J Nutrition July, 2005
K. M. Rasmussen et al, The Nutritional Phenotype in the Age of Metabolomics, J. Nutr. 2005 135: 1613-1616
The concept of the nutritional phenotype is proposed as a defined and integrated set of genetic, proteomic, metabolomic, functional, and behavioral factors that, when measured, form the basis for assessment of human nutritional status…. As the first step in this initiative, a prioritized list of genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic as well as functional and behavioral measures that defines a practically useful subset of the nutritional phenotype for use in clinical and epidemiological investigations must be developed…
Susan A. Kynast-Gales et al, Ascorbate Increases Human Oxaluria and Kidney Stone Risk, J. Nutr. 2005 135: 1673-1677
Vitamin C supplements are taken by 12.4% of US adults. 12-14% of people getting kidney stones report taking more than 500 mg of vitamin C per day. This article provides kinetics of vitamin C [ascorbic acid, AA] metabolism when 1000 mg of AA is taken twice a day. “Although urinary oxalate was shown to increase with [AA of 1,000 mg twice a day], a direct association of AA supplementation with stone incidence is not clear.”
David N. McMurray et al, Dietary (n-3) Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Modulate Murine Th1/Th2 Balance toward the Th2 Pole by Suppression of Th1 Development, J. Nutr. 2005 135: 1745-1751
This article attempts to demonstrate the mechanism by which omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of heart disease, by their effect on the immune system: “the anti-inflammatory effects of FO may be explained in part by a shift in the Th1/Th2 balance, due to the direct suppression of Th1 development, and not by enhancement of the propensity of CD4+ T cells to be polarized toward a Th2 phenotype, at least in vitro”
Mike E. J. Wadsworth et al, Supplement Use Is Associated with Health Status and Health-Related Behaviors in the 1946 British Birth Cohort, J. Nutr. 2005 135: 1782-1789.
A significantly greater percentage of women reported supplement use compared with men (45.1 vs. 25.2%). Supplement use was associated with lower BMI, lower waist circumference, higher plasma folate and plasma vitamin B-12 concentrations, nonsmoking, participation in physical activity, and nonmanual social class in women and with plasma folate concentrations and participation in physical activity in men. ..Overall, supplement users tended to differ from nonsupplement users on a range of health-related behaviors and health status indicators, although there were fewer significant associations in men. Similarly, dietary supplements users tended to have underlying diets that, were healthier and those taking supplements may be the least likely to need them. ..
Christine A. Swansonet al, Computer Access to Research on Dietary Supplements: A Database of Federally Funded Dietary Supplement Research
J. Nutr. 2005 135: 1796-1799
…support for supplement research has been relatively modest and only recently emphasized at the NIH. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 led to the creation of the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the NIH to promote research on dietary supplements…we report that NIH-funded dietary supplement research steadily increased from fiscal year (FY) 1999 through 2002…
