818-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 3,1987
WASHINGTON - Vitamin D
deficiency among the elderly,
especially those who live in nor
thern climates, may be a major
unrecognized public health
problem, an endocrinologist at the
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Human Nutrition Research Center
on Aging reports.
“They are not getting enough of
the vitamins from their diets
especially milk- or from brief
exposures to summer sun,” said
Dr. Michael F. Holick. “Sun ex
posure should be brief,” he
cautioned, “to avoid risk of skin
cancer.” USDA’s Agricultural
NEWARK, Del. - Moldy rye
bread is often suggested as the
cause of the colonial Salem wit
chhunt hysteria. Moldy peanut
meal caused a massive poisoning
of farm animals in England in the
19505. And moldy overwintered
grain eaten by some Russians
during World War II caused a
surprising outbreak of an oft fatal
blood disease.
The culprit in all these cases is
the potentially hazardous sub
stances produced by molds called
mycotoxins. The word comes from
the Greek “mykes” for fungus and
the Latin “toxicum” for poison -
literally fungus poison.
Because molds can grow on a
variety of substances and under a
diversity of heat and moisture
conditions, most foods are
susceptible to invasion by molds
during production, processing,
transport or storage. If mold
Name
Breed
D & D Hottenstem
Joan M Woodhead
Raymond Norconk
Richard R Higley
Lambert Farms
John&Marvin Brown
Bobwood Acres
William B Hart
Ronald Hembury
Mount Top Vue Fm
Earl&James Warburton
Completed lactations of 850 pounds or more of fat
D and D Hottenstem
Tava 3 402 305 29 177 3 9 1124
William B Hart
95
Richard R Higley
Seleta
gigantic
/ | SELECTION
»A Lancaster
Farming's
CLASSIFIEDS
Research Service funds the center,
based at Tufts University, Boston.
Vitamin D helps the body absorb
calcium from the intestinal tract
and maintains blood levels
essential for proper mineralization
of the bone, Holick explained.
Deficiency in adults leads to sof
tening of the bone, or
osteomalacia, compounding the
problem of bone loss, or
osteoporosis, in the elderly.
“A vitamin D deficiency in
people afflicted with osteoporosis
may significantly increase the risk
of bone fractures,” he said.
In a study of 142 patients en-
MoM|f Food - Dangerous and Distasteful
grows, there is a potential for
mycotoxin production, says Dr.
Sue Snider, University of
Delaware extension food and
nutrition specialist.
Perhaps the most widely known
and dangerous of the mycotoxins
are the aflatoxins. In fact,
aflatoxin B 1 is one of the most
potent carcinogens known to man,
says Snider.
The items most susceptible to
aflatoxin contamination in the
U.S. have been peanuts, corn and
cottonseed. But the toxin has been
found in such processed and
prepared foods as cheeses, cooked
meats, ham, salami sausage, dry
beans and even refrigerated or
frozen pastries.
Because no safe tolerance levels
have been found for any of the
mycotoxins, the FDA has set what
it considers to be practical limits
for aflatoxins in foods and seeds.
SULBRA DHIA
November 1986
No % Days
Cows m Milk
3 64 5 f
3 334 i
3 42 8 i
3 87 3 £
3 136 0 9
3 47 1 6
3 45 1 9
3 86 6 8
3 100 0 8
3 70 8 8
3 88 8 8
3 406 305 22 611 3 8 864
3 403 305 20 282 4 2 854
Sunshine )/ifamin Isn't Just Kid Stuff
Milk
19 747
18 986
20 181
17 806
19 121
17 759
19 808
17 944
17,295
15 819
15 932
tering Boston’s Massachusetts
General Hospital with fractured
hips, 30 to 40 percent had little or
none of the circulating form of
vitamin D in their blood, said
Holick. He said that other studies,
both in the United States and Great
Britain, indicate a similar 30 to 40
percent of men and women with
hip fractures are vitamin D
deficient.
People begin losing bone mass
during their thirties, leading to a
weakened, sponge-like bone
structure in later years. Although
osteoporosis is accelerated in
postmenopausal women, “All
Most U.S. food processors have
also established rigorous
programs to monitor aflatoxins in
their raw materials and prevent
their presence in finished
products. But the wise consumer
should be aware of the potential
dangers of moldy foods and take
steps to prevent molds from
forming on food at home.
“Proper storage is really the
most important factor,” Snider
says. “Lower temperatures tend to
retard mold growth, so if you have
a lot of bread, for example,
freezing is the best thing to do with
it.”
Not all molds are dangerous,
' V
CTB.kc
CHORETIME/BROCK
COMPLETE SYSTEMS, EQUIPMENT, SALES, INSTALLATION, SERVICE FOR
AGRI-
RD 4, East Farmersville Rd., Ephrata, PA 17522 Mftn
(j jinraqtpr fonntv) Mon.-Fn. 7:30to5:00;
Sat. 7:30t0 11:30
(717)354-6520 (Parts Only)
people have it sooner or later,” he
said.
“The major cause of age-related
vitamin D deficiency is a decrease
in milk consumption,” Holick said.
“Relatively few other foods con
tain vitamin D.” He said a sub
stantial number of elderly develop
an intolerance to milk, and others
believe there is no need for milk
that it’s only for children.
Four 8-ounce glasses of milk a
day provides the Recommended
Daily Allowance of 400 in
ternational units of vitamin D, he
said. Depending on the fat content,
32 ounces of milk also supply about
says the specialist. In fact some
molds are used in the production of
foods such as blue cheese.
However, if a food has an un
characteristic mold growth on it, it
should be discarded.
“People used to think they could
just cut off the mold,” Snider
notes. "But part of the mold can
grow deep within the food and is
not visible. So just cutting t>ff an
outside layer of mold isn’t a safe
practice.”
If an item purchased from a
store shows mold, Snider suggests
that you return it to the distributor
for replacement or ask for your
money back.
Can You Beat This For
DURABLE FENCING?
Simply Put Back In
A Beautiful, maintenance-free
fence designed for safety
BEAUTY - can transform your farm into a showplace
SAFETY - no sharp edges, “elastic action” rails, won't split
and shatter like wood, protects your animals
MAINTENANCE-FREE - never paint or treat fence again l
DURABLE - impact resistant, long worry-free service
SELF-CLEANING - Hi-Polymer compound cleans itself
NON-TOXIC - National Sanitation Federation approved
Get full information about TRIPLE-CROWN'" tubular Hi-
Polymer fence now Just call or inquire today
CATTLE, HOGS AND POULTRY.
rfara
r
i
equipment, INC*
1,200 milligrams of calcium- or
one-third more than the RDA for
calcium for men and women over
age 18.
People who can’t tolerate milk
should take a vitamin D sup
plement, or spend more time in the
summer sun, Holick said. As
people age, the ability of sun to
stimulate the manufacture of
vitamin D in the skin progessively
decreases. And, in northern
latitudes, such as Boston, vitamin
D synthesis stops completely in the
winter, he said.
To get the benefits of summer
sunlight and minimize its
detrimental effects, Holick
recommends light-skinned elderly
people restrict exposure to 5 to 10
minutes around midday in June
when the sun’s rays are most
direct. Exposure can be longer
when the angle of the sun is lower.
Dark-skinned people, however,
require five to 10 times longer in
the sun, depending on the amount
of pigmentation, he said. In
laboratory tests, it took a dose of
radiation that would produce a
severe sunburn in Caucasians to
increase vitamin D levels in black
skin.
Holick also found that protective
lotions called sunblocks are true to
their name. The products with a
high protection index completely
prevent the skin from producing
vitamin D.
Place!