WHAT MAKES A NOBEL LAUREATE? BRAIN OR FOOD?

Is there a relationship between between the brain power and attainment of excellence in life? Common senses does indicate that man endowed with superior intelligence has conquered the world and to day homo sapiens rule supreme, at least in planet called Mother Earth. To establish any such relationship one has to define what is excellence and how it can be quantified. Once human beings are recognized as supremely intelligent creatures there must be degree of excellence by which there can be differentiation among them. Can winning a Nobel prize be considered the ultimate in one's life achievement? Nobel prize is given in practically every branch of human endeavor and there fore can be a comparative scale for determining excellence.

Some time back there was a claim that Nobel prize winners invariably come from countries where chocolate consumption is high! Statistically analyzed the study referred above does reflect this fact. Looked from the perspectives of a food scientist or a nutritionist, probably this phenomenon can be explained by the fact that chocolate is one of the richest sources of Flavonoids which are endowed with high levels of antioxidant activity. Heath of human beings in general is directly related to the extent of inflammation at cellular level and resultant generation of oxyradicals adversely affecting the DNA metabolism. Flavonoids and similar antioxidants are supposed to neutralize these highly destructive oxyradicals as and when they are generated. Probably this may be a far-fetched theory but still plausible.

Following the chocolate report in comes another claim that Milk consumption has some thing to do with the ability of human beings to reach pinnacle of their career! Here again the science of statistics has contributed to this "discovery". According to the authors of above "study" Sweden has the highest number of Nobel laureates, about 33 per 10 million since its inception and their per capita milk consumption is estimated to be about 330 kg per year! This country is closely followed by Switzerland, that tiny country with 32 Nobel prizes per 10 million population with milk products consumption to the extent of 300 kg per person per year. A major deviation is Finland with the highest milk consumption, 350 kg per capita,  which has insignificant number of Nobel laureates!. Probably 300 kg per capita annual consumption may be the cut off point beyond which the "Milk effect" does not work! China, the second most powerful economic power in the world is not an admirer of milk with hardly 25 kg per year per person and it has only an insignificant number of winners of Nobel prize, about 9 in number for a population of 1.3 billion plus!. Same is true with India also, with hardly 8 Nobel prizes for its population of 1.2 billion.  

What could be the connection, if at all there is any, between milk and excellence of achievement? Viewed from a nutrition angle, it is very difficult to justify such a correlation though milk is often considered as a complete food containing almost all critical nutrients required for development of body as well as the brain. The theory that it is rich in vitamin D that aids brain development cannot be taken at its face value because people in many tropical countries make abundant Vitamin D through their exposure to sun. Could the affordability play a part in enabling the people from rich countries consuming high quantum of milk and milk products and if so Nobel laureates can come only from such countries.

Are the people from poor countries destined to be inferior human beings perpetually? Their could be another angle which could explain the milk effect and that is not related to milk but to the education standards and infrastructure available in these rich countries. Naturally a good education can definitely enrich the mind and the brain leading to achievement of excellence in whatever field one chooses. There are many bright and intelligent youngsters in countries like India with the right caliber to become Nobel laureates but the poor infrastructure for education and unimaginative policies that prevail here, there is very little scope for expressing their innate talents. Why is that except for a Sir C V Raman or a Tagore who won the Nobel prize working in India, all other winners were people of Indian origin achieving the excellence working in other countries?  

While per capita milk consumption is used for comparison in the above study, the major flaw is that there can be enormous variation among the population with some consuming high amounts of milk while poorer segment must be taking abysmally low quantities. Take the example of India, the top producer of milk in the world where average milk consumption is just about 100 kg per person per year but in the state Punjab it is almost 360 kg per year per person! Does it mean that future Nobel laureates are going to emerge from this state while others have no chance? Statistical correlations have a meaning up to a point but it need not be the absolute truth! Ultimately for excellence in achievement, it 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration! While in science and other finite subjects infrastructure for research has to be of very high order, in social sciences creativity, imagination, deep thinking, philosophy and a fertile brain may play a crucial role.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

VITAMIN D CONNECTION TO HEART-NEED FOR REVIEW OF RDA?

In a tropical country like India, Vitamin D deficiency may not have a critical dimension because it is supposed to be produced in adequate amounts in the skin by exposure to sun light, especially during the period 10 am to 3 pm. 7 dehydrocholesterol present in vertebrates is converted to Viamin D by the Ultraviolet B rays in the wave length range between 290 and 320 nm. The two physiologically active forms of this vitamin, Ergocalcferol (D2) and Cholecalciferol (D3) are necessary for many body functions though lot remains to be discovered regarding their role fully. Liver and Kidney convert the vitamin into biologically active molecule 25 hydroxy D (Calcidiol) and then to 1,25 hydroxy D (Calcitriol), the latter having a half life span of 15 hours in the blood. One of the major roles of Vit D is in bone mineralization which has been well studied. Deficiency of Vit D is manifested in childhood as Ricket while in adults it is osteomalacia. Weak, brittle and misshapened bones are attributed to Vit D defiency.Vit D is also involved in some immune functions when Calcitriol is made in monocute-macrophages in the immune system and it acts more or less as a cytokine defending the body against microbial invaders.

While the importance of Vit D to bone health has been scientifically understood since the 17th century, an area not well documented is its relation to heart health. According to one survey in USA, more than 40 percent of men and 50 percent of women have low Vit D levels and they are considered to be more vulnerable to coronary artery disease and heart failure. Other studies with European population have shown that they have low Vit D levels while in many northern hemisphere countries, Vit D deficiency seems to have reached nearly epidemic proportions. Vit D helps prevent high blood pressure, suppresses inflammation by protecting the cells that line the blood vessels and maintains blood-vessel flexibility. Analysis of data from some of the studies concerning connection between heart and Vit D has brought out that low levels of this vitamin make the heart work harder, establishing its role in protecting against cardiovascular disease. Vit D supplements, about 1000 IU a day, have also been suggested to provide protection to the heart and prevent the risk of congestive heart failure, especially amongst vulnerable and old age population.

While the precise mechanism as to how Vit D is involved in heart disease is not yet known, there are indications that it has some thing to do with atherosclerosis and plaque development. As Vit D plays an active role in mineralization of bone through activation and incorporation of Calcium into the bone matrix and Calcium blockers are routinely used for treating heart patients, plaque formation in arteries may possibly be influenced by Vit D levels in the blood. What is intriguing is that how both deficiency and excess of Vit D can contribute to plaque development, indicating much more needs to be known before coming to any conclusion. The reported high incidence of Ischemic Heart Disease in southern parts of India has been attributed to excess Vit D production in the body. Vit D deficiency is also implicated in Peripheral Arterial Disease and here again nothing much is known about the reason.

Vit D deficiency seems to have some connection with diabetes according to scientists at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who noted that poor diabetes control in many subjects is invariably associated with Vitamin D deficiency. It is too premature to establish a cause-effect relationship but the fact still remains that higher the HbA1c value greater was the deficiency of Vit D. According to the most recent research, most people who live in the northern hemisphere, especially people over 50 and those who are overweight, may be benefited by Vitamin D supplementation. Though the current official recommendation is 400 IU for ages 51 to 70 and 600 IU for those over 71, there appears to be a tacit recognition that taking about1,000 to 4,000 IU per day could be more beneficial for such people. Between Vitamin D2 and D3, latter seems to be three times more effective in raising the vitamin level in the blood. Fatty fish, eggs and meat are reasonably good sources of Vit D but probably their regular consumption may not be adequate for meeting fully the body's need for this nutrient. U V irradiated mushrooms are now being offered in health stores as they contain good levels of Vit D formed from the natural Ergosterols present in this edible fungi.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com