Vitamins play a crucial role in the human body’s metabolism and these exotic molecules are essential for the proper functioning of cells in the body.  Vitamins are organic chemicals that must be obtained from dietary sources, as the body does not make vitamins.  Theory has it that somewhere along the process of evolution, our bodies have lost the ability to make vitamins, so instead we need to obtain them from our diet.  Of course there would be one exception to prove the rule, and in the case of vitamins, it is Vitamin D, which our cells in the skin can make if there is enough sunlight.  No wonder it is referred to as the “sunshine vitamin”. The epidermal layer of

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to more severe illness and an increased fatality rate due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Observational studies at the AZ Delta General Hospital in Roeselare, Belgium, at the Hospital Universitario Marquis de Valdecilla in Spain, as well as at the M L B Medical College in India, have found that a significant number of COVID-19 patients presented with vitamin D deficiency at admission. In Spain over 80% of 216 COVID-19 patients, in Belgium 59% of 186 patients, and in India 58% of 154 patients included in the observational studies were vitamin D deficient.  In Belgium, the admission of COVID-19 patients with vitamin D deficiency (below

Like a silent thief in the night, you are unaware of the presence of osteoporosis, until something breaks suddenly – a window in the case of a burglar; or a bone in your body in the case of osteoporosis. What is bone? Although it looks like a rock-solid substance, bone actually consists of living and growing tissue, that is in a constant state of flux. It mainly consists of collagen, which is a protein that provides a soft framework, and calcium phosphate, which is a mineral that adds strength and hardening of the framework. As bone consists of living and growing tissue, old bone is removed and new bone is continuously added to the skeleton. During childhood and adolescence years,

Playing a crucial role in the human body’s metabolism, vitamins can be defined as organic chemicals that must be obtained from dietary sources. According to this definition, vitamin D is technically not a vitamin as very little is obtained from dietary sources, as it is mostly produced in the skin when exposed to sunlight.  Simply put, the ultraviolet B rays in sunlight converts cholesterol – that is present in the cells of the skin – into vitamin D. Tiny amounts of vitamin D are found in food such as egg yolks and oily fish, but not in sufficient quantities for the body’s needs. Modern lifestyles however leads to little exposure to sunlight, while the use of sunblock further inhibits the

Prof Robert H Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist, at the University of California, has the following advice for parents of  / and overweight children: Get rid of all sugared liquids – only water and milk Eat your carbohydrates with fiber Wait 20 minutes before second portions Buy your “screen time” minute for minute with physical activity  Children are then followed up every 3 months.  It works! The biggest single factor that prevented these lifestyle interventions from working, was the inclusion of sugared beverages!  (For more information do watch You tube presentations by Dr Lustig)

More and more research papers are supporting the vital role of Vitamin D in optimal health and disease prevention.  Vitamin D affects your DNA through vitamin D receptors, which bind to specific locations on the human genome – nearly 3000 genes in the human body are influenced by your vitamin D level –  hence the very wide involvement of this vitamin in many functions and overall health of the human body. The well established role of vitamin D is that it is responsible for the absorption of calcium from the human gut.  However, we know today that vitamin D plays even a wider role in the human body.  Many receptors for vitamin D have been found in the human brain,

South Africa presently ranks amongst the world’s top 20 fattest countries, and SA is the fattest country in sub-Saharan Africa! Seven out of every ten women in SA are overweight (BMI above 25), with four of these seven being obese, implying their BMI is over 30 (BMI = Weight in kgs/ (Height in metres)2 Three out of every ten South African men are overweight or obese. This trend is becoming common in children too. One in four girls and one in five boys between the ages of 2 and 14 are overweight or obese. Obesity is associated with diseases like type 2 diabetes, stroke and cancer.  In 2012 heart disease and diabetes each killed more South Africans than HIV, with