The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) produces severe respiratory symptoms such as bilateral pneumonia associated to a high morbidity and mortality, especially in patients of advanced age. Vitamin D deficiency has been reported in several chronic conditions associated with increased inflammation and dysregulation of the immune system. Vitamin D in modulates immune function too. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is expressed by most immune cells, including B and T lymphocytes, monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells and the signaling of vitamin D and VDR together has an anti-inflammatory effect...

Bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) are used to treat non-specific diarrhea and for symptoms related to varicose veins. Because they are quite expensive fruits, quality problems and compositional fraud might occur for dietary supplements. This study investigated fresh/dried bilberries and dietary supplements by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprinting against a quantified bilberry reference extract for identity testing and to test total anthocyanin content by HPLC and for quantification...

The results of the Peoples’ Climate Vote, the world’s biggest ever survey of public opinion on climate change are published. Covering 50 countries with over half of the world’s population, the survey includes over half a million people under the age of 18, a key constituency on climate change that is typically unable to vote yet in regular elections...

The gut microbiome is an integral component of the body, but its importance in the human aging process is unclear. ISB researchers and their collaborators have identified distinct signatures in the gut microbiome that are associated with either healthy or unhealthy aging trajectories, which in turn predict survival in a population of older individuals. The work is set to be published in the journal Nature Metabolism. The research team analyzed gut microbiome...

HDL cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) or good cholesterol is associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease as it transports cholesterol deposited in the arteries to the liver to be eliminated. This contrasts with the so-called bad cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), which causes cholesterol to accumulate in the arteries and increases cardiovascular risk. Although drugs that lower bad cholesterol reduce cardiovascular risk, those that raise good cholesterol have not proven effective in reducing the risk of heart disease. This paradox has called into question the relationship between good cholesterol and cardiovascular risk, and researchers are now...

The study concludes that vegan diet has a broad effect on children’s metabolism. Serum biomarker levels for vitamins A and D, cholesterol forms and essential amino acids were significantly lower in children on vegan diet compared to age-adjusted omnivores. In addition, docosahexaenoic acid is absent from vegan diet. The results were recently published in a high-profile international scientific journal EMBO Molecular Medicine. Vegan diets gain...

Ketogenic diet has been introduced in therapeutic areas for more than a century, but the role of ketones in exercise performance has only been explored in the past decade. One of the main reasons that allows the investigation of the role of ketones in exercise performance is the emergence of exogenous ketones, allowing athletes to achieve the state of ketosis acutely, and independent...

People, our homes, the air we breathe, our food and the water we drink. All are made of chemicals. But some of them can harm our health or the environment. EFSA scientifically assesses the chemicals in food and feed to determine if each one is safe. EU regulators use our scientific advice to decide if the chemical can be present safely in the food chain, and at what level. When chemicals mix, are they safe? We mainly assess the safety of chemicals in food and feed one at a time, because most laws deal with single substances in particular sectors and circumstances. However, both natural and man-made chemicals exist side-by-side in the everyday world. We are in contact with “chemical mixtures” from different sources every second of every day. In some cases, the chemicals...