Vitamin Information Center

“Super-Fruits” are all the rage these days, promising the added health benefit of free-radical-destroying antioxidants. Blueberries, pomegranate, acai berries, blackberries — all have been shown in studies to reduce the risk of certain physical maladies. However, what these uber-fruits also have in common — apart from their high phytonutrient and antioxidant concentration — is a hefty price tag.

Enter the plum. And the peach and nectarine. According to a published report on FoxNews.com, these three, shall we say, regular fruits matched or exceeded blueberries in antioxidants and phytonutrients that are associated with preventing diseases.

The report is based on a recent study at Texas AgriLife Research, where researchers judged more than 100 varieties of plums, peaches and nectarines.

These findings are of particular importance in today’s economy, when the goal of eating healthy is oftentimes overridden by financial realities. Even with the best intentions to feed our body the good, healthful foods it needs, sometimes it’s just not in the budget.

Thankfully, it appears to be quite possible to obtain the disease-fighting antioxidants found in high-priced “super-fruits” from more budget-friendly produce options.

Acute Health Effects
Definition
A health hazard may produce serious, immediate and
direct effects. These are called acute effects. Some
health effects result from short-term exposure to a high
concentration of a health hazard. The illnesses, diseases
and other conditions that can result from health hazards
are often referred to collectively as health effects
or adverse health effects.

The launch of the new campaign witnessed the presence of a host of artists and stars, who expressed full support and solidarity, including budding actress, Ghada Adel, up-and-coming artist Mahmoud el-Eseily, iconic actress Karima Mukhtar who was keen endorsing the campaign, highlighting artists’ responsibility towards their society, and actor Mahmud Qabeel who attended the event in his capacity as a UN Goodwill Ambassador.

‘This campaign is one of a series of a social action Pampers plays at the international level in cooperation with UNICEF to combat serious diseases, such as the shortage in essential human nutrient Vitamin A,’

said Mohamed Samir, the Vice President of Proctor & Gamble (P&G) for Egypt and the Near East.

He added, ‘This vitamin is essential for improving the immune system.’

Samir said Pampers in collaboration with UNICEF is keen to launch this campaign in Egypt, Syria and Jordan with the aim of supporting the efforts the governments in these countries make to protect public health.

He added that the campaign would give the chance to the public to play a positive role towards their societies every time they buy the big pack of Pampers.

He said a big portion of the revenues from the sales of these nappies would go to this national campaign.

Samir underlined the importance of such donations for the progress of societies, warning against disease, which he described as a ‘most serious impediment to sustainable social and economic development’.

A recent report by UNICEF stated that more than 100 million children under the age of five suffer a shortage of Vitamin A and that 25% of child deaths boils down to this shortage.

The report added that an acute lack of vitamin A in children’s bodies could cause blindness, respiratory diseases and diarrhea, things that lead to death at the end of the day.

That is why the campaign took ‘One Pampers Pack = One Dose of Vitamin A’ as its slogan in a bid to curb child deaths.

Karima Mukhtar expressed her pleasure about taking part in an event that targets mothers’ and children’s health, particularly in the light of the dangers the lack of Vitamin A poses. She called upon all members of society to join hands to make the initiative a success.

Eseily and Gahda Adel, for their part, expressed an equal pleasure for taking part in the campaign, saying that everybody ought to contribute to the protection and development of society. They added that the collaboration of governments, the private sector and international organizations could bring about the required development in any society.

‘The chance to stop diseases caused by the lack of Vitamin A is there,’ Qabeel said.

He called on governments and civil society institutions to join hands to put an end to diseases that threaten the lives of children.

Taking vitamin supplements does not improve health and may increase the risk of premature death, according to media reports.

A review of 67 randomised trials found that taking the supplements vitamin A, vitamin E and beta-carotene could lead to premature death.

The evidence for vitamin C and selenium suggested that the pills did not increase the risk of death, but there was no benefit in taking the pills compared with a placebo.

The researchers concluded that the current evidence does not support the use of antioxidant supplements in a healthy population.

There is no suggestion from the review, however, that a diet rich in natural sources of antioxidants could be damaging to health, say the papers.

Around 12 million people in Britain are taking vitamin supplements fuelling a £330 million industry.

What is the research?
The reports are based on the findings of a Danish study into the impact of antioxidant supplements on mortality rates.

A search of published literature and other studies held by manufacturers identified 815 trials. But only 67 were considered to be adequately run randomised controlled trials. These included 232,550 people aged an average of 62 years.

Twenty-one of the trials focused on the use of supplements in healthy individuals, while the rest tested patients with a range of diseases. Trials including children, pregnant women or patients with acute conditions, such as cancer, were excluded.

Antioxidant supplements were found to increase the risk of premature death in 47 trials.

Overall, antioxidant supplements were linked to a 4 per cent increased risk of death compared with placebo.

But when antioxidants were assessed separately, the researchers found that vitamin A was linked to a 16 per cent increased risk of premature death. For beta-carotene there was a 7 per cent increased risk of death and for vitamin E a 4 per cent increased risk of death.

The use of vitamin C or selenium did not increase the risk of death but showed no beneficial health effects compared with placebo.

Antioxidant supplements could lead to early death by eliminating too many free radicals, suggest the researchers. This could interfere with some essential defensive mechanisms such as apoptosis and detoxification, they say.

What do the researchers say?
Lead author Dr Christian Gluud, from the centre for clinical intervention research at Copenhagen University, called for better regulation of antioxidant supplements.

‘If a patient can eat a healthy, varied diet, then there is no need to take vitamin supplements. According to our results this may even be harmful.

‘Based on our results, as well as the results from other studies, it seems that these supplements might increase the progression of cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers.

‘It seems that the increased mortality comes from an acceleration of disease progression rather than from the development of new diseases.’

The team has not looked at whether a diet rich in natural antioxidants could be harmful to health but it would be good to conduct some large scale trials into this, said Dr Gluud.

What do other experts say?
Anne Sidnell, nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, said: ‘The findings of this study are in line with other studies that have shown that antioxidants have no health benefits when consumed as supplements rather than through food.

‘Our bodies are designed to take in the correct amounts of nutrients from food, but there is a danger of overdosing when using supplements.’

There may be occasions when supplements are needed, such as vitamin D supplements for the elderly or folic acid for pregnant women, but overall a balanced diet is the best way to stay healthy, she added.

But Pamela Mason, nutritionist and spokeswomen for the Health Supplements Information Service, said: ‘Trials using antioxidant supplements have shown inconsistent findings and yet another review or meta-analysis is not going to tell us anything at this stage.

‘Antioxidants, including these noted in the Cochrane review, are essential for health and UK national dietary surveys have shown that some people have poor intakes of such nutrients.’

Antioxidants are not ‘magic bullets’ and were never intended for the prevention of chronic disease and mortality but for health maintenance, she added.

WOULDN’T it be wonderful if there were a range of magic pills we could take once a day to protect us from all manner of diseases?

One to ward off cancer, another to keep our cholesterol in check, and yet more to keep us mentally astute, with slim, well-toned bodies and glowing complexions.

We could drink beer, smoke tabs and eat burger and chips to our heart’s content and never have to worry because all the nasty side-effects would be cancelled out by a cocktail of dietary supplements.

You’d be forgiven for thinking many people already believe this to be possible, though admittedly to a lesser extent. But there’s surely no denying that millions of us are under the illusion that popping a few pills can cure a variety of ills.

I’m not talking about genuine, tried-and-tested medicines here . . . I’m referring to vitamin supplements.

An estimated 10m people in the UK regularly take vitamins, shoring up a whopping £350m-a- year industry. Goodness knows what the industry is worth worldwide. But if a new report is to be believed, they’re wasting their money.

In what is claimed to be the most in-depth study ever undertaken into the effects of supplements, a team of Danish scientists concluded that there’s no evidence that they are of any benefit to health.

Worse still, they say some — including Beta- carotene, vitamin A and vitamin E — actually endanger life and could “significantly increase mortality”.

Whenever I read stories like this I feel like I’ve wandered onto the set of the old Woody Allen movie Sleeper.

Allen’s character, having been cryogenically frozen for hundreds of years, is brought back to life in the future where everyone smokes because scientists have discovered tobacco is the healthiest substance known to man.

Now we’re faced with a version of Allen’s movie in reverse . . . it seems everything we thought was good for us is bad for us. Either that or it makes no difference, in which case, it’s still bad for us financially. So how come so many of us have fallen for the hype? I suspect the answer is that people believe vitamins work because that’s what they want to believe . . .

And because the truth is as unpalatable to them as the fresh fruit and vegetables they have shunned in favour of supplements.

Unfortunately, however, there are no magic pills. And it’s high time we accepted that fact and stopped throwing money at an industry that has become adept at selling us an impossible dream.

A healthy diet and plenty of exercise is the only answer . . . that’s the hard-to-swallow truth scientists have been telling us for years.

People who take vitamin supplements may not benefit their health and could increase the risk of premature death, according to a new report.

Danish researchers found that antioxidants do not prolong life expectancy as some may hope and that beta-carotene, vitamin A and vitamin E may actually increase the risk of death.

They did not uncover evidence that vitamin C and selenium have either positive or negative effects.

Their findings are based on a review of data from 67 randomised trials that involved just under a quarter of a million people and were released today by the Cochrane Library.

“We could find no evidence to support taking antioxidant supplements to reduce the risk of dying earlier in healthy people or patients with various diseases,” said Goran Bjelakovic, who performed the systematic review at the Copenhagen Trial Unit at the Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark.

“Regarding these antioxidants we need more data from randomised trials. The bottom line is that current evidence does not support the use of antioxidant supplements in the general healthy population or in patients with certain diseases.”

Commenting on the review, the UK’s Food Standards Agency said: “Most people should be able to get all the nutrients they need by eating a varied and balanced diet.

“If consumers do choose to take supplements, it is important they are informed and they may also wish to also consult with their GP. For some vitamins and minerals, taking too much or taking them for too long can cause harmful effects.

HURSDAY March 13, 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) — Vitamin D is more than more important than thought and it can prevent a range of diseases including cancers.  But a new study cautions that just because you live in a Southern state like Arizona does not mean you would get enough vitamin D through exposure to the sun. This is particularly true in blacks and Hispanics.

For the study, Elizabeth T Jacobs from University of Arizona and the Medical University of South Carolina and colleagues tested Arizonian participants of a colorectal adenoma prevention study for their serum vitamin D known as 25 hydroxyvitamin D or 25(OH)D.

They found 55.5 percent of blacks and 37.6 percent of Hispanics were more likely to have deficient 25(OH)D concentrations (<20 ng per mL) in their blood compared to 22.7 percent in non-Hispanic whites.  Sun exposure had a greater effort on 25(OH)D in whites than in blacks and Hispanics.

The researchers concluded that “Despite residing in a region with high chronic sun exposure, adults in southern Arizona are commonly deficient in vitamin D deficiency, particularly blacks and Hispanics.”

The study was published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 87, No. 3, 608-613, March 2008.

A vegan way of life is very effective at curing all manner of diseases and illnesses.

The basis of the vegan diet is to eliminate all processed carbohydrates and animal fats. So a vegan follower would obtain all their daily requirements from the consumption of raw foods.

Raw foods can provide superior quality protein, vitamins, enzymes, minerals, good fats and carbohydrates.
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If the cause of a disease is known then it becomes easy to cure it. That is why whenever any new disease breaks out, scientists zero in on finding out the real cause behind it. But they do not do so for all kind of diseases. Particularly, if it is a harmful one then time is not wasted on it. It is because of this the actual cause behind cradle cap is not found out yet; nor does it hamper the treatment of the disease.
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