Researchers have found that individuals who are genetically prone to low vitamin D status have an increased risk of multiple sclerosis.

A team of researchers from McGill University, Canada, has found a link between decreased vitamin D status and increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS). In their study, which is published in PLOS Medicine, they compared data from thousands of participants with and without MS. As part of their research they looked at how genetic factors affected vitamin D levels in the participants. The researchers found that those people who were genetically prone to low vitamin D status were at least twice as likely to have MS. To explain their observations in more simple terms, when you increase a person's circulating levels of 25OHD (biologically active vitamin D) by 1.5-fold, it decreases their risk of developing MS by 50%.

American scientists have demonstrated that measurements of vitamin D levels in patients with early stages of sclerosis may predict how fast the disease will progress. If levels are low it may be a sign of faster disease progression and also a sign that this development may be slowed down if the patients increase their vitamin D intake.

The study is published in the science journal JAMA Neurology and was carried out on 465 patients from more than 20 different countries. The results showed that patients with highest levels of vitamin D had fewer brain lesions (57%) and less recurrence (75%) compared with the group that had low vitamin D levels.

Although there are two forms of coenzyme Q10 in the body - ubiquinone and ubiquinol - only one of them is able to document an effect. This was recently ascertained by one of the leading Q10 researchers in the world.

In October, the Norwegian government passed a law against the import of medical drugs that are not approved by the Norwegian health authorities. The whole purpose with this new law is to protect Norwegian consumers against narcotics and forged medical drugs. In fact, the new law includes food supplements and this has caused an uproar among Norwegian supplement users who feel that it is an infringement of their right to buy any imported food supplement they desire.

An increasing number of people have started using magnesium supplements against migraine attacks and headaches. Even physicians acknowledge that this mineral may actually have great potential.

More women than men die of cardiovascular disease. Diet and lifestyle play a crucial role in prevention, and there are certain supplements which have been shown to reduce heart-related deaths by over 50%.

The way in which selenium and iodine interact is determining for the thyroid gland and the metabolism. A deficiency of one or both nutrients coupled with exposure to environmental toxins may have grave consequences and contribute to some of the most commonly occurring metabolic disorders.