Miscellaneous Reading Notes July 2005

These are notes on other materials I read that are likely to be relevant.

1. Vitamins for Chronic Disease Prevention in Adults, Fairfield KM and Fletcher RH, JAMA 287:3116-26 (2002) – Some groups of patients are at higher risk for vitamin deficiency…Many physicians may be…unsure of which vitamins they should recommend for their patients…Vitamin excess is possible…particularly for fat-soluble vitamins…Inadequate intake … has been linked to chronic diseases, including coronary heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis.[Table 2 lists Cohort Studies and Randomized Trials of Major Vitamin-Disease Relationships, limited to those the authors chose to cite]

2. Spring/Summer 2005 Oregon State Univ. Linus Pauling Institute Research Report

*Vitamin C detoxifies Oxidized Fat, J. F. Stevens

*Preventing Osteoporosis through Diet and Lifestyle, J. Higdou – “physically active people generally have higher bone mass density at all ages than people who are sedentary…get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity daily, including weight-bearing exercise, strength-training (at least twice a week), and activities that improve balance to help prevent falls…Most calcium supplements…are best absorbed when taken with food, but calcium citrate and calcium citrate malate are also well-absorbed on an empty stomach…Older adults…should take extra vitamin D for a total of 800 IU/day [ed. note. – 1,000 IU is considered necessary now-see vitamin D] …teenage and adult women should aim for at least 7 servings (of colored fruits and vegetables) and teenage and adult men should aim for 9…supplements that contain no more than 2,500 IU of vitamin A…

*Recent Research on Vitamins C and E, S. Lawson – “diabetic individuals may want to refrain from taking more than 300 mg.day of supplemental vitamin C until more is known about its health effects in diabetes…LPI does not make a recommendation for supplemental beta-carotene because of the generally weak evidence of benefit and possible detrimental effects…The majority of studies that investigated the role of vitamin C in heart disease have reported beneficial effects…While too few clinical studies have been published to conclude that high-dose antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, would never interfere with any specific chemotherapeutic drug, the available evidence suggests that…concern may be unwarranted… *High-dose vitamin E and mortality – In January, 2005, a meta-analysis of clinical studies…was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine…The authors reported that the use of 400 IU/day or more of vitamin E alone…was associated with slightly increased risk of mortality…[data used for meta-analysis]undermine the assertion in [this] meta-analysis…The tolerable upper intake level for vitamin E has been set at 1,500 IU/day due to the possibility that higher doses mayh interfere with normal blood clotting…the U.S. Institute of Medicine…concluded that vitamin E is safe when taken in amounts less than the upper intake level… The long-term use of vitamin E supplements [typically 400 IU] decreased the risk of dying from ALS [amylotrophic lateral sclerosis] by 62%… Archives of Neurology in 2004 reported that the combined use of vitamin E and vitamin C – but neither vitamin alone – protects against Alzheimer’s disease…Alpha-tocopherol is maintained in human plasma longer and at higher levels than gamma-tocopherol, but gamma-tocopherol, the main form of dietary vitamin E in the United States, may be present long enough for biological effects yet to be elucidated.”

*Zinc and Prostate Cancer, E. Ho – “Zinc is especially important in the prostate and may protect it from early damage that could lead to cancer…our results are limited to human cells in culture”