Vitamins & Supplements

Q. What is the most recent thinking on biotin?

Vitamin K was named for its role in coagulation (koagulation in German), but it turns out this important vitamin has significant roles beyond blood clotting. Work by Tufts researchers and others shows that vitamin K may be an important factor in bone health, cardiovascular health, and type 2 diabetes.

I see the term B vitamins a lot. Why is this plural, when other vitamins, like vitamin C, are not?

An expert committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which included Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, Gershoff Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Executive Editor of Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter, recently reviewed the scientific evidence in order to update the official U.S. and Canadian Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for sodium and potassium.

The International Headache Society (IHS) defines migraine as a headache disorder with recurrent attacks (at least five) that last from 4 to 72 hours, are associated with nausea and/or sensitivity to light and sound, and also have at least two of four other characteristics including: pain that is of moderate or severe intensity; throbbing or pulsing; affects only one side of the head; or is worsened by routine activity such as walking. According to the 2017 Global Burden of Disease Study, migraine is a major cause of disability worldwide.

The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a study that found high-dose vitamin D supplementation provided no protective benefit with regard to risk of developing either cancer or cardiovascular disease.

A recent study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, determined that isolated flavanols did not have a beneficial impact on systolic blood pressure and other cardiometabolic markers.

Q. I have heard that a person who is allergic to wool should take vitamin D2 instead of D3. Is this true?

Q. Nutritional websites and Nutrition Facts labels all seem to list different amounts of potassium in one cup of frozen spinach. How can this be?

Q. Does taking omega-3 fish oil help reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer?