The natural B vitamin "folate" is missing from many young women's diets, and this has caused alarm among government health officials.

Deficiency of this vitamin has been linked to birth defects of the brain and spine, as concluded by past research. The results of this research brought out the need for breads and cereals fortified with folic acid, an artificial version of "folate," the natural vitamin B, to be included in diets, especially during pregnancy

Research suggests that higher levels of vitamin D in the blood may decrease the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS). The Harvard School of Public Health team studied vitamin levels of US military personnel.

MS is one of the most common neurological diseases claiming around two million people globally

Flour and bread should be fortified with folic acid to lessen the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida, the Expert Advisory Group on Nutrition said Monday. The group recommends that fortification be mandatory, but some say the initiative would take away individual choice and could mask signs of vitamin deficiency in elderly people.

Now the Food Standards Agency (FSA) will begin a 3-month consultation to see how the public feels about the issue

A new study by researchers from the University of California, San Diego, has tied latitude differences to ovarian cancer risk. The study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that exposure to the sun, and more precisely, vitamin D production in the body, may help prevent this disease.

The recent research furthers the evidence for the previous studies which have linked vitamin D intake and vitamin D levels in the blood to cancer risk

British scientists have come forward with more evidence to prove that vitamin D can help to fight breast cancer. Researchers at London's Imperial College have found that women with advanced breast cancer have lower levels of the vitamin when compared with those in the early stages of the disease.

Previous studies have suggested a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and breast cancer. But most of them cited a genetic variance that increases the risk of breast cancer