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From the world of Vitamin D
Menarini expands its dermatology portfolio with the launch of Solar D sunscreen

Menarini expands its dermatology portfolio with the launch of Solar D sunscreen

Menarini India Private Limited (“Menarini India”), part of the Menarini Group, the world’s largest Italian biopharmaceutical company, announces the launch of ‘Solar D®’ sunscreen – a breakthrough innovation in dermatology in over 70 years. Designed for everyone from individuals stepping outdoors to serious athletes, this revolutionary SPF 50, water and sweat-resistant sunscreen, uses a unique UV activated vitamin D technology that allows your body to naturally produce Vitamin D while protecting your skin from burning, ageing, and tanning. The groundbreaking SPF technology is specifically designed and formulated to prevent sunburn or sun damage while allowing the passage of sufficient UVB

Solar D Makes Top 10 of L’Oreal Innovation Runway 2020

Solar D Makes Top 10 of L’Oreal Innovation Runway 2020

For the 4th year running, L’Oreal Innovation Runway 2020 is calling for startups from the many fields of deep tech and various industries to shape the future of beauty together. Let’s co-create revolutionary solutions that are scalable, sustainable, and environmentally-friendly to transform the industry! The challenge from L’Oreal was to provide solutions that can further improve our products in the categories of Protection, Cleanliness, Repairing and Enhancing, and the introduction of New Ingredients & Materials. Read more here

Low Levels of 25-Hydoxyitamin D Linked to COVID-19 Risk

Low Levels of 25-Hydoxyitamin D Linked to COVID-19 Risk

What makes a person more likely to contract COVID-19? A lack of Vitamin D that was determined by the measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the blood, according to a new study of more than 190,000 people led by Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD, professor of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics and Molecular Medicine at Boston University Medical Campus Vitamin D is known to affect both the innate and adaptive immune systems and may have a role in protecting against respiratory infections. Previous small studies have suggested a relationship between vitamin D deficiency and risk of infections and mortality from COVID-19, but

New Study Found 80% of COVID-19 Patients Were Vitamin D Deficient

New Study Found 80% of COVID-19 Patients Were Vitamin D Deficient

A new study that looked at 216 people with COVID-19 found that 80 percent didn’t have adequate levels of vitamin D in their blood. The study also found that people who had both COVID-19 and lower vitamin D levels also had a higher number of inflammatory markers such as ferritin and D-dimer, which have been linked to poor COVID-19 outcomes. A different study found that COVID-19 patients who had adequate vitamin D levels had a 51.5 percent lower risk of dying from the disease and a significant reduced risk for complications. Medical experts theorize that maintaining adequate vitamin D levels

Vitamin D3 reduces risk of cardiovascular and liver diseases by lowering homocysteine levels

Vitamin D3 reduces risk of cardiovascular and liver diseases by lowering homocysteine levels

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of vitamin D3 on total homocysteine (tHcy) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and liver and kidney function tests in overweight women with vitamin D deficiency. Therefore, a randomised, double-blind placebo, controlled clinical trial was conducted on 100 eligible women. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups: the placebo (n 50) and the vitamin D (n 50) which received 1250 µg vitamin D3 per week for 2 months. The participants’ 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), tHcy, CRP, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), urea, creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were measured and compared before and

Association of Vitamin D Status and Other Clinical Characteristics With COVID-19 Test Results

Association of Vitamin D Status and Other Clinical Characteristics With COVID-19 Test Results

Question  Is vitamin D status, reflecting vitamin D levels and treatment, associated with test results for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)? Findings  In this cohort study of 489 patients who had a vitamin D level measured in the year before COVID-19 testing, the relative risk of testing positive for COVID-19 was 1.77 times greater for patients with likely deficient vitamin D status compared with patients with likely sufficient vitamin D status, a difference that was statistically significant. Meaning  These findings appear to support a role of vitamin D status in COVID-19 risk; randomized clinical trials are needed to determine whether broad population interventions and

New Sunscreen Protects Against Skin Cancer, Allows Body To Produce Vitamin D

New Sunscreen Protects Against Skin Cancer, Allows Body To Produce Vitamin D

BOSTON (CBS) – Many people are getting the message loud and clear. That sunscreen helps protect you against skin cancer. But some experts say all that sunscreen is creating another problem. “That is the major cause for the vitamin D epidemic worldwide,” says Dr. Michael F. Holick, an endocrinologist at the BU School of Medicine. “Sunscreen absorbs ultraviolet light and ultraviolet light makes vitamin D in your skin, and if you put a sunscreen on with an SPF of 30 and it absorbs about 97-98% of the UV light, it will reduce the ability to make vitamin D in your

Sunscreen – To Use or Not To Use, That is the Question

Sunscreen – To Use or Not To Use, That is the Question

As a health conscious individual or parent, all you hear from your doctor is – sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen! But is it that black or white? Will not using sunscreen shorten your lifespan or lengthen it? Listen to GrassrootsHealth researcher, Dr. Edward Gorham, Ph.D., explain why he thinks healthy sun (without sunscreen) is good for your health. Edward Gorham, Ph.D., considers the evidence on sun exposure. This presentation talks in depth about the difference between UVA and UVB exposure, the body’s physiological response to each type of irradiance, and how sun exposure and sunscreens affect the risk of melanoma and vitamin

Sunscreen and vitamin D deficiency – what’s the truth?

Sunscreen and vitamin D deficiency – what’s the truth?

Relying on sunscreen to protect us from harmful rays isn’t doing our vitamin D levels any favours, say a team of researchers. Figures suggests 75% of people in the US are deficient in vitamin D, including 95% of African Americans. These figures have climbed dramatically since the early 90s, when fewer than half the country needed to rely on vitamin D supplements for their health. Most researchers put this figure down to people spending more time inside these days, but a new paper suggests a more controversial theory. The researchers say we are wearing so much sunscreen in our fear

The Great Sunscreen Debate: Vitamin D vs. Skin Cancer

The Great Sunscreen Debate: Vitamin D vs. Skin Cancer

People are told to put on sunscreen to help protect against sunburn and skin cancer. But by doing so, are they depriving themselves of necessary vitamin D? A clinical review in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association shows that nearly 1 billion people around the world aren’t, and it may be due to chronic disease or lack of exposure to the sun. Read more here.

The smart sunscreen with built-in health benefits

The smart sunscreen with built-in health benefits

The CEO of Solar D hopes that all sunscreens in the future will feature the vitamin D boosting-technology that’s currently exclusive to his brand. “When the first water-resistant sunscreen came out, there was only one but within three years virtually every sunscreen was water resistant,” said Collett. “Our long-term goal is that every sunscreen on the shelf has our technology, which would be a dream.” Vitamin D deficiency affects more than 1 billion people worldwide and has been linked with various cancers, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and depression. Solar D uses patented UVB Filtering Technology that lets in some of the

Vitamin D receptor regulates autophagy in the normal mammary gland and in luminal breast cancer cells

Vitamin D receptor regulates autophagy in the normal mammary gland and in luminal breast cancer cells

Epidemiological evidence suggests that vitamin D can protect women from developing breast cancer (BC). This study reveals that vitamin D and its receptor regulate autophagy in both normal mammary epithelial cells and luminal BCs, and suggests a potential mechanism underlying the link between vitamin D levels and BC risk. In addition, this work suggests that vitamin D receptor ligands could be exploited therapeutically for the treatment of a significant subset of BCs. Read more here.

65-70% Indians are Vitamin D deficient.

65-70% Indians are Vitamin D deficient.

Despite plentiful sun, Vitamin D (aka sunshine vitamin) deficiency is reaching epidemic proportions in India, warns Dr Michael Holick, Endocrinologist and global authority on Vitamin D therapy. Recent studies have revealed that 65-70 per cent Indians are Vitamin D deficient and another 15 per cent are insufficient. Wondering what’s all the fuss about? For starters, Vitamin D is not a simple vitamin. It is a steroid hormone that impacts virtually every cell in the body. It is synthesised in the skin on exposure to sunshine and is needed to absorb calcium and for bone health. Read more here.

Benefits of Sunlight: A Bright Spot for Human Health

Benefits of Sunlight: A Bright Spot for Human Health

Excessive UVR exposure accounts for only 0.1% of the total global burden of disease in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), according to the 2006 World Health Organization (WHO) report The Global Burden of Disease Due to Ultraviolet Radiation. In contrast, the same WHO report noted that a markedly larger annual disease burden of 3.3 billion DALYs worldwide might result from very low levels of UVR exposure. Read more

Sunlight and Vitamin D

Sunlight and Vitamin D

Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin that has been produced on this earth for more than 500 million years. During exposure to sunlight 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin absorbs UV B radiation and is converted to previtamin D3 which in turn isomerizes into vitamin D3. Previtamin D3 and vitamin D3 also absorb UV B radiation and are converted into a variety of photoproducts some of which have unique biologic properties. Sun induced vitamin D synthesis is greatly influenced by season, time of day, latitude, altitude, air pollution, skin pigmentation, sunscreen use, passing through glass and plastic, and aging. Vitamin D is

Vitamin D and health in adults in Australia and New Zealand: a position statement

Vitamin D and health in adults in Australia and New Zealand: a position statement

The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency varies, with the groups at greatest risk including housebound, community-dwelling older and/or disabled people, those in residential care, dark-skinned people (particularly those modestly dressed), and other people who regularly avoid sun exposure or work indoors. Most adults are unlikely to obtain more than 5%–10% of their vitamin D requirement from dietary sources. The main source of vitamin D for people residing in Australia and New Zealand is exposure to sunlight. A serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) level of ≥ 50 nmol/L at the end of winter (10–20 nmol/L higher at the end of summer, to

Vitamin D deficiency linked to greater risk of diabetes

Vitamin D deficiency linked to greater risk of diabetes

An epidemiological study conducted by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Seoul National University suggests that persons deficient in vitamin D may be at much greater risk of developing diabetes. The findings are reported in the April 19, 2018 online issue of PLOS One. The scientists studied a cohort of 903 healthy adults (mean age: 74) with no indications of either pre-diabetes or diabetes during clinic visits from 1997 to 1999, and then followed the participants through 2009. Vitamin D levels in blood were measured during these visits, along with fasting plasma glucose and oral glucose