Vitamin Information Center

Decades ago, American children faced a dreaded daily routine to prevent rickets and promote overall health: swallowing cod liver oil.

“Before the 1930s, when milk began to be fortified with vitamin D in this country, it was very, very common that children would have been given cod liver oil as a source of vitamin D,” said Allen Knehans, professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
However, a report issued this month by 16 experts said cod liver oil is not a good source of vital vitamin D because the oil also includes toxic levels of vitamin A.

“Americans continue to consume multivitamins and/or cod liver oil containing disproportionately small amounts of vitamin D but detrimental quantities of vitamin A,” the experts said in the report in the Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology. The high level of vitamin A in cod liver oil “will mask the benefit of adequate vitamin D nutrition,” it said.

Knehans, who was not involved in creating the report, said vitamin A is “clearly toxic” and that high doses over a long period could result in blurred vision, stupor, even coma. “It can be pretty serious.”

The report lauded many apparent benefits of vitamin D, from reduction of influenza and respiratory infections to increased immunity and even prevention of cancer, diabetes and chronic diseases. It also warned of dangers of vitamin D deficiency, including autism, asthma and autoimmune diabetes.

Diet alone cannot solve the problem, the scientists said.

They also said many multivitamins contain far too much vitamin A and far too little vitamin D. They called on federal officials to boost the recommended levels of vitamin D, saying “current official guidelines and limitations for vitamin D intakes are scientifically indefensible.”

Federal guidelines urge people to have a daily vitamin D intake of 200 IU for infants to 600 IU for those 71 and older.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study indicates that multivitamins and vitamin C top the list of dietary supplements used by US adolescents, which is “reassuring” given the relative lack of health risks associated with them, researchers say.

But adolescents in the study who used prescription medications were also more likely to use dietary supplements, and doctors and pharmacists should be sure to ask their young patients about supplements to avoid the possibility of harmful interactions, Dr. Paula Gardiner of Boston University Medical School and her colleagues conclude.

Gardiner and her team reviewed data from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys for 11- to 19-year-olds to investigate how common supplement use is among adolescents and factors associated with using vitamins, herbal medicines, minerals and other products.

Twenty-seven percent of the adolescents surveyed said they had used a dietary supplement in the past month, the researchers found. Sixteen percent used multivitamins, while 6 percent said they took vitamin C. Just 4 percent used non-vitamin mineral supplements, including 2 percent who said they used supplements to help them lose weight or enhance sports performance.

Non-Hispanic whites were most likely to be using dietary supplements, while prescription medication users were 37 percent more likely than those not taking prescribed drugs to use dietary supplements. Study participants who said they were in fair or poor health were 41 percent less likely to take supplements than their peers who considered themselves to be in better health. And adolescents who reported having chronic headaches were 25 percent more likely to use dietary supplements.

Obese individuals were 51 percent more likely to be using non-vitamin or mineral herbal supplements, the researchers found, as were older teens.

“To better understand use among culturally diverse groups and those with different clinical conditions, future studies should include a broader range of dietary supplements (such as those used in folk remedies, foods and medicinal teas) and ask about common health conditions,” the researchers conclude.

“Additional studies are needed to determine the impact of dietary supplement use on health care use, health status, and quality of life,” they add.

SOURCE: BMC - Complementary and Alternative Medicine, published online March 31, 2008.

“Buy this shampoo for your 100% dandruff free hair.” Is that right? Such common advertising spiel for marketers on the kind of shampoo they sell to the public. But have you thought of the reality of these spiels? Or have you tried using their products to increase your hair´s health and vibrancy?

While it´s true that there are many shampoo manufacturers that claim superiority over the other, knowing which shampoo could bring out the best in your hair is such difficult to find out. So if you´re on the search for the best shampoo for your healthy hair, think the “what” of these ads and check how the products could generate greater results for your hair. Yes, it´s undeniable that all marketing companies would claim their best for their products so be cautious. Be a critical consumer and pick the best. Remember, your hair is your crown of beauty so that means, extreme care is needed.

The truth is that there are four main problems that vitamin-infused shampoos are meant to cure:

Vitamins in shampoos are supposed to halt slow growth of your hair, graying of hair, hair loss, and general loss of health of your hair.

Vitamin-infused shampoos can either have a specific vitamin or multivitamins in their solution, some herbal supplements or a special ingredient known only to the manufacturer but which they say is a winner of a substance. Sometimes, you may see some famous names in the hairstyling world endorsing a specific shampoo which they claim is THE best in the market. All these choices can leave an ordinary consumer bewildered. So what is the truth?

Vitamins in shampoos can leave your scalp and hair healthier through repeated use. There is an issue on this claim actually. The truth is that most of the manufacturers of these shampoos rely on testimonials from “satisfied users” to back up their claim. Testimonials are not automatically false, but to provide conclusive proof that a claim is true for a certain population of people, controlled studies have to be done so that controlled results can be produced. If you had to choose between believing a testimonial from a “satisfied user” known only by her initials, and a controlled study done by a reputable testing center, which would you believe? Obviously, the later, right?

No conclusive evidence that vitamins applied externally to your hair via a shampoo will restore the health of your hair. It is generally accepted in medical circles that a lack of appropriate nutrition in your body can change the health of your hair for the worse. However, to claim that applying vitamins directly on the hair will bring back health and vitality to your hair is not based on any body of firm scientific evidence at present.

With the abovementioned 4 issues, a scientific fact does exist which puts doubt on the claim that vitamin-enriched shampoos can produce healthier hair –that hair is already dead when it shoots up out of our scalp. That is why when you have a haircut you cannot feel pain – there are no nerve endings connecting your hair shaft to your body anymore. For this reason, some scientific experts doubt very much that vitamin-enriched shampoos are absorbed by your hair, and make the hair and scalp healthier through continuous use. Last word of advice is for you to visit a doctor when you have hair issues.

Matthias Rath and his foundation had never claimed their vitamin products were a cure for HIV/Aids, Rath’s advocate told the Cape High Court today.

The court is hearing a bid by the Treatment Action Campaign for an order forcing the government to act against what it says are Rath’s illegal distribution of vitamin products in black townships and his claim that they can reverse the course of Aids.

“We are not claiming it’s a cure,” Rath’s advocate, Dumisa Ntsebeza, told the court. “We would like to make very clear, that has never been the claim.”

Rath’s position, he said, was that in the absence of an effective cure or a vaccine, and in the face of the extreme toxicity of antiretrovirals, multivitamins were an effective and affordable way to “halt the progression and even reverse the symptoms” of Aids.

Ntsebeza said it was much the same thing to say that vitamins and micronutrients delayed Aids, as TAC had conceded, or that they reversed it, and one should not quibble about the difference.

However there was scientific evidence, published in reputable peer-reviewed international journals, that they could in fact reverse the course of the disease.

It was not the court’s job to question this research.

At one point Ntsebeza referred to administering multivitamins to “our patients”.

However elsewhere in his argument he said that Rath’s only involvement in the affair was the donation of vitamins to the SA National Civics Organisation.

Sanco in turn ran a community nutrition programme using those donations.

It would be a sad day were the court to interdict this programme, he told judge Dumisani Zondi.

Do you take a multivitamin? Or a single vitamin, mineral, or combination supplement? If so, you are in the company of tens of millions of U.S. adults.

Why do you take them? Most people say it makes them feel healthier or they believe it will prevent chronic diseases, or colds and flu. But you may be surprised to know that what is in your bottle and on the label is not strictly regulated. And there is no system in place to collect reports of adverse affects.

Over the past few years there has been increasing evidence that multivitamins and single or combination type vitamin/mineral supplements may not provide the health benefit sought by you, the consumer. In some cases the opposite or no beneficial effects have been reported.

Alarming to think that vitamin or mineral supplements could actually cause more harm than good. An example of this is the use of beta carotene by smokers actually increased the incidence of lung cancer. This is echoed by a recent study out of the University of Washington that reports the use of multivitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E and folate did not reduce the risk of lung cancer.

It is not all bad news though; there are studies to support the use of folate (folic acid) prior to and during pregnancy in the prevention of neural tube defects in the developing fetus. And history has proven that vitamins and minerals play a critical role in our health — the reason we know about the benefits of vitamins and minerals in food is because of the major discoveries in disease prevention such as vitamin C and scurvy and thiamine, a B vitamin, and beri beri (a wasting type disease).

This may leave you wondering if those vitamin mineral supplements in your medicine cabinet are doing what they should or even worth your money.

Let’s look at this way — do you eat a well balanced diet? If so, you may not need a multivitamin and if you take one as a “safety net” know that you may exceed what your body needs or can use.

Are you concerned about a chronic disease? If so, making changes in your diet and exercise habits, not smoking and following through with recommended screenings by your physician are more likely to benefit your overall health picture.

Consider your current state of health, talk to your doctor and/or dietitian, and weigh the possible benefits and risks of a multivitamin and mineral supplement for you.

To your health,

Katherine

Multivitamins Are the Key to Great Health Diet and vitamin supplements have continuously proven their worth to health conscious individuals.

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