Folic acid is a B vitamin. It is used in our bodies to make new cells. If a woman has enough folic acid in her body before she is pregnant, it can help prevent major birth defects of her baby?s brain and spine. These birth defects are called neural tube defects or NTDs. Women need to take folic acid every day starting before they are pregnant to help prevent NTDs.
Too much cholesterol (ko-LES-ter-ol) in the blood, or high blood cholesterol, can be serious. People with high blood cholesterol have a greater chance of getting heart disease. High blood cholesterol itself does not cause symptoms, so many people are unaware that their cholesterol level is too high.
A diet free of animal products and low in fat may help trim the waistline without the task of strict calorie watching, a new study suggests.
Scientists have found that high intravenous doses of vitamin C kills cancer cells. The ascorbate dose has to be very high, too high to be taken orally, hence the intravenous administration.
In the United States, a dietary supplement is defined under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 as – A dietary supplement is a product taken by mouth that contains a “dietary ingredient” intended to supplement the diet.
Drinking a glass of orange juice a day may help stave off arthritis, new research suggests. Certain carotenoids, compounds commonly found in some fruits and vegetables, appear to be responsible for the positive effects.
A chemically produced folate, said to be several times more bioavailable than folic acid and recently approved for food use in Europe, gives premium supplement makers a chance to differentiate from the commonly marketed form of the vitamin, says manufacturer Merck Eprova.
Vitamin B12 deficiency is more common than doctors once thought, and experts advise that those most at risk — vegetarians and older adults — be sure to take supplemental forms of the vitamin.
On the surface, it makes all the sense in the world: Since fruits, vegetables, and fish contain loads of healthy nutrients, why not isolate those vitamins, put them in pills, and gobble them up? And wouldn’t more be better?
Vitamin D deficiency is nearly universal in cases of hip fractures, researchers in Scotland reported online in Current Medical Research and Opinion.