EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ABOUT NUTRITION

Alfred “Roc” Ordman, Beloit College and Triumph Health Corporation

When I was a relatively new biochemistry professor in the 1980s, I was elected to the American Society of Nutrition (ASN) for my discovery of the optimum dosage of vitamin C required to saturate blood plasma, 500 mg twice a day.  That is now the dosage taken by millions of Americans after it was the banner headline of USA Today Oct. 18, 1994.

A key issue identified in 1994 by ASN was that despite the publication of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and the Journal of Nutrition, members of the Society and researchers were not effectively communicating evidence for healthier nutrition choices to the general public.

In the 1990s, I began writing a free Nutrition Newsletter, shared via email.  Later, I began compiling those newsletters into a nutrition website, Nutritioninvestigator.org.  Since becoming professor emeritus in 2016, I have continued the newsletter and website, with information linked to peer-reviewed  articles.  The website contains a search box and indices about nutrients, diseases,  the supplements I take and why I take them, the causes of aging and possible strategies to slow those processes, while honoring the personal habits and differences among people and cultures.

My newsletter has 1,000+ subscribers.  To subscribe, email ordman@beloit.edu, SUBJ: nutrition.  I search peer-reviewed literature for answers to readers’ questions.  I conduct reader surveys  to determine how the newsletter can be improved.

Greater adherence to healthy eating patterns is associated with a lower risk of death. The Linus Pauling Institute has a web site, symposia, and outreach programs to spread legitimate nutrition information.  My poster describes my efforts and what others there might be.

Introduction

What obligation do nutrition researchers have to educate the public about their results? How can we educate the public about healthy nutrition?  The American Society of Nutrition challenged members back in the 1980s.  Beyond publishing our research, we should try to educate the public about legitimate information.  With the deluge of advertising for sodas and sweets, and the lack of information from the Federal Government, we were challenged to get the word out that there are wise choices for what to eat and how to eat.

I was a liberal arts college assistant professor teaching biochemistry.  My  research interest was human aging. The free radical theory of aging of Denham Harman (Harman, 1981) led me to investigate how much vitamin C a person should consume.  I discovered and published (King, 1984) the oral dosage of vitamin C that saturates the blood, 500 mg twice a day. My compatible goals became to investigate human aging, and to inform my students(Beloit, 1986), the public(Ordman, 2022) and professionals(Ordman, 2020, 2019) about they might extend their healthspans.

Methods

My first step was to contact the media.  I spoke to a reporter for USA Today, and that led to a banner headline on page 1 (Figure 1). That headline led to many interviews with various media.

I then began a website at Beloit College.  Forty years later, when I retired, I continued to augment the site, now over 700 pages.   It is written for non-professionals.  It contains a key word search command so one can find many recent articles on health, aging, disease, and consciousness.

Next I began a newsletter.  Initially I developed the style sending it to students and colleagues.  This newsletter has evolved steadily to address reader concerns and questions.  I recently did a monkey survey of the thousand plus weekly readers (Table 5).

Results

Daily values of vitamins are calculated to prevent short term disease, but are not selected to maintain a long healthspan.  Efforts to educate people about vitamin C have succeeded, with evidence at the Feb. 28, 2023 LPI symposium on vitamin C.  The speaker Anitra Carr stated that she takes 500 mg twice a day.  Maret Traber at LPI was among the first to recommend an upper limit for nutrients in addition to the Daily Value.  Upper limits for vitamin E and vitamin D, for example, are much higher than their daily values.

My website has many sections linked on the Master Index (Table 1). Because of my interest in aging.  I have many essays on the causes of aging, and how one can delay those causes, primarily by nutrition and exercise (Table 2).  One index lists all of the nutritional supplements I am aware of, with explanations of the pros and cons of taking them, with journal links for justified claims (Table 3).  Another index compiles this information by disease, with information about how nutrition can affect the onset and progression of disease (Table 4).  There is a link to the supplements I take and the journal articles supporting those choices (Table 5).

One can obtain my weekly nutrition newsletter by emailing ordman@beloit.edu, SUBJ: newsletter.  I have over 1,000 subscribers.  The index links issues for many decades.The newsletter has a link on each issue so readers can unsubscribe.  Each issue starts with short notes that fit a single computer screen.  Below this are long notes. These are a longer explanation of each short note, with a link to a published source that comes from a legitimate organization with science-based information.

My survey of readers indicates their attention to the survey and their behavior that may have been influenced by staying informed (Table 6).

Discussion

Greater adherence to healthy eating patterns is associated with a lower risk of death (Shan, 2023). The adverse health effects of high ultraprocessed food and drink (UPFD) consumption are well documented (3). In contrast with the prevailing notion that “a calorie is just a calorie”, there are clear differences, within and between individuals, in the metabolic response to different macronutrient sources (4).  Dr. Michael Holick, Boston University endocrinologist, at the last LPI conference recommend at least 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily, explaining that most experts were taking 5,000.  Yet a survey of LPI attendees showed less than half took vitamin D supplements.  A review by Salas-Goves (2023) identified multiple knowledge gaps, strengths, and limitations in nutrition and exercise for the elderly, that can be a starting point to help build future study designs and interventions in the elderly (over 65).

I remind my newsletter readers that it is easier to stay healthy than to get healthy.  The American Society of Nutrition long ago reported that simply reading about nutrition once a week may extend healthspan.

But the question remains: what might be the best strategies to get accurate nutrition information to people, to acknowledge mistaken advice and most importantly, to encourage changes in long-held behaviors?  Websites, podcasts, more nutrition classes in medical schools, public service announcements, conversations, lectures on Public Television?  How can we best share our knowledge?

It is wonderful that the Linus Pauling Institute has a web site, symposia, and outreach programs to spread legitimate nutrition information.  While they produce a quarterly newsletter, might a weekly newsletter be possible?  Because of DSHEA, only medical doctors can give nutrition advice.  I have a disclaimer on all of my materials explaining that I am not giving advice, I am only reporting what is published in the scientific literature.  It would be wonderful to read reports on efforts LPI staff are making to extend their healthspans.

CONCLUSION

There remains a tremendous need to educate the public, including medical professionals, about scientifically-based nutrition information.  Personal outreach by professionally educated individuals may contribute to meeting this need through websites and newsletters.  A future Linus Pauling Symposium addressing how to meet this need would have tremendous value.

References

Beloit College student research posters, https://nutritioninvestigator.org/stuposters/ (1986-2015)

Harman, D. “The aging process”, PNAS USA 78:7124-7128 (1981)

King,G., M. Beins, J. Larkin, B. Summers, and A. B. Ordman, “Rate of Excretion of Vitamin C in Human Urine”, AGE 17:87-92 (1994).

Ordman, A. “Roc”, nutritioninvestigator.org, since 1984.

Ordman, A. “Roc”, nutritionnewsletter, since 1995.

Ordman, Alfred, “Nutritional Steps to Maintain Health and Reduce Cancer Risk”, J. Cancer Therapy 10: 829-834 (2019)

Ordman, A. “A review of nutrients to extend healthspan and avoid cancer by reducing the amount of protein misfolding, free radicals, and calcification”,  J. Cancer Therapy 11: 497-506 (2020) https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=102401

Ordman, Alfred B., “When Will the FDA Do What Is in People’s Best Interests?”, Am. J. of Soc. And Econ. 81: 721-751 (2022)

Salas-Groves, E. et al, Effectiveness of Home-Based Exercise and Nutrition Programs for Senior Adults on Muscle Outcomes: A Scoping Review, Clinical Interventions in Aging 18:1067-1091 (2023)

Shan, Z. et al, Healthy Eating Patterns and Risk of Total and Cause-Specific Mortality, JAMA Intern Med. 183(2):142-153 (2023)

Figure 1: USA Today, Oct 18, 1994

Table 1: Master Index

MASTER INDEX

  1. Indexall supplements– search here by specific supplement|
    2. Supplements Roc takes for a longer healthspan
    3. Supplements Roc designed to reduce cancer, heart disease, arthritis and dementia risk
    4. Index to diaries of specific details of people trying to extend their healthspan
    5. Roc’s 64 steps for better healthspan– Conclusions to lead a long, healthy life
    6. Index consensus project
    7. Index Theories of why we age and how to extend healthspan
    8. Index Basis for Nutrition Investigator . index First reads – suggestions for what this site is about
    9. Index Diets and Fasting . Index Disease
    10. Index  Sports – carboloading, how to exercise, etc.
    11. Index Pregnancy – legitimate studies on diet, exercise, early years of breast feeding for long term health
    12. Index Research posters, readings, classes
    13. Index Newsletters – headlines of nutrition research since 1990 from nutrition research linked to articles
    14. Research posters by Roc and his students
    15. Index to Supplements by age and gender  which the scientific literature justifies for healthy individuals to take
    16. Link to Old Beloit College website with effective search command for prior to 2016

Table 2: Aging Index – Causes of aging, and how to delay those causes

WHY HUMANS AGE

Introduction (2022): I have studied human aging since 1984 when little was known except the free radical theory 1 below, which led to my discovery that 500mg of vitamin C twice a day is required to saturate the blood with this vital antioxidant.  The list of theories with strong evidence is expanding rapidly since 2000, as our population ages.  Some are inter-related but focus on different aspects.  They are numbered below
1. The free radical theory of aging: of Denham Harman
2. Inflammation (or “Inflammaging” )
3. Telomere shortening. 
4. The Translational Infidelity Error Theory of Aging of Rolf Martin
5. Microbiome destruction
6. Cellular Senescence
7. Thymus failure
8. Systemic length-associated transcriptome imbalance
9. Deficiency in various vital molecules

Table 3:  Supplement Index – Underlined Supplements have Pros and Cons of taking Them, with Journal Links

All Supplements Listed alphabetically.

To add to this list, email ordman@beloit.edu

Supplements taken by Roc: [Links to sites where Roc buys them]

 acetyl l-carnitine (ALCAR)  alpha-ketoglutarate alpha lipoic acid (ALA)  AREDs          

BCAAs berberine butyrate hydroxymethylbutyrate   beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB)

cayenne/curcumin  chondroitin   Fish Oil – DHA and EPA   Ellagic acid

Genistein Green tea  or extract  kefir     olive oil melatonin  Mito-C SAMe  

Spirulina Taurine Triumph  turmeric    Vitamin B3    Vitamin B12  

Vitamin C  Vitamin D     Vitamin E      Vitamin K.     yogurt/kefir  

Other Supplements taken by other Gerontology Research Group members

Acidophilus  L-alpha glycerylphosphorylcholine (GPC)  ALCAR ALT711  anise powder (polyphenols)   aspirin   any  astaxanthin  Astragalus 

 Azithromycin   bacopa  beetroot powder  berberine  berry powder     beta hydroxy-beta methyl butyrate betaine Blueberry extract Boswellia serrata  Butyrate calcium  carnitine, any derivative  caffeine/coffee carnosine   choline – a B-type-vitamin  chondroitin cinnamon clover (polyphenols)  Coenzyme Q, CoQ10, creatine  Cruciferous Veg,  cysteine  dandelion  Dasatinib  DHA DHEA  digestive enzymes  dihydroquercetin EPA Epitalon Fiber supplement  Fisetin    folic acid    Fruit Extracts   Fucoxanthin  fullerenes    GABA    Garcinia combogia   garlic  GDF11    GDF15   GHK (glycyl-l-histidyl-l-lysine)    ginger     ginseng-Panax (Asian) vs American    glucosamine  glutathione    glycine    Gotu Kola   
Grape extract       Ground clover (polyphenols)  Hawthorn    HMB = Leucine Metabolite     huperzine-A    Ibuprofeniron    J147     jiogolan      klotho krill oil lecithin     leucine  linolenic acid  lithium  lysine       magnesium       metformin     methyl folate     Milk Thistle     Mito-C  multivitamins mushroom of any type      N-acetylcarnitine N acetylcysteine (NAC)     NAD+     niacin        nicotinamide     Pau d’Arco     pomegranate extract     potassium      PQQ     prebiotics     pregnenolone    prilosec  probiotics     Protandim Provinal pterostilben     quercetin     Rapamycin     Resveratrol   Rifaxamin      S-Adenosylmethionine      saw palmetto    
schizandra     selenium      spermidine Statins TA-65 taurine    
Taxifolin     theanine     thiamine TMG      tocotrienol    
trehalose. trimethylglycine     tyrosine    ubiquinol    Vitamin B options
Vitamin B  complex     Vitamin B3 Vitamin B6      vitamin B7    
Vitamin B12    Vitamin C Vitamin D Vitamin E  Vitamin K   zinc

Table 4: Disease index – Information about how nutrition can affect the onset and progression

INDEX TO HEALTH AND DISEASE PAGES

These pages provide information to discuss with your health care provider about nutrition and practices to reduce risk, ameliorate, or prevent diseases. Note particularly the microbiome in the 21st century has been recognized to have a vital role in many diseases.

Addiction. Arthritis Blood Circulation.      Alzheimers

Baldness for men and women.   Cancer. Cholesterol Cocaine.

COVID treatment. Diabetes.   Crohn’s disease

Depression  Fibromyalgia    Gout.    Health links to other pages.

Heart disease.    Kidney Disease      Knee replacement.

Mental Health     Microbiome     Leg cramps    Migraine Headache.

Muscle Building     Sarcopenia and muscle recovery    Sepsis    Stroke

 

Table 5: Supplements I take with links to journal articles supporting those choices

 

*conflict of interest – I benefit from sales of Mito-C and Triumph

Supplements Roc Takes

Where I                                               Why I                When.                       What it
Buy it*                                                  Take it I           take it            Costs per 28 days

alpha-keto-glutaric acid, 500mg                     X        X pm **                     $5.70

AREDs                                                            AREDs           AREDs am                  $2.70

Astaxanthin. 12 mg                               Asta.               Asta. am                     $13.50

beta-hydroxybutyric acid n.d.             BHB                 BHB    am.                  $8.30

Ellagic acid  500 mg                             Ella.                 Ella   am                    $17.27

Fish Oil, 1 or 2 g                                 Fish                  Fish am                      $6.16

Genistein 125 mg (see hazard)           Genistein.       Gen/hazard. Am         ** $32

Red grape juice                                   Juice               Juice am                      n/a

Leucine (as BCAAs) 1.2 g                 leu                    leucine. am                $8.97

Melatonin, 3 mg                                  Mela               Mela bed S,T,Th,Sat     $0.75

Mito-C**                                            * Mito             Mito am and pm.        $32.62

Olive oil                                              Olive              Olive lunch                 n/a

Resveratrol, 30 mg                             Resv                 Resv am                    $4.48

Spermidine, 8 mg                               Sperm.            Sperm am                   $22.97

Spirulina, 1 g                                        Spir                Spir am                      $3.30

SAMe, 200 mg                                   SAMe             SAMe am                   $8.00

Taurine, 1 g                                         Taurine           Taurine am                  $3.08

Tocotrienols 50 mg                             Toco                Toco Sunday am.       $1.60

Triumph***                                        Tri                  Tri 1st, 2nd, 15th, 16th $20.00

day of each month

Vit B3, Niacin , 500 mg                     B3                  B3 am                         $1.40

Vitamin B12, 500 mcg                       B12                 B12 Sunday am          $0.23

Vitamin D, 2,000 IU                           D                     D am                           $0.56

yogurt/kefir, one sip                                       am                               n/a

 

TOTAL to sustain your healthspan about $215/month

 

Table 6: SURVEY OF NUTRITION NEWSLETTER STYLE AND EFFECTIVENESS

 

  1. How many of the weekly newsletters do you open per month:  always 77% sometimes 23%
  1. When you open them, do you read all of the short notes? Yes75%  No25%
  1. When a short note entry interests you, how often do you read entries in the long notes: sometimes 46%, always 54%
  1. Should the short notes be longer? 14% Shorter? 4% The same? 83%
  1. Age: 28 to 82 yrs old
  2. Gender:54% male.  46% female
  3. Are you a health professional like doctor or nurse: 20% doctor 10% prof  6% nutrition education
  4. Do you know Roc personally: 50% yes.  50% no
  5. Do you sponsor the newsletter with a donation: 16% yes
  6. Do you currently have any of the following conditions:
    1. Obesity.  26%.        b. Depression. 13%
  1. 6.5%. d. Arthritis.  58%
  2. Have you had any of the following:
    1. Cancer.  53%.   b. Heart disease. 21%
  1. Sarcopenia (muscle wasting with age). 37%
  2. Disturbing declining cognitive ability. 11%
  3. Do you use Mito-C? 10% yes
  1. If you use Mito-C:
    1. My mental function has declined. 50%
    2. My mental function has not declined. 50%
    3. My arthritis has gotten worse? 17%
    4. My arthritis has not gotten worse? 50%
  2. Do you use Triumph?   4%
  3. If you use Triumph, have you had any cancer develop?  100% no
  4. If you have developed cancer since taking Triumph, what kind? n/a
  5. How many nutritional supplements do you take on an average day?  0-40
  6. Do you take any of  the following do you take?
    1. Vitamin C or Mito-C? yes 64%
    2. AREDsII. yes 13%
    3. 2,000IU or more of Vitamin D yes 80%
    4. SAMe.   yes 7%
    5. Niacin, vitamin B6 yes  38%
    6. Fish oil or fish at least 3x per week yes  73%
    7. A multivitamin 58%
    8. Calcium  31%
  7. Which of the following is closest to your diet?
    1. Vegetarian or vegan. 18%
    2. Mediterranean diet. 57%
    3. Western diet = meat most days 25%
  8. How many days a week do you get at least 30 minutes of exercise?  AVG = 4. Range 0-7
  9. About how many times have you looked at the Nutrition Investigator website?
  1. Never 38%.    A few times. 35%
  1. About once a month. 8%. Frequently. 19%
  2. How would you describe your health compared to others your age?
    1. Average 20%.      b. Below average 6%
  1. 44%. d. Much better 31%
  2. How long have you been receiving the Nutrition Newsletter?
    1. Less than 3 months.  17%.      b. Less than a year. 12%
  1. 1 to 10 years. 63%                 More than a decade 8%