New actions for old nutrients.

The purpose of this review is to present information regarding new effects for certain nutrients other than those traditionally known. Zinc has been found to prevent and reduce the duration of common colds. In developing countries, zinc has been shown to reduce the duration and severity of diarrhea and even decrease relapses. Iron supplementation in iron deficient children, has been shown to improve several aspects of brain function. In studies where iron was given to the mother, 3 of 5 randomized, controlled trials showed a beneficial effect of iron supplementation on the Psychomotor Development Index at some time points, whereas 2 did not. The chances for infants supplemented with docosahexaenoic acid in the fi rst year of life of having at least 1 event of allergic manifestation or upper respiratory infection or at least 1 event of wheezing/asthma, wheezing/asthma/atopic dermatitis, any allergy, or an upper respiratory tract infection during the fi rst 3 years of life were significantly lower than in the non supplemented group. Epidemiological studies have established a relationship between low levels of serum vitamin D and reduced lung function in healthy adults and asthma onset and severity in children. There was a trend for an independent association between higher levels of maternal circulating 25(OH)D3 levels in pregnancy and decreased odds of lower respiratory tract infections in offspring.