Summary According to a study conducted by the University of Michigan, USA, zinc supplementation may decrease the infection rate in older people. 50 healthy participants aged between 55 and 87 years were involved in the study and divided into two groups: One group (25 participants) received a zinc supplement, and participants in the other group…
Summary This review, executed by a research institute in Boston, USA, gives an overview of different factors involved in aging in less developed countries. For instance, malnutrition and related micronutrient deficiencies account for many chronic diseases and increase the incidence of infectious diseases due to an impaired immune function. According to various studies, supplementation with…
Summary This study, executed by three research institutes in Uzbekistan, investigated seasonal changes in vitamin D status and its influence on upper respiratory tract infections among water sports athletes. 40 elite athletes and 30 controls were involved in the study. In the course of one year, vitamin D levels and inflammation parameters were measured, whereafter…
Summary This study, conducted by several American, Tanzanian, and Canadian research institutes, aimed to investigate whether daily oral supplementation with vitamin A and/or zinc can reduce the risk of placental malaria and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Placental malaria is a life-threatening illness caused primarily by infection with a malaria-causing parasite. 2500 pregnant women were divided into…
Summary This study aimed to investigate whether coenzyme Q10 could improve several parameters related to liver inflammation. 41 subjects with chronic liver disease took part in the study and were divided into two groups. One group received coenzyme Q10 capsules, and the other group received a placebo for 12 weeks. Blood samples were taken before…
Summary This study, conducted by the University of Auckland, New Zealand, investigated the effect of vitamin D supplementation on primary care visits during pregnancy and infancy due to acute respiratory infections. Additionally, the required dose to achieve a normal vitamin D status during infancy was determined. To this end, healthy pregnant women were assigned in…
Summary Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, USA, investigated the effect of vitamin D supplements on the risk of acute respiratory infections in children in Mongolia. To this end, 247 Mongolian schoolchildren were divided into two groups. The test group received milk supplemented with vitamin D (143 children), and the control group (104…
Summary This study, conducted by the University of Kabul in Afghanistan, investigated the effects of vitamin D supplementation on children with diagnosed pneumonia. 453 children aged between 1 and 36 months and diagnosed with non-severe or severe pneumonia were included in the study. 224 patients received 100,000 IU of vitamin D, and 229 patients received…
Summary This study, conducted by research institutes from Vietnam and Germany, investigated the adverse effects of vitamin D deficiency on liver diseases associated with hepatitis B infections in patients in Vietnam. Vitamin D levels were determined in 400 chronic hepatitis B patients and 122 healthy control persons. The study results showed vitamin D inadequacy in…
Summary According to a Chinese study, vitamin D may benefit pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B infections. Vitamin D levels of 142 pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B infections and 251 healthy pregnant women were measured. The results showed lower vitamin D levels in participants with chronic hepatitis B infection compared to healthy participants. Thus,…
Summary According to this Japanese study, vitamin D supplementation could reduce influenza A incidence in Japanese schoolchildren. Schoolchildren (aged between 6 and 15 years) were divided into a test group (167 children) and a placebo group (167 children). The results showed an incidence of 10.8% in the test group and 18.6% in the placebo group.…
Summary This study, conducted by a Canadian University, investigated whether vitamin D supplementation could prevent viral upper respiratory tract infections. 600 participants were divided into four groups. 1st group: vitamin D and gargling; 2nd group: placebo and gargling; 3rd group: vitamin D only, and 4th group: placebo only. The results showed that vitamin D supplementation…
Summary This Swedish study aimed to investigate whether vitamin D supplementation could reduce infectious symptoms and antibiotic consumption in patients with frequent respiratory infections. 140 suitable participants were involved who received either a supplement or a placebo daily for one year. The results showed a significantly reduced number of infections and decreased antibiotic use in…
Summary A study from Nigeria investigated the effects of high-dose vitamin A supplementation on malaria in infants. 152 pregnant women were involved who were at least 6 months pregnant. The participants were divided into two groups with 76 participants each: a supplementation group that received a vitamin A supplement 3 times a week and a…
Summary According to this review by Romanian and British research institutes, vitamin D can benefit immune response (the reaction which occurs within our organism to defend against foreign invaders) in respiratory viral infectious diseases. This is because patients with respiratory infections are often vitamin D deficient. As a result of its increased antiviral and anti-inflammatory…
Summary This review, conducted by several Canadian and British research institutes, gives an overview of the beneficial effects of vitamin D on the regulation of immune function. Vitamin D showed, among others, a beneficial interaction with multiple processes executed by the immune system and several effects on immune cells. Moreover, vitamin D deficiency at a…
Summary This review, conducted by several American and Canadian research institutes, gives an overview of studies investigating the effects of vitamin A on general morbidity and mortality in children aged between 6 and 59 months in low- and middle-income countries. The review shows that vitamin A significantly reduces general morbidity and mortality as an underlying…
Summary This study, conducted by Bengali and Swedish research institutes, investigated whether short-term zinc supplementation improves the immune response in malnourished children with acute Shigella infections in Bangladesh. 28 children aged between 12 and 59 months were supplemented with zinc and other micronutrients daily for 2 weeks. A control group with 28 children received a…
Summary This study by various U.S. research institutes aimed to find out whether vitamin D supplementation affects the risk of diabetes. The study included 2,158 participants with prediabetes (elevated blood sugar levels that fall below the threshold to diagnose diabetes) who were assigned to either a vitamin D group (1,074 individuals) or a placebo group…
Summary Studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency is associated with metabolic disorders such as hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and dyslipidemia (abnormal amount of lipids in the blood), as well as increased oxidative stress, which can cause a variety of diseases. Scientists at the Medical University of Łódź (Poland) explored the effect of vitamin D supplementation…
Summary A study at the University of Chile explored whether omega-3 fatty acids and specific vitamins can strengthen the antioxidant system and, in this way, reduce the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation. The antioxidant system is a group of enzymes and antioxidant molecules that control the formation of free radicals and reactive oxygen compounds and…
Summary A multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted to evaluate the benefit and safety of long-term intravenous iron administration in patients with heart failure. For this purpose, 152 heart failure patients with iron deficiency received a daily intravenous iron supplement for one year. The treatment led to long-term improvements in the patients’ functional capacity (ability…
Summary High oxidative stress and chronic inflammation may contribute to the development of coronary heart disease. Therefore, a study from Taiwan investigated the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of coenzyme Q10 in patients with coronary heart disease who were taking statins. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups. One group received 300 mg of coenzyme…
Summary Coronary heart disease is a narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries usually caused by the buildup of plaque. In this study, Turkish scientists investigated the vasodilatory effect of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and vitamin E (α-tocopherol) – i.e., their ability to widen blood vessels – in patients with coronary heart disease. For this…
Summary This study investigated the effect of a specific micronutrient combination on insulin levels in patients with cardiac arrhythmias. This study aimed to improve the function of the left ventricle with the help of the selected micronutrients. For 6 weeks, 30 subjects with cardiac arrhythmias took twice daily 2 tablets with 145.8 mg magnesium, 469.2…
Summary This study investigated the efficacy of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in the treatment of chronic heart failure. Subjects with moderate to severe heart failure took either 300 mg of CoQ10 or a placebo daily for 2 years. Compared to the placebo group, the CoQ10 participants showed a significant reduction in deaths, primarily from cardiovascular disease,…
Summary This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in chronic heart failure. For this purpose, a total of 420 subjects with moderate to severe heart failure were observed for 2 years. The participants were divided into two groups, one of which supplemented CoQ10 100 mg 3 times daily in addition to…
Summary A study conducted in the USA investigated the efficacy of quercetin against high blood pressure (hypertension). For this purpose, participants with elevated blood pressure values and participants with a mild form of hypertension were given 730 mg of quercetin daily for 28 days. It was found that quercetin supplementation contributed to a reduction in…
Summary This Japanese study investigated whether curcumin can be used to treat heart failure. The study, conducted on animal models, found that curcumin administration resulted in improved systolic function. (The term systole describes the part of the cardiac cycle during which some chambers of the heart muscle contract after refilling with blood.) Furthermore, the increase…
Summary The present study investigated whether a quercetin supplement could reduce various risk factors for cardiovascular disease. For this purpose, 93 overweight or obese subjects with metabolic syndrome (simultaneous occurrence of several cardiovascular risk factors) were studied who supplemented their diet with quercetin for 6 weeks. The final results showed that dietary supplementation contributed to…
Summary The study aimed to investigate the effect of a dietary supplement on the nutritional status of healthy adults and various biomarkers of heart disease. During the 8-week study period, 60 participants received a dietary supplement consisting of multivitamins, multiminerals, and phytonutrients. It was found that the subjects’ nutritional status improved, and cardiovascular biomarkers were…
Summary The present study analyzed the effects of magnesium and zinc on patients with coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The study participants were divided into two groups of 30 subjects each: One group received 250 mg magnesium oxide plus 150 mg zinc sulfate for 12 weeks, while the other group received a placebo.…
Summary Scientists from Indonesia investigated the effect of a vitamin combination on ischemic stroke (sudden loss of blood circulation to the brain). 30 subjects received a combination of vitamin A and vitamin D for 12 weeks. At the end of the study period, the researchers found that the subjects’ serum vitamin A and vitamin D…
Summary The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of selenium supplementation in patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy, a rare, life-threatening heart disease. One hundred subjects with a left ventricular ejection fraction of less than 45% (percentage of blood volume ejected from a ventricle during a cardiac action) and selenium deficiency took…
Summary The present study investigated the efficacy of taurine supplementation against atherosclerosis and inflammation in patients with heart failure. Subjects with heart failure and an ejection fraction (percentage of how much blood the left ventricle pumps out with each contraction) of less than 50% participated in the study. Subjects took 500 mg of taurine 3…
Summary This study aimed to analyze the effects of a leucine-enriched amino acid supplement on muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical function in stroke patients with sarcopenia. The study involved 44 elderly stroke patients who took the aforementioned supplement for eight weeks. The subjects also performed a low-intensity rehabilitation program. The result showed that the…
Summary This study investigated the effect of high-dose taurine supplementation in patients with recurrent stroke-like episodes. For this purpose, 10 patients were observed who received either 9 g or 12 g of taurine daily for 52 weeks. The results showed that oral taurine supplementation effectively reduced the incidence of stroke. Further details can be found…
Summary This Turkish study aimed to determine the efficacy of prophylactic zinc sulfate treatment in reducing the common cold in children and evaluating the effectiveness of zinc sulfate in reducing the duration and severity of cold symptoms. 200 healthy children received a prophylactic oral zinc sulfate product (100 children) or placebo product (100 children) once…
Summary This study, conducted by scientists from several research institutes in Ghana, Austria, and the USA, investigated the impact of vitamin A alone compared to a combination of vitamin A and zinc on the incidence of malaria. 200 children aged between 6 and 24 months were divided into two groups. Participants in the intervention group…
Summary This study, conducted by researchers from Burkina Faso, the USA, and Austria, investigated the effects of a combined vitamin A and zinc supplementation on Malaria morbidity in children aged between 6 and 72 months in Burkina Faso. Children were divided into two groups of each 74 participants. One group received the micronutrient supplement, and…
Summary The present study investigated the effect of vitamin A supplementation in pregnant Malaria-infected women in Nigeria. 152 Malaria-infected pregnant women were involved; 76 received a vitamin A supplement 3 times a week (once daily), and 76 participants received a placebo without active ingredients. The pregnant women were followed up until the delivery of their…
Summary According to a study conducted by several research institutes in various countries, vitamin A and zinc supplementation increase the efficacy of standard antituberculosis therapy. Two groups of each 40 participants with newly diagnosed tuberculosis were involved in this study. One group received a supplement containing vitamin A and zinc; the other group received a…
Summary According to an Indian study, supplementation with zinc and vitamin A combined with other micronutrients could be efficient in treating children with acute diarrhea. The study examined the effects of different micronutrient combinations in children aged between 6 and 24 months with diarrhea and moderate dehydration. The study results were compared to the outcomes…
Summary According to a study conducted by several Colombian research institutes, zinc supplementation can have beneficial effects in preventing upper respiratory tract infections and diarrheal infectious diseases in children. 355 children were involved in this study. During 12 months, the test group, including 174 healthy children aged between 6 and 12 months, received a daily…
Summary In this Indian study, a zinc supplement was tested as a preventative measure against acute respiratory infections in infants. A group of 272 children, aged between 6 and 11 months, was involved in this study. 141 children received the zinc supplement, and 131 children received a placebo product for 2 weeks. Zinc supplementation was…
Summary This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of zinc in children with acute lower respiratory infections. The children, aged less than 5 years, received either a zinc supplement or a placebo product for 60 days. Zinc supplementation led to a significantly lower number of cases of acute lower respiratory infections (20.8% vs. 45.8%)…
Summary According to this Egyptian study, vitamin D is an essential micronutrient in treating viral hepatitis C infections. The study involved 66 children diagnosed with hepatitis C and 28 healthy children. All participants received conventional therapy, with 33 patients additionally receiving a vitamin D supplement. Several parameters were measured to determine the effectiveness of the…
Summary A trial conducted by an American research institute investigated the effectiveness of high-dose vitamin C in suppressing Epstein-Barr infections. The data of 218 patients were evaluated. The researchers found that high doses of vitamin C decreased disease duration and reduced the number of viral antibodies indicating infection with the virus. Additionally, vitamin D was…
Summary Infectious diseases are associated with high morbidity and mortality rates in children in developing countries. A study conducted by several Bengali and American researchers investigated the effects of a weekly zinc supplementation on the incidence of pneumonia and diarrhea in children in Bangladesh. The study participants – children aged between 60 days and 12…
Summary This Philippian study investigated the cost-effectiveness of zinc supplementation in children with acute diarrhea. 117 diarrhea patients aged between 2 and 59 months were involved in this trial. 60 patients received zinc in combination with a conventional oral rehydration solution (standard treatment), and 57 patients received only the conventional treatment. The results showed a…