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Feb 28
Low Vitamin D Linked to Allergy Risk in Kids
The data came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2006 (NHANES), which is a program of studies aimed at assessing the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the U.S.

The study participants underwent blood tests measuring levels of Immunoglobulin E(IgE), a protein that is produced when the immune system responds to allergens.

Researchers say their findings don't prove that insufficient vitamin D causes allergies in children and adolescents, but strongly suggests that young people should get adequate amounts of the vitamin.

"The latest dietary recommendations calling for children to take in 600 IU of vitamin D daily should keep them from becoming vitamin D deficient," researcher Michal Melamed, MD, MHS, of the Albert Einstein College Medicine of Yeshiva University, says in a news release.

The study says vitamin D is thought to have anti-inflammatory effects in the body.

The researchers note that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is increasing in the U.S., and so is the prevalence of food allergies.

The study is published in the Feb. 17 online edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

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