum vitamin and mineral levels for the EU, said speakers at
Friday's EHPM/ERNA conference in Brussels, which unfolded without
major aggravation between participants.
The first summary of responses to the EC discussion paper on
vitamin and mineral levels was presented in Brussels last week,
said to have identified the principle problems ahead of the next
stage.
Nestlé underlined its intentions yesterday to get a head start in
the merging brain health market with the signing of an agreement
with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) to
investigate the role of nutrition in cognitive...
BASF's fine chemicals division has reported a modest increase in
sales for Q3, but EBIT was impacted by the implementation of
measures aimed at reducing costs in the longer term.
DSM Nutritional Products is introducing a new formulation of
lycopene suitable for the spectrum of specialist diets, giving its
customers one ingredient suitable for dietary supplement, food and
beverage applications.
Germany chemicals group BASF is implementing a new measure to
combat price pressure on its vitamin businesses in the long-term,
by combining its human and animal nutrition resources under the
banner of a new nutrition unit within...
BASF has confirmed that it is increasing prices of its vitamin B2
for food products, three days after it announced similar measures
for the same vitamin intended for animal feed.
BASF has announced that it is increasing worldwide prices for
vitamin B2 for animal feed due to increased production and
marketing costs - and an increase for the food grade is likely to
follow.
BASF is introducing a new formulation of compressible vitamin A
suitable for the spectrum of specialist diets, giving its customers
one ingredient to meet the specifications of every market in which
their products are sold.
People who eat salads have higher serum levels of vitamins C and E,
folic acid, and carotenoids, according to a large study of US
adults that suggests these nutrients are well absorbed in the body
from raw vegetables.
Researchers from the University of Ulster and University College
Cork are to embark on a three-year project to investigate what
level of dietary vitamin D is needed to maintain good vitamin D
status in winter.
Growing numbers of health conscious consumers searching out
fortified foods and dietary supplements are driving demand and
opportunities for the European B vitamin market.
Consumers must be able to make an informed choice about the
vitamins and minerals they consume in supplements and functional
foods, FSA stakeholders stressed at the first of two meetings to
help the agency formulate a response to...
BASF's fine chemicals division reported a huge rise in operating
profits in second quarter 2006 - no thanks to vitamins. Rather,
credit is given to a swift trade in aroma chemicals and gains from
contract manufacturing and personal...
Increased intake of vitamin B6, from diet and supplements, could
cut the risk of Parkinson's disease by half suggests a prospective
study from the Netherlands.
Is that vitamin D oozing from your pores or are you just pleased to
see me? Researchers from Spain have reported that increased
secretion of a vitamin D metabolite by male lizards could make it
easier for them to attract a mate.
Children with type-1 diabetes could benefit from high-dose folate
and vitamin B6 supplements to boost their cardiovascular health,
according to a new clinical trial.
Synergy Production Laboratories (SPL) has developed an economic CO2
drying method of extracting nutrients from cereal grasses - an
innovation aimed at meeting demand for natural-sourced nutrients in
the supplements sector.
CRN has authored risk assessments for coenzyme Q10, the carotenoids
lutein and lycopene, and creatine monohydrate - giving both
companies and consumers vital information on safe dosage levels
that was previously non-existent.
Daily supplements of B vitamins for people with high homocysteine
levels do not affect cognitive performance compared to placebo,
says a new study from New Zealand.
Increased intake of vitamin K, both from diet and supplements, has
a significant impact on bone health and "striking" reductions in
hip fractions, says a new meta-analysis.
The upper limit (UL) of vitamin D should be raised to 250
micrograms per day, the Institute of Medicine heard last week, as
experts discussed the state-of-play of DRIs and ULs.
Eniva Corporation, the maker of liquid 'all-in-one' nutritional
supplement VIBE, has expanded its sales network to include Canada,
Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Zila Nutritionals is expanding availability of Ester-C, an advanced
form of vitamin C with a new agreement with distributor Gee Lawson
covering most of Europe.
An 'impartial, independent panel' has called for more science
before strong recommendations about multivitamin/mineral
supplements can be made, conclusions welcomed by industry
associations.
BASF's fine chemicals division is bolstered by higher sales volume
of aroma chemicals and vitamins A and E for animal nutrition, but
the pressure over vitamin C and lysine has not abated, dragging
down the division's profitability.
DSM Nutrition has reported five per cent growth in both sales and
operating profits in Q1 2005 - a result that sits well with an
excellent picture for the group overall and could point towards
another positive year.
Nutri Pharmaceuticals Research (NPRI) has reported a record first
quarter 2006, with sales of its oil powders up 45 percent on last
year's period to $421,000 as business development initiatives pay
off.
German children and teenagers are profiting from the wide
availability of vitamin supplements, but some intakes exceed
tolerable upper limits, says new research.
Liquid dietary supplements that use the same preservative system as
some soft drinks could contain elevated levels of the carcinogen
benzene, according to Flora Research Laboratories, which has been
contracted to carry out tests.
2005 was a year marked by disasters, but as the supplements
industry rallied to support the victims it was a record year for
donations to The Vitamin Angel Alliance. Jess Halliday spoke
to the alliance's founder and president...
Raising the RDA of vitamin D from 400 IU to 1500 IU could cut the
number of deaths from cancer by 30 per cent, say the US scientists
investigating the link between vitamin D levels and cancer risk.
High intake of calcium and vitamin D, particularly from
supplements, may lower the risk of diabetes by 33 per cent, say
American scientists, as a leading European clinician reports that
over a billion people are vitamin D deficient.
American nutrition charity Vitamin Angels has launched a new
campaign to distribute vitamin A supplements to the world's poorest
children at risk from blindness and is relying on corporate aid for
success.
The AOAC Task Force on Dietary Supplements has issued a call for
industry, government or academia to prioritize ingredients that
need validated methods.
A new Swiss company is claiming to have found a way to derive
omega-3 containing both EPA and DHA from algae, which could place
suppliers whose product is derived from fish oil under price
pressure.