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Mediterranean diet linked with lower risk of heart disease among young US workers
The firefighter group with greatest adherence to Mediterranean-style diet showed a 35% decreased risk in metabolic syndrome, a condition with risk factors that include a large waistline, high triglyceride level, low HDL ("good") cholesterol level, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. The group with the highest mMDS also had a 43% lower risk of weight gain compared with the lowest mMDS group. Additionally, greater adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet was significantly associated with higher HDL cholesterol and lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol. Consistent with previous investigations, obese participants in the firefighter study reported a higher intake of both fast foods and sugary drinks. MedicalXpress

Vitamin D Blog: No Threshold for Calcium Absorption
To determine whether that's the case, John Aloia, MD, of Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., and colleagues gave various doses of vitamin D (or placebo) to 76 postmenopausal women – 800 IU, 2,000 IU, or 4,000 IU per day.

They found a linear increase in calcium absorption as the dose went up, at 3.9%, 5%, and 6.7%, respectively. (Calcium absorption fell by 2.6% for those who took placebo, showing the need for adequate vitamin D levels to maintain calcium absorption, the authors said.) MedPage Today

Melatonin Curbs Cell Growth in Mice (CME/CE)
Research suggests that melatonin plays an important role in tumor growth inhibition, including inducing apoptosis, discouraging cell proliferation and differentiation, and discouraging angiogenesis. How melatonin affects angiogenesis is not definitively known, however. MedPage Today

Novel vitamin D photoproducts and their precursors in the skin
The main products of these pathways are biologically active with a potency related to their chemical structure and the target cell type. Main products of CYP11A1-mediated metabolism on vitamin D are non-calcemic and non-toxic at relatively high doses and serve as partial agonists on the vitamin D receptor. New secosteroids are excellent candidates for therapy of fibrosing, inflammatory or hyperproliferative disorders including cancers and psoriasis. Slominski A, Kim TK, Zmijewski MA, Janjetovic Z, Li W, Chen J, Kusniatsova EI, Semak I, Postlethwaite A, Miller DD, Zjawiony JK, Tuckey RC. Dermatoendocrinol. 2013 Jan 1;5(1):7-19. Review. PMID: 24494038

Photobiology of vitamin D in mushrooms and its bioavailability in humans
Therefore, mushrooms are a rich source of vitamin D2 that when consumed can increase and maintain blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in a healthy range. Ingestion of mushrooms may also provide the consumer with a source of vitamin D3 and vitamin D4. Keegan RJ, Lu Z, Bogusz JM, Williams JE, Holick MF. Dermatoendocrinol. 2013 Jan 1;5(1):165-76. PMID: 24494050

Anti-Oxidant for COPD Questioned
Their commentary accompanied the findings of a 22% relative reduction of acute exacerbations compared with placebo in the Chinese PANTHEON trial, reported online in Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

"Although we are fascinated by Zheng and colleagues' results, we believe that the evidence that emerged from the PANTHEON study is not adequate to make N-acetylcysteine an integral component of COPD treatment," Cazzola and Matera wrote. MedPage Today