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1. In your opinion, is it healthy to drink squalene supplement?

In my opinion squalene do have beneficial attributes to make you healthier.


Squalene has a crucial role as a precursor for steroid synthesis especially in
dietary cholesterol human which makes this an important component, and it is
structurally like β-carotene, coenzyme q10, vitamins K1, D, and E. Moreover, it
has beneficial bioactivities such as antioxidation, antitumor, cytoprotective effect
cosmeceutical and nutraceutical uses as well to maintain health under toxic
exposure (Kim & Karadeniz, 2012). It was also proven in a study by Hamadate et
al., in 2015, to significantly improve vascular health in middle-aged and elderly
men.

2. Is the morning sun rich in vitamin D?

The morning sun is not rich in vitamin D, rather vitamin D is made in the skin
from 7-dehydrocholesterol when exposed to sunlight so it induces vitamin D
production and it takes two hydroxylation reactions in the body for it to activate
(Bikle, 2012; Nair & Maseeh, 2018).

3. How are the three concepts related: Morning sun exposure, Vitamin D and
bone formation?

Humans synthesize vitamin D 3 by exposing vitamin D receptor present in tissues


and cells of your body to ultra-violet radiation B (UVB). After vitamin
D3 is hydroxylated to form derivatives it is now in its metabolically active form and
this increases the synthesis of Ca 2+ binding protein. This protein then promotes
absorption of calcium in the small intestines and then bones uptake the calcium;
therefore, deficiency of vitamin D affects bone formation and even cause skeletal
deformities. Also, vitamin D metabolites, 1,25(OH)2D and 24,25(OH)2D, have
illustrated specific roles in endochondral bone formation process (Bikle, 2012;
Campbell et al., 2018).

4. Is it logical to fortify dairy products with vitamin D and K? Why?

Yes, it is logical to fortify dairy products with vitamin D, as it covers a range of


deficiencies of different populations most likely in urban areas who have less
exposure to sunlight. Fortification is most especially relevant to people with
darker skin due to the presence of melanin which protects the skin and requires
longer duration of sun exposure; also to elderly during winter season (Itkonen et
al., 2018; Leskauskaite et al., 2015).

Phylloquinine or vitamin K1 is just as important to add in dairy products and it is


usually found in all photosynthetic plants. Green leafy vegetables have high
concentrations of this vitamin, from a dietician and observation researcher
standpoint, younger and elderly age groups are the most common occurrences
of vitamin K deficiency, countries with poor agricultural systems and use of
genetically modified procedures render crops with fewer vitamins (Booth, 2012).
Fortifying dairy products with vitamin K1 will also help address these deficiencies.

References:
Bikle D. D. (2012). Vitamin D and bone. Current osteoporosis reports, 10(2), 151–159.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11914-012-0098-z
Booth S. L. (2012). Vitamin K: food composition and dietary intakes. Food & nutrition
research, 56, 10.3402/fnr.v56i0.5505. https://doi.org/10.3402/fnr.v56i0.5505
Campbell, M., Farrell, S.O., & McDougal, O. (2018). Biochemistry (9th ed.) Asia edition.
Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore
Hamadate, N., Matsumoto, Y., Seto, K., Yamamoto, T., Yamaguchi, H., Nakagawa, T.,
Yamamoto, E., Fukagawa, M., & Yazawa, K. (2015). Vascular effects and safety of
supplementation with shark liver oil in middle-aged and elderly
males. Experimental and therapeutic medicine, 10(2), 641–646.
https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2015.2568
Itkonen, S., Erkkola, M., & Lamberg-Allardt, C. (2018). Vitamin D Fortification of Fluid
Milk Products and Their Contribution to Vitamin D Intake and Vitamin D Status in
Observational Studies—A Review. Nutrients, 10(8),
1054. doi:10.3390/nu10081054 
Kim, S.-K., & Karadeniz, F. (2012). Biological Importance and Applications of Squalene
and Squalane. Advances in Food and Nutrition Research, 223–
233. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-416003-3.00014-7 
Leskauskaite, D., Jasutiene, I., Malinauskyte, E., Kersiene, M., & Matusevicius, P.
(2015). Fortification of dairy products with vitamin D3. International Journal of
Dairy Technology, 69(2), 177–183. doi:10.1111/1471-0307.12242 
Nair, R. & Maseeh A. (2012). Vitamin D: The “sunshine” vitamin. J Pharmacol
Pharmacother, Apr-Jun; 3(2): 118–126. doi: 10.4103/0976-500X.95506

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