Posts Tagged ‘Heart Disease’

Fortifying your knowledge of vitamins

January 25th, 2010 Von

By Tyrone M. Reyes, M.D.

Take a multivitamin for insurance.” Until recently, that was the usual advice from physicians, scientists, and other experts. Now, it’s under scrutiny: That’s because if you’re looking for hard evidence that a multivitamin will lower your risk of heart disease, cancer, cataracts, or other major disease, you may be disappointed. In 2006, the US National Institutes of Health held a State-of-the-Science Conference. Its conclusion: “Evidence is insufficient to prove the presence or absence of benefits.”

“Insufficient” is putting it mildly. By the time the scientists narrowed the field to trials that pitted a multivitamin against a placebo and excluded poorly done studies, they ended up with less than half a dozen — two of them done in China and two in France. The single US study looked only at vision. But it’s one thing to lack proof that multivitamins prevent disease. It’s quite another to find evidence that a multi might cause harm. After all, a handful of recent studies have suggested that people who take multivitamins — or a few of the nutrients they contain — might have a slightly higher risk of cancer. Here’s what to do until scientists sort out the confusion.

How To Read A Multivitamin Label

Please refer to the illustration of a made-up multivitamin label on this page. It lists how much of each vitamin and mineral we need to get every day (from food plus supplements), according to the US National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine (IOM). The IOM’s recommendations vary slightly by age and gender. In most cases, what is listed is the highest value for adults, excluding pregnant and breastfeeding women. The label also lists the Daily Value (DV) for each vitamin or mineral. It is the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) advice on how much to shoot for each day (from food and supplements combined). The DVs, which haven’t been updated in decades, are still used on multivitamin labels. In some cases, the values date from 1968 and don’t reflect the recent research. Here is the current thinking on these nutrients (please refer to the values as indicated in the label):

• Vitamin A (retinol). The Daily Value (5,000 IU or International Units) is outdated. You need only 3,000 IU a day of vitamin A. Too much retinol (typically listed on labels as vitamin A palmitate or vitamin A acetate) may increase the risk of hip fractures, liver abnormalities, and birth defects. Beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A, doesn’t cause those problems, but very high doses (33,000 to 50,000 IU a day) may increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers. Current advice: Don’t get more than 4,000 IU of retinol or 5,000 IU of beta-carotene from your multi (less retinol would even be better). Instead, load up on beta-carotene-rich fruits and vegetables like carrots, cantaloupes, sweet potatoes, and broccoli, which may help prevent some cancers.

• Vitamin C. The DV (60 mg) is lower than the IOM’s recommendations (75 mg a day for women and 90 mg a day for men). Roughly 250 to 500 mg saturates the body’s tissues, so more than that is probably excreted in urine. Taking more than 1,000 mg of vitamin C at one time in a supplement may cause diarrhea.

• Vitamin D. This vitamin helps you absorb calcium and may reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, and falls. Some people may get too little vitamin D from sunshine or from their food. The IOM recommends 200 IU a day for adults 50 and under, 400 IU for people 51 to 70, and 600 IU for anyone over 70. Some vitamin D experts though say that everyone should get at least 1,000 IU a day. Those amounts include what you get from the sun, from salmon and other fatty fish, and from fortified foods like milk, breakfast cereals, and some brands of yogurt, margarine, and orange juice. They also include the vitamin D that’s added to many calcium supplements. Most multivitamins have 400 IU of vitamin D (the DV).

• Vitamin E. Doses of 30 to 800 IU a day haven’t protected against heart disease or stroke, and 400 IU a day or more may slightly raise the risk of dying. Studies are underway to see if 400 IU a day prevents prostate cancer. To play safe, stick to no more than 100 IU.

• Vitamin K. The IOM recommends 120 mcg/day, yet most multivitamins have much less than the DV (80 mcg). In recent studies, taking extra vitamin K doesn’t strengthen bones, as earlier studies had suggested. You can get K from leafy green, some calcium supplements, and vitamin K supplements. Vitamin K can interfere with blood-thinning drugs like Coumadin, so people who take them should check with their doctor before taking a multi with vitamin K.

• Thiamine (B-1), riboflavin (B-2), niacin (B-3), B-6. The higher-than-DV levels in many multivitamins are harmless. Two exceptions: More than 100 mg a day of vitamin B-6 can cause (reversible) neurologic damage. And as little as 50 mg a day of niacin can cause flushing. Super-high doses of niacin (3,000 mg a day or more) may cause liver damage, though you won’t find that much in a multivitamin.

• Folic acid. If you could become pregnant, look for a multi with the DV (400 mcg) to reduce the risk of birth defects. Others should probably take less until studies clarify whether high intakes (roughly 1,000 mcg a day or more from supplements and food combined) raise the risk of cancer. Since most multis have 400 mcg, one option is to take your “daily” multi every other day.

• Vitamin B-12. Most multivitamins have at least 6 mcg (the DV). That’s more than the 2.4 mcg the IOM recommends for adults, but it’s perfectly safe. (So are the higher doses — 600 to 800 mcg — that are found in a few multivitamins.) Ten to 30 percent of older people are unable to absorb the B-12 in the form that’s added to supplements and fortified foods. A B-12 deficiency can cause irreversible nerve damage and may masquerade as Alzheimer’s disease.

• Biotin, panthotenic acid. Ignore. You’d have to eat a bizarre diet to run short.

• Calcium. Calcium may help prevent colon cancer and (with vitamin D) may reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Shoot for 1,000 mg a day (if you’re 50 or younger) or 1,200 mg (if you’re over 50). But men should get no more than 200 mg from their multi, since 1,500 mg a day or more may raise prostate cancer risk.

• Iron. Many people, especially premenopausal women, are deficient. But taking too much can cause constipation or iron overload if you’re susceptible. Men and postmenopausal women should look for a multivitamin with no more than 10 mg of iron or should take a multi for premenopausal women every other day. The DV (18 mg) is fine for premenopausal women.

• Phosphorus. Unnecessary to take in a multi. Too much may impair calcium absorption, and we already get more than we need from our food.

• Magnesium. Many people get too little of magnesium from their food (among the best sources: whole grains and beans). A deficiency may increase the risk of diabetes and colon cancer. Look for a multi with at least 100 mg, just for insurance. The IOM recommends 320 mg a day for women and 420 mg for men. More than 350 mg a day from a supplement may cause diarrhea.

• Zinc, copper. Look for 8 mg (women) or 11 mg (men) of zinc and 0.9 mg of copper. There’s no harm in taking a multivitamin with the DVs (15 mg for zinc and 2 mg for copper), but don’t take more than 23 mg zinc. Getting more than 40 mg may make your body lose copper.

• Selenium. Many multis have less than the DV (70 mcg) or the IOM’s recommended level (55 mcg). A large study is under way to see if high doses (200 mcg) can lower the risk of prostate cancer. But a few studies have suggested that taking 200 mcg a day may raise the risk of skin cancer and diabetes, so it’s safest to take no more than about 100 mcg a day.

• Chromium. The IOM recommends only 20 to 25 mcg a day (women) or 30 to 35 mcg a day (men). Many brands have closer to 120 mcg (the DV), which is safe.

• Iodine, magnesium, molybdenum, chloride, boron. Ignore. There’s no evidence that people need more than what they get from their food.

• Potassium. Ignore. The amounts in multis are low. And while the potassium chloride that’s used in supplements may lower blood pressure and the risk of stroke, it won’t help prevent kidney stones and bone loss like the potassium citrate that’s found in fruits and vegetables.

• Nickel, silicon, tin, vanadium. Ignore. It’s not clear that they’re needed.

Source: Philstar

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Busting six top health myths

November 22nd, 2009 Von

By Ching M. Alano

Nope, we’re not going to talk about sex, lies, and videotape here. It seems everybody’s talking about that, it’s coming out of our ears. We have no Hayden agenda, we simply want to bare the lies, half-truths, and myths that have persisted or been perpetuated through the years.

According to health activist Dr. Joseph Mercola with Rachael Droege, believe or not, there are tons of health information being circulated by media, it’s difficult to separate what is credible from what is not. And some of this information that has been accepted as gospel truth by many experts and health care practitioners are actually myths.

Mercola gives us this friendly advice, “Your health really depends on your own ability to sort through all of the information and pick out what is reliable. Unfortunately, you often cannot rely on the ‘popular’ opinions to give you the best results.”

And now, here are the top six health myths and the facts, according to Dr. Mercola.

1. Myth: Saturated fat causes heart disease.

Fact: Separating fat from fiction, Dr. Mercola stresses that it is not the saturated fat in the foods we eat that is giving us heart disease, but rather — and much more — it is the excess carbohydrates from our starch- and sugar-laden diet that are making us fat and unhealthy, as well as causing epidemic levels of a host of diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Then there are the trans fats, which raise bad cholesterol in the blood, a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

Dr. Mercola explains, “The reason why many people have not succeeded with the original diet-heart hypothesis that says a low-fat, high-carb diet is the best diet for the heart is likely explained by metabolic typing. We each have one of three nutritional types and each suits people to a different type of diet. Some people will benefit from a “high”-carb program that is two-thirds carbs as vegetables, while others need to follow a diet that is higher in protein to function optimally.”

2. Myth: Low-fat diets are healthy.

Fact: Fat chance. Our body cannot function properly without adequate amounts of fat —from blood clotting to vitamin absorption to brain function. Which is why a low-fat diet can be dangerous. Among the dangers are: It raises bad (LDL) cholesterol; won’t prevent prostate cancer; can increase risk of injury; increases triglyceride (a type of fat found in the blood that’s important to good health); won’t prevent prostate cancer; can increase risk of injury; may increase risk of stroke; worsens heartburn; denies children essential nutrients.

What makes low-fat diets harmful is the fact that people tend to replace the fats with grains and sugars. “If vegetables were substituted instead, then it is far less likely that there would be a problem,” asserts Mercola.

He adds, “Also, many people have adopted low-fat diets as a way to lower their cholesterol. Not only are low-fat diets not the key to lowering cholesterol, as mentioned above, they may actually raise bad cholesterol. But low cholesterol does not necessarily mean good health. For instance, low cholesterol is linked to many problems including aggressive behavior, depression, suicide, and stroke.

Yes, we all need some beneficial fats in our diet to stay healthy and avoiding fat like the plague and striking it out of our diet is a prescription for disaster, says Mercola.

3. Myth: Sun causes skin cancer.

Fact: It’s probably the hottest — and one of the most inaccurate myths — going around. We all need sunshine to stay healthy. Although sun exposure can cause skin cancer, appropriate sunlight actually prevents cancer. Exposure to the sun provides many other benefits such as promoting the formation of vitamin D. There’s also strong evidence that sunlight protects against MS and colon, ovarian, and breast cancers.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you can expose yourself to the sun as much as you want. Here’s Dr. Mercola’s bright prescription: “At the beginning of the season, go out gradually and limit your exposure to perhaps as little as 10 minutes a day. Progressively increase your time in the sun so that in a few weeks, you will be able to have normal sun exposure with little risk of skin cancer. Remember to never get burned, that is the key.”

He cautions everyone, “Using sunscreen is not a good way to limit your sun exposure; in fact, sunscreen is one of the last things you want to put on your body, and sunblock does not stop skin cancer. Sunscreen is a toxic chemical that can cause problems in your system and increase your risk of disease. A far more logical solution would be to creatively use your clothing to block the sun’s rays during your build-up time. Additionally, consuming many whole vegetables will increase antioxidant levels in the body, which will provide protection against any sun-induced radiation damage. If you are interested in preventing disease by way of the sun, I cannot urge you strongly enough to read the book that I am calling one of the most important health books of all-time, The Healing Sun by Dr. Richard Hobday.”

4. Myth: Milk does the body good.

Fact: Commercial pasteurized milk is not a health food and should be avoided. The problem lies in the pasteurization process, combined with the source of largely unhealthy cows. When milk is pasteurized, the structure of the milk proteins changes (denaturization) into something far less than healthy.

Sally Fallon of the Weston Price Foundation says it best: Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamin B12 and vitamin B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease, and cancer.

Take note, says Mercola: Raw milk sours naturally, but pasteurized milk turns putrid and processors must remove slime and pus from pasteurized milk by a process of centrifugal clarification.

What’s so sad is the fact that milk is one of the healthiest foods available prior to its being

5. Myth: Fish is good for you.

Fact: Of course, fish is one of the healthiest meats on the planet as it is loaded with beneficial omega-3 fats, but the sad truth is fish (and shellfish) easily accumulate high levels of chemical residues from the water they live in. Residues in fish can be as much as nine million times the amount found in the water!

Some of the contaminants found in fish flesh are mercury; PCBs; radioactive substances like strontium, toxin metals like cadmium and lead.

But it’s okay to eat very small fish like anchovies and sardines as they are small enough to have minimal contamination.

6. Myth: Whole grains are good for you.

Fact: The whole truth is that while we agree that whole grains are better than refined grains, whole grains are still not something that most people should be eating, says Mercola.

Mercola gives the facts and figures: “Well over 75 percent of Americans would benefit from severely limiting or eliminating all grains — refined, whole, sprouted or otherwise — from their diets. This is because nearly everyone with high insulin levels benefits from avoiding grains; yes, even whole grains. People in this group would be anyone who is or has: overweight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.”

Now you know the real meat vis-a-vis these myths.

* * *

We’d love to hear from you. E-mail us at ching_alano@yahoo.com.

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