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Pregnant women were left in confusion today after doctors issued conflicting advice on vitamin pills. A team of experts at the University College London Institute of Child Health said expectant mothers should routinely take vitamin D supplements to protect babies from life-threatening conditions.

But the advice clashes with the official NHS guidelines and recommendations from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists which say there is no need for every pregnant women to take the supplement. The mixed signals follow a report in the British Journal of Nutrition which says there is a 'strong case' for a daily dose of vitamin D.

The paper says there is growing evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to health problems for pregnant women and newborn babies.Yet the UK is the only one of 31 European countries that doesn't have a set vitamin D recommendation for women of reproductive age.

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Eating a lot of foods and drinks sweetened with fructose significantly raises a person’s risk of having high blood pressure, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

The study is the latest to link a sugar-laden diet with higher blood pressure, but it also clearly fingers fructose as a major contributor.

“The data is very consistent with what has been in other papers,” said Michael Chonchol of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver.

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It is well-known that olive oil and a Mediterranean diet are associated with a lower risk for cardiovascular disease, but a new research offers a surprising reason why: These foods change how genes associated with atherosclerosis function.

"Knowing which genes can be modulated by diet in a healthy way can help people select healthy diets," said Maria Isabel Covas, a researcher involved in the work from the Cardiovascular Risk and Nutrition Research Group at the Institut Municipal d'Investigacio Medica in Barcelona, Spain.

"It is also a first step for future nutritional therapies with selected foods," she added. Scientists worked with three groups of healthy volunteers. The first group consumed a traditional Mediterranean diet with virgin olive oil rich in polyphenols. The second group consumed a traditional Mediterranean diet with an olive oil low in polyphenols. The third group followed their habitual diet.

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Britain's National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has called on the food industry to help decrease huge numbers of unnecessary deaths by reducing the level of salt in everyday products. As per the new guidelines by NICE, maximum salt intake per adult should be six grams a day by 2015, and three grams a day by 2025. Over 40,000 people die from premature cardiovascular disease in Britain every year and six million men and women suffer from heart disease.

"These clear and important recommendations from NICE strengthen and endorse the current salt reduction campaign in the Britain," Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine and chairman of campaign group Consensus Action on Salt and Health, was quoted as saying.

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Men who consume a Mediterranean-style diet can enhance their heart function and reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a new Indiana University study.

In an effort to eliminate the genetic risk factors commonly linked to heart disease, the research team utilized dietary questionnaires and cardiac data from 276 identical or fraternal twins. The patients were graded on how strictly they followed the diet,.

And each underwent an assessment of their heart rate variability (HRV), which is the variation in the time interval between heart beats. People with a reduced HRV are known to have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and sudden death, according to the researchers.

Lead author Jun Dai and his colleagues found that men who closely followed the Mediterranean-style diet had a more variable heart rate, compared with those that did not follow the diet, resulting in a 9 percent to 14 percent decreased risk of cardiovascular-related death.

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 A new report from the United Nations International Panel of Sustainable Resource Management calls for a global shift toward a vegan diet to save the world from hunger, fuel shortages and the worst impacts of climate change.

It notes that agriculture, particularly meat and dairy production, accounts for 70 percent of global freshwater consumption, 38 percent of total land use and 19 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. The panel concludes that, just as fossil fuels will be gradually replaced by renewable, pollution-free energy sources like wind and solar power, meat and dairy products in the world's diet will need to be replaced by vegetables, fruits and grains.

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If a child eats three or more burgers a week they are at risk of developing asthma and wheeze, according to an international study. Conversely, a Mediterranean diet, featuring fruit, vegetables and fish, does the opposite and dilutes the risk.

The research was collected between 1995 and 2005 on 50,000 children who were between the ages of 8 and 12. The study also revealed that there was no correlation between diet and developing common allergies, such as grass and tree pollen. Burger consumption was found to be linked with a higher lifetime prevalence of asthma and wheeze, especially among children in rich countries.

Diet appears to be associated with asthma and wheeze in children, and eating a "Mediterranean diet" rich in fruit, vegetables and fish seems to reduce a child's risk of developing asthma and wheeze, according to an international study published in the June issue of Thorax.

Gabriele Nagel, M.D., of Ulm University in Germany, and colleagues analyzed data collected between 1995 and 2005 on 50,004 children, aged 8 to 12 years, from 20 affluent and non-affluent countries around the world. Parents completed questionnaires on their children's diet, and indicated whether they had ever been diagnosed with asthma or had wheeze. Also, 29,579 of the children had skin prick tests for allergic reactions, to determine if diet affected the development of allergic sensitivities.

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The long awaited big day is arriving, and after all that planning it is guaranteed to go without a hitch. The flowers for the bride and bridesmaids have been chosen to match the colour of their outfits and their eyes, the rings have been put away somewhere safe and the wedding gifts list has been received by all the guests with interest and enthusiasm. And what a list it is – everything but the kitchen sink!

It is always helpful when choosing wedding gifts to have a list to consult and guide you in your selection. It is great to be able to give wedding gifts that are just what the bride and groom have asked for, right down to the size and colour. I, on the other hand, enjoy making my own decisions when it comes to wedding gifts. I do not want to partake in such a clinical approach to the wedding gift wish list. I refuse to be dictated to about which shop I have to make my purchase from. When I give a wedding gift it has to be something that I like, and a wedding gift that I am proud to give. I am not saying that the bride and groom may have dreadful taste, just that I do not find an electric kettle or self assembly book shelf very romantic. Okay, it may be what they requested, but they will have to whistle and just get down to the shops and buy it themselves. For me, the fun of hunting for and selecting wedding gifts is a big part of the process, and the more unusual the better.

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