10 sunscreen myths you can't afford to fall for
Attention sunscreen skeptics: The sun's UV rays are coming for you, and you're just making their job easier.
Jul 3, 2024
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Attention sunscreen skeptics: The sun's UV rays are coming for you, and you're just making their job easier.
Jul 3, 2024
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84
A study led by Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan has revealed a link between gut microbiota and Parkinson's disease (PD). The researchers found a reduction in the gut bacteria of genes responsible for ...
Jun 17, 2024
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One in four older adults in the U.S. will fall each year, putting them at risk of injury, broken bones and even death.
Jun 16, 2024
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Women live longer than men. This isn't unique to humans, either; we see this trend in a wide range of other animals. Biologists have theorized that the discrepancy in life expectancy between sexes might be partly related ...
Jun 12, 2024
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Research suggests that the ability to maximize memory function may be related to what you eat. Following an eating plan that provides a healthier selection of dietary fats and a variety of plant foods rich in phytonutrients ...
Jul 8, 2024
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A position paper authored on behalf of the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) Vitamin D Working Group summarizes the burden of vitamin D deficiency and public health approaches for its prevention in global populations, ...
Jun 11, 2024
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Anyone who lived through the COVID pandemic would likely understand that even a small period of isolation can cause physical and mental stress.
Jun 26, 2024
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What does whole wheat have that refined flour lacks? A new study reveals key differences in nutrient content along with exactly where nutrients are lost—and sometimes gained—along the journey from farm to table.
Jul 1, 2024
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Despite an ongoing outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows, the popularity of raw milk has only risen. Advocates claim raw milk has superior health benefits over pasteurized milk. There is little evidence to support these claims, ...
Jun 20, 2024
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A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. A compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on the circumstances and the particular organism. For example, ascorbic acid functions as vitamin C for some animals but not others, and vitamins D and K are required in the human diet only in certain circumstances. The term vitamin does not include other essential nutrients such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids, nor does it encompass the large number of other nutrients that promote health but are otherwise required less often.
Vitamins are classified by their biological and chemical activity, not their structure. Thus, each "vitamin" may refer to several vitamer compounds that all show the biological activity associated with a particular vitamin. Such a set of chemicals are grouped under an alphabetized vitamin "generic descriptor" title, such as "vitamin A," which includes the compounds retinal, retinol, and many carotenoids. Vitamers are often inter-converted in the body.
Vitamins have diverse biochemical functions, including function as hormones (e.g. vitamin D), antioxidants (e.g. vitamin E), and mediators of cell signaling and regulators of cell and tissue growth and differentiation (e.g. vitamin A). The largest number of vitamins (e.g. B complex vitamins) function as precursors for enzyme cofactor bio-molecules (coenzymes), that help act as catalysts and substrates in metabolism. When acting as part of a catalyst, vitamins are bound to enzymes and are called prosthetic groups. For example, biotin is part of enzymes involved in making fatty acids. Vitamins also act as coenzymes to carry chemical groups between enzymes. For example, folic acid carries various forms of carbon group – methyl, formyl and methylene - in the cell. Although these roles in assisting enzyme reactions are vitamins' best-known function, the other vitamin functions are equally important.
Until the 1900s, vitamins were obtained solely through food intake, and changes in diet (which, for example, could occur during a particular growing season) can alter the types and amounts of vitamins ingested. Vitamins have been produced as commodity chemicals and made widely available as inexpensive pills for several decades, allowing supplementation of the dietary intake.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA