HEALTH

SEATTLE — Overweight or obese women who have less-than-optimal levels of vitamin D and lose more than 15% of their body weight experience significant increases in circulating levels of this fat-soluble nutrient, according to a study released last week by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

IRVINE, Calif. — Dr. Sears Family Essentials on Tuesday announced the flavor line extension of its Cool Fuel ready-to-drink shakes, adding chocolate banana to its lineup.

OAKLAND, Calif. — A woman's risk of developing a type of diabetes typically caused by pregnancy can be identified up to seven years prior to becoming pregnant, according to a new study by Kaiser Permanente.

The study, part of Kaiser Permanente's ongoing research to understand, prevent and treat gestational diabetes mellitus, found that routinely assessing blood sugar and body weight measures can provide women with insight on their risk of developing GDM.

CAMDEN, N.J. — Campbell Soup on Tuesday announced the company is expanding its V8 franchise into the fast-growing energy drink category with two new products: V8 V-Fusion + Energy drinks and V8 Energy Shots.

Sales of energy shots reached $173.9 million across food, drug and mass (minus Walmart) for the 52 weeks ended April 17, representing growth of 43.5% compared with the prior year, according to SymphonyIRI Group data.

PARIS — New results from a late-stage clinical trial of a Sanofi drug for Type 2 diabetes indicated that the drug can reduce blood sugar in patients without increasing the risk of causing the blood sugar levels to dip too low, the French drug maker said Tuesday.

PRINCETON, N.J. — Church & Dwight and hip-hop artist Chris “Ludacris” Bridges on Friday named the five winners of the Magnum "Live Large" Project 2. The emcees, voted in by users on YouTube, performed live on stage with Ludacris in front of 20,000 fans at Miami's Spring Fest music festival this past Sunday.

SPOKANE, Wash. — INGfertility on Tuesday announced its Pre-Seed "fertility-friendly" personal lubricant will be available in all Walgreens pharmacies as of Wednesday, following Facebook demand for increased distribution.

"Walgreens has been our most requested retail location for Pre-Seed, and we have had an amazing response to this news at Facebook,” INGfertility CEO G.D. Clifton said.

WASHINGTON — The Council for Responsible Nutrition and Virgo on Wednesday announced a continuation of their education webinar partnership, offering a minimum of two new webinars in 2011.

The first webinar will take place Sept. 14, with the topic to be announced in June. The second webinar will take place Nov. 8.

Additionally, a provisional date has been reserved for a potential third webinar Dec. 14, CRN stated.

This marks the fifth year that CRN and Virgo have partnered to produce webinars on topics of interest to the dietary supplement industry.