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Weaning a Baby onto a Vegan Diet
Published in Mary Nolan, Shona Gore, Contemporary Issues in Perinatal Education, 2023
Vitamin A deficiency can result in impaired growth and development, increased susceptibility to infections, night blindness and ultimately blindness (Wiseman et al., 2017). Whereas animal products contain pre-formed vitamin A, plants provide what is known as pro-vitamin A from carotenes, which needs to be converted into vitamin A. This conversion varies between individuals, with around 45% of people having a genetic make-up that can result in a substantial reduction in their ability to convert pro-vitamin A to vitamin A (Leung et al., 2009). Therefore, those affected who are eating a vegan diet may need a higher intake of beta-carotene equivalents than typically recommended. The foods richest in carotenes suitable for infants are cooked and pureed/mashed carrots, sweet potato, kale and spinach.
Inborn Errors of Metabolism
Published in Praveen S. Goday, Cassandra L. S. Walia, Pediatric Nutrition for Dietitians, 2022
Surekha Pendyal, Areeg Hassan El-Gharbawy
Individuals on low-fat diets are at risk for fat-soluble vitamin deficiency. Riboflavin and niacin are important coenzymes in the FAOD pathway. Individuals with FAOD should meet the DRIs for all vitamins and minerals and if unable to meet them through diet, supplementation should be considered.
Prenatal Care
Published in Vincenzo Berghella, Obstetric Evidence Based Guidelines, 2022
Gabriele Saccone, Kerri Sendek
In pregnancy, some extra vitamin A is required for growth and tissue maintenance in the fetus, for providing fetal reserves, and for maternal metabolism. However, vitamin A in its synthetic form as well as in large doses as retinol (preformed vitamin A found in cod liver oil and chicken or beef liver) is teratogenic. It is recommended that pregnant women ingest vitamin A as β-carotene and limit the ingestion of retinol during pregnancy. In vitamin A–deficient populations (where night blindness is present) and in HIV-positive women, vitamin A supplementation reduces maternal night blindness and anemia. Excess vitamin A intake can cause birth defects and miscarriages at doses >25,000 IU/day. Vitamin A supplements should be avoided, with maximum daily intake prior to and during pregnancy probably 5000 IU and certainly ≤10,000 IU, respectively. Vitamin A supplementation may be beneficial in women with vitamin A deficiency, especially in prevention of night blindness, in developing countries. Optimal duration of supplement use cannot be evaluated. One large population-based trial in Nepal shows a possible beneficial effect on maternal mortality after weekly vitamin A supplements. Night blindness, associated with vitamin A deficiency, was assessed in a nested case-control study within this trial and found to be reduced but not eliminated. There is insufficient evidence to support vitamin A supplementation as an intervention for anemia [83, 84].
Ignoring the elephant in the room—overregulated isotretinoin and unregulated dietary supplements in the United States
Published in Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, 2022
Dina H. Zamil, Praneet S. Paidisetty, Leonard K. Wang
Because of the difficulty of accessing isotretinoin through the iPledge REMS, patients may turn to over-the-counter dietary vitamin A supplements. Vitamin A has long been used as a treatment for acne, and isotretinoin is a vitamin A derivative.8 Although these vitamin A supplements may have teratogenic potential and side effects similar to those of isotretinoin, they are not regulated by the FDA, nor are they subject to the same safety measures.8,9 Furthermore, a previous study of vitamin A acne supplements sold online found three supplements likely to be teratogenic, and these products did not contain warnings.10 This poses significant safety concerns, as female patients of reproductive age, who are facing increasing barriers to isotretinoin access, can easily purchase such supplements online instead.
A Study on the Effect of Vitamins A and C to Modulate the Expression of NKG2D Ligands in Hepatic and Colon Cancer Cells
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2021
Mazin A. Zamzami, Mohammad Nasrullah, Hani Choudhry, Mohammad Imran Khan
Cancer is one of the lethal diseases that challenge human health to become a vital contributor to deaths among patients around the world. The relationship of cancer risk and intake of the vitamin in the context of epigenetic studies is varied (17,18). Animal sources derived vitamin A (retinol) and vegetables derived precursor (carotenes) have significant antioxidant properties and can augment the activity of detoxifying enzymes (19). The primary risk of cancer is inversely and independently related to high dietary intake of retinol, carotenes, and total vitamin A (20). Besides vitamins A, C (ascorbic acid/vitamin C/ascorbate) also has the efficiency of killing liver cancer cells (21). It presents evidence that supports vitamin C as one of the novel therapeutic approaches for treating cancer (21). Vitamin C is a necessary nutrient and has been utilized as a cofactor by various biosynthetic enzymes. As a prodrug, numerous investigations suggest that vitamin C could provide advantages in cancers by means of poor prognosis plus a few therapeutic approaches (22,23). Another potential vitamin is vitamin E that can contribute to cancer treatment. Intake of vitamin E, either supplementary or dietary form, might decrease the chance of cancer (24). In cancer, NKG2DLs are epigenetically repressed (25). We hypothesize that treatment with vitamins will modulate epigenome (methylation) at specific regions of genes coding for NKG2DLs in cancer cells. We have investigated the potential of epigenome modifying vitamins namely A, C, and E in promoting the re-expression of epigenetically silenced NKG2DLs in HCC and CC models.
The Relation between Changes in Vitamin D and Vitamin B12 Levels, Body Mass Index and Outcome in Methadone Maintenance Treatment Patients
Published in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2021
Elad Malik, Lihi Rozner, Miriam Adelson, Shaul Schreiber, Einat Peles
However, we did find possible association between low BMI and low Vitamin B12, as MMT patients who tested positive for cocaine or amphetamines at admission had lower vitamin B12 levels as well as a lower BMI. Since both methamphetamine and cocaine are stimulants, their usage can cause an appetite-suppressant activity, consistent with the BMI differences in our study. Therefore, lower food consumption may cause the vitamin deficiency in users (Aguinaga et al. 2019; Murphy 2005). Similar to our findings, Zhai et al. (2018) tested the connection between vitamin B12 levels and the use of methamphetamines, and found lower vitamin B12 levels in participants with methamphetamine use disorder in comparison with the healthy control group. In addition, that study presented a negative correlation between serum vitamin B12 levels and the number of relapses, and that low vitamin B12 levels were associated with the addiction severity of the participants (Zhai et al. 2018). However, BMI was not studied by these researchers.