BOOKS:
The following books for the general public discuss the health and medical benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamin D; a fascinating book about the history of the codfish is also included.
NEW The Vitamin D Solution (Hardcover), by Dr. Michael F. Holick. 2010, Hudson Street Press. An excellent and current review of the advantages of vitamin D.
The UV Advantage (Paperback), by Dr. Michael F. Holick and Mark Jenkins. 2005, ibooks. About the advantages of vitamin D.
The Anti-Inflammation Zone--Reversing the Silent Epidemic That's Destroying Our Health (Hardcover), by Dr. Barry Sears. New York: Regan Books, 2005
Sinus Survival: The Holistic Medical Treatment for Allergies, Colds, and Sinusitis (Paperback), by Robert S. Ivker, D.O. New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 2000.
The Omega-3 Connection--How You Can Restore Your Body's Natural Balance and Treat Depression (Paperback), by Andrew L. Stoll, M.D. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002.
The Omega Rx Zone--The Miracle of the New High-Dose Fish Oil (Paperback), by Dr. Barry Sears. New York: Regan Books, 2005.
The LCP Solution--The Remarkable Nutritional Treatment for ADHD, Dyslexia, and Dyspraxia (Paperback), by Jacqueline Stordy, Ph.D. and Malcolm J. Nicholl. New York: Ballantine Books, 2000.
The Omega Diet--The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete (Paperback), by Artemis P. Simopoulos, M.D. and Jo Robinson. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.
Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill, Revised Edition (Paperback), by Udo Erasmus. Burnaby Canada: Alive Books, 1993.
The Antioxidant Miracle--Put Lipoic Acid, Pycnogenol, and Vitamins E and C to Work for You (Paperback), by Lester Packer, Ph.D. and Carol Colman. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999.
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World (Paperback), by Mark Kurlansky. New York: Penguin Books, 1997.
The following ABSTRACTS AND CITATIONS of research by other investigators are related to our current work:
TITLE: Subclinical vitamin A deficiency: a potentially unrecognized problem in the United States
AUTHORS: Stephens D, Jackson PL, Gutierrez Y
JOURNAL: Pediatric Nursing 1996 Sep-Oct;22(5):377-89, 456
Vitamin A deficiency in its subclinical form is a world health problem in young children. The problem is probably under recognized in the United States and other developed countries who do not normally consider their citizens to be malnourished. Lack of a simple screening test to measure subclinical deficiency adds to this problem. Consequently, focused dietary assessment of vitamin A intake by a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) is a necessary component of health care maintenance, especially for toddlers and preschool age children. Dietary counseling and vitamin supplementation for high risk children is a necessary health promotion intervention.
TITLE: Vitamin A as "anti-infective" therapy, 1920-1940
AUTHOR: Semba RD
JOURNAL: Journal of Nutrition 1999 Apr;129(4):783-91
In the last fifteen years, a large series of controlled clinical trials showed that vitamin A supplementation reduces morbidity and mortality of children in developing countries. It is less well known that vitamin A underwent two decades of intense clinical investigation prior to World War II. In the 1920s, a theory emerged that vitamin A could be used in "anti-infective" therapy. This idea, largely championed by Edward Mellanby, led to a series of at least 30 trials to determine whether vitamin A--usually supplied in the form of cod-liver oil--could reduce the morbidity and mortality of respiratory disease, measles, puerperal sepsis, and other infections. The early studies generally lacked such innovations known to the modern controlled clinical trial such as randomization, masking, sample size and power calculations, and placebo controls. Results of the early trials were mixed, but the pharmaceutical industry emphasized the positive results in their advertising to the public. With the advent of the sulfa antibiotics for treatment of infections, scientific interest in vitamin A as "anti-infective" therapy waned. Recent controlled clinical trials of vitamin A from the last 15 y follow a tradition of investigation that began largely in the 1920s.
TITLE: Vitamin A; infectious disease, and childhood mortality: a 2 cent solution?
AUTHOR: Sommer A
JOURNAL: Journal of Infectious Disease 1993 May;167(5):1003-7
Vitamin A was first discovered in 1913. Its deficiency was soon associated in animal models and case reports with stunting, infection, and ocular changes (xerophthalmia) resulting in blindness. The ocular consequences dominated clinical interest through the early 1980s. A longitudinal prospective study of risk factors contributing to vitamin A deficiency and xerophthalmia revealed a close, dose-response relationship between the severity of mild preexisting vitamin A deficiency and the subsequent incidence of respiratory and diarrheal infection (relative risk [RR], 2.0-3.0) and, most dramatically, death (RR, 3.0-10.0). Subsequent community-based prophylaxis trials of varying design confirmed that vitamin A supplementation of deficient populations could reduce childhood (1-5 years old) mortality by an average of 35%. Concurrent hospital-based treatment trials with vitamin A in children with measles revealed a consistent reduction in measles-associated mortality in Africa of at least 50%. It is now estimated that improving the vitamin A status of all deficient children worldwide would prevent 1-3 million childhood deaths annually.
TITLE: Essential fatty acids in health and chronic disease
AUTHOR: Simopoulos AP
JOURNAL: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999 Sep;70(3Suppl):560S-569S
Human beings evolved consuming a diet that contained about equal amounts of n-3 and n-6 essential fatty acids. Over the past 100-150 y there has been an enormous increase in the consumption of n-6 fatty acids due to the increased intake of vegetable oils from corn, sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, cottonseed, and soybeans. Today, in Western diets, the ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids ranges from approximately 20-30:1 instead of the traditional range of 1-2:1. Studies indicate that a high intake of n-6 fatty acids shifts the physiologic state to one that is prothrombotic and proaggregatory, characterized by increases in blood viscosity, vasospasm, and vasoconstriction and decreases in bleeding time. n-3 Fatty acids, however, have antiinflammatory, antithrombotic, antiarrhythmic, hypolipidemic, and vasodilatory properties. These beneficial effects of n-3 fatty acids have been shown in the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and, in some patients with renal disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Most of the studies were carried out with fish oils [eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)]. However, alpha-linolenic acid, found in green leafy vegetables, flaxseed, rapeseed, and walnuts, desaturates and elongates in the human body to EPA and DHA and by itself may have beneficial effects in health and in the control of chronic diseases.
DISCLAIMER:
The information on this web site is provided for educational purposes only; it is a general reference for healthcare consumers and providers; it is not a prescription for any individual person. It is important that you consult your child’s qualified healthcare provider before implementing any of the research discussed on this web site.
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Updated June 24, 2010