Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Orthomolecular Medicine News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service,
October 30, 2007

Doctors Say, Raise the RDAs Now
(OMNS October 30, 2007) The US Recommended Daily Allowance/Daily Reference Intakes are too low and most should be raised immediately, says an independent panel of physicians, academics and researchers. In a statement this week, the Independent Vitamin Safety Review Panel said: "Government-sponsored nutrient recommendations, such as the US RDA/DRIs, are not keeping pace with recent progress in nutrition research. While current official recommendations for vitamin A, iron, calcium, and some other nutrients are generally adequate, the public has been asked to consume far too little of many other key nutrients. Inadequate intake, and inadequate standards to judge intake, have resulted in widespread nutrient inadequacy, chronic disease, and an undernourished but overweight population."
Citing a large number of physician reports and clinical studies, the IVSRP called for substantial increases in daily intake of the B-vitamins, vitamins C, D and E, and the minerals selenium, zinc, c, magnesium and chromium. "Raising the RDA/DRI will save lives and improve health," the Panel said. "Clinical and sub-clinical nutrient deficiencies are among the main causes of our society's greatest healthcare problems. Cancer, cardiovascular disease, mental illness, and other diseases are caused or aggravated by poor nutrient intake. The good news is that scientific evidence shows that adequately high consumption of nutrients helps prevent these diseases."
Specifically, the IVSRP called for a new standard, an Optimum Health Requirement, recommending daily adult consumption of nutrients in the following higher quantities:
Vitamins

B-1 Thiamine: 25 mg
B-2 Riboflavin: 25 mg
B-3 Niacinamide: 300 mg
B-6 Pyridoxine: 25 mg
Folic acid: 2,000 mcg
B-12 Cobalamin: 500 mcg
C: 2,000 mg
D3: 1,500 IU
E as natural mixed tocopherols: 200 IU

Minerals
Zinc: 25 mg
Magnesium: 500 mg
Selenium: 200 mcg
Chromium: 200 mcg

The Panel concluded by stating: "In the past, over-conservative government-sponsored standards have encouraged dietary complacency. People have been led to believe that they can get all the nutrients they need from a 'balanced diet' of processed foods. That is not true. For adequate vitamin and mineral intake, a diet of unprocessed, whole foods, along with the intelligent use of nutritional supplements, is more than just a good idea: it is essential."

Independent Vitamin Safety Review Panelists are:
Abram Hoffer, MD Michael Janson, MD Thomas Levy, MD, JD Erik Paterson, MD Woody R. McGinnis, MD Allan N. Spreen, MD Bo H. Jonsson, MD, PhD Chris M. Reading, MD Bradford Weeks, MD Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, MD Jerry Green, MD Stephen Faulkner, MD Klaus Wenzel, MD Richard Huemer, MD Peter H. Lauda, M.D. Jonathan Prousky, ND Michael Friedman, ND William B. Grant, PhD Harold Foster, PhD H. H. Nehrlich, PhD Steve Hickey, PhD Gert E. Schuitemaker, PhD Andrew W. Saul, PhD, Chair

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine
Linus Pauling defined orthomolecular medicine as "the treatment of disease by the provision of the optimum molecular environment, especially the optimum concentrations of substances normally present in the human body." Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness.
For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org/12all/lt/t_go.php?i=65&e=Mjg1ODQ=&l=http://www.orthomolecular.org/
The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.



Christopher Wiechert, C.N.C.

Christopher Wiechert's Healthblogger is for educational or informational purposes only, and is not intended to diagnose or provide treatment for any condition. If you have any concerns about your own health, you should always consult with a health care professional. If you decide to use this information on your own, it's your constitutional right, but I assume no responsibility.

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Thursday, October 25, 2007

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

I often feel when I tell clients to stop eating wheat, sugar and fast carbs like potatoes and white rice, that they think this is based on a radical point of view based on fad low carb diets. It is really based on science and how these foods effect us on a genetic basis. Also, when it comes to weight and issues like heart disease, onset diabetes, cancer etc, many medical authorities blame genes for these health problems, and don't realize that foods and nutrients have profound effects on turning good or bad genes on or off.

According to Mark Hyman, M.D., in the May 2007 issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there was a very interesting study done to prove my point. This study demonstrates that foods have biochemical triggers.
In this study, researchers from Finland took two groups of people with metabolic syndrome and gave each group a different diet. The diet differed in what type of carbohydrates they consumed for the 12 week study. The rest of their diet was identical. They contained the same calories and the same amount of fat, protein, carbohydrate, and fiber. The first group had wheat, oats, and potatoes as the source of their carbs. The second group ate rye as their source of carbohydrate. Rye has some very special properties. It is slowly absorbed by the body and has phytonutrients that help you lose weight and improve metabolism. After the 12 weeks, the researchers took a fat sample and analyzed it to find out which genes were turned on or off. So what happened? In the wheat, oat, and potato group, 62 genes were activated that increased inflammation, oxidative stress, and the stress response, worsened blood sugar balance, and generally amplified all of the forces in the body that lead to obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease!
No good genes were turned on. In the rye group, 71 genes were turned on that prevent diabetes, lower cholesterol, reduce inflammation, and improve blood sugar control. In both cases, the genes that were turned on and off were 100% effective. In other words they were either anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory. This also hold true for good fats and bad fats. Vegetable oils are pro-inflammatory and fish oils are anti-inflammatory.
The key to disease prevention lies in what you eat and what supplements you decide to take.

Here are some great nutritional studies that have come by my desk this month...

cw


A chemical found in green tea helped moderately diabetic mice tolerate sugar and produce insulin...
WASHINGTON -- A chemical found in green tea helped moderately diabetic mice tolerate sugar and produce insulin as well as GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Avandia pill did in a study.
Five-week-old moderately diabetic and severely diabetic mice were fed the compound, an antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, or given Avandia. The rodents' blood sugar and insulin levels were studied after five and 10 weeks of treatment. The moderately diabetic mice fared as well on green tea extract as they did on Avandia, also known as rosiglitazone, the researchers reported. EGCG was not as effective in the severely diabetic group.
MORE


Vitamin K shows potential in the fight against wrinkles...
19/10/2007 - Research suggests that vitamin K plays a role in protecting skin elasticity and may help protect against skin aging and the development of wrinkles.Recent studies have linked vitamin K to the elasticity of skin in patients suffering from pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), an inherited condition resulting in severe wrinkling of the skin on the face and body. Although the link between vitamin K and normal levels of skin wrinkling seen in healthy populations is unknown, scientists suggest that these studies illustrate that the vitamin is involved, in some capacity, in the skin's elastic qualities.
MORE


Omega-3 Madness: Fish Oil or Snake Oil...
WASHINGTON—Omega-3 claims are popping up in everything from cereal to mayonnaise, but are those foods the panacea that marketers would have you believe? According to the cover story in the October issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter, certain omega-3s may reduce the risk of heart disease and might even help protect against cancer, Alzheimer’s, and vision problems. But many foods making claims have little or none of those omega-3s, and labels don’t have to reveal how much or which omega-3 fat the foods contain. DHA and EPA, the omega-3s found in salmon, trout, other fish, and algae, are linked to a lower risk of heart disease. Another omega-3, ALA, found in flaxseed and to a lesser extent, canola and soy, may not have the same benefits. But that doesn’t stop companies from loading products with ALA and bragging about their omega-3 content.
MORE



Christopher Wiechert, C.N.C.


Christopher Wiechert's Healthblogger is for educational or informational purposes only, and is not intended to diagnose or provide treatment for any condition. If you have any concerns about your own health, you should always consult with a health care professional. If you decide to use this information on your own, it's your constitutional right, but I assume no responsibility. The views expressed on this website are those of the health professionals & scientists I list or my own opinions and are not intended to replace any medical advice you may require. The contents have not been approved by the Pharmaceutical Association, the American Medical Association, or the Food and Drug Administration. This website may present views diametrically opposed to the views of such organizations. I also offer resources to products I formulate as well as those that I believe are of high value and quality. Profits from these recommendations are used to keep HealthBlogger free to those who read and appreciate the time and research that goes into these posts. It has been my experience over the last 30 years that if I offer reports and research without product recommendations, you will most likely pay more at the local health food store, and may not get the right product or the quality you would expect. I only recommend companies I respect and order from myself. I consider this a value added service that I offer along with the research. If you find this a conflict of interest, please don't order from my links.

Christopher Wiechert, C.N.C. is available for consultation, on your health issues.
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Monday, October 15, 2007

Vitamin D3 update...

Study shines more light on benefit of vitamin D in fighting cancer...
600,000 cases a year of breast and colorectal cancer could be prevented each year by adequate intake of vitamin D, according to researcher.


A new study looking at the relationship between vitamin D serum levels and the risk of colon and breast cancer across the globe has estimated the number of cases of cancer that could be prevented each year if vitamin D3 levels met the target proposed by researchers.
Cedric F. Garland, Dr.P.H., cancer prevention specialist at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and colleagues estimate that 250,000 cases of colorectal cancer and 350,000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented worldwide by increasing intake of vitamin D3, particularly in countries north of the equator. Vitamin D3 is available through diet, supplements and exposure of the skin to sunlight.
“For the first time, we are saying that 600,000 cases of breast and colorectal cancer could be prevented each year worldwide, including nearly 150,000 in the United States alone,” said study co-author Garland. The paper, which looks at the dose-response relationship between vitamin D and cancer, will be published in the August edition of the journal Nutrition Reviews.
The study combined data from surveys of serum vitamin D levels during winter from 15 countries. It is the first such study to look at satellite measurements of sunshine and cloud cover in countries where actual blood serum levels of vitamin D3 had also been determined. The data were then applied to 177 countries to estimate the average serum level of a vitamin D metabolite of people living there.
The data revealed an inverse association of serum vitamin D with risk of colorectal and breast cancer. The protective effect began at levels ranging from 24 to 32 nanograms per milliliter of 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in the serum. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D level is the main indicator of vitamin D status. The late winter average 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the US is about 15-18 ng/ml. The researchers maintain that increasing vitamin D levels in populations, particularly those in northern climates, has the potential to both prevent and possibly serve as an adjunct to existing treatments for cancer.
The work builds on previous studies by Garland and colleagues (Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular, February 2007) which found that raising the serum 25(OH)D levels to 55 ng/mL was optimal for cancer prevention. This is the first study to recommend optimal vitamin D serum levels which, Garland said, are high enough to provide the needed benefit but which have been found by other scientists to be low enough to avoid health risks.
“This could be best achieved with a combination of diet, supplements and short intervals – 10 or 15 minutes a day – in the sun,” said Garland. It could be less for very fair-skinned individuals. He went on to say that “the appropriate dose of vitamin D in order to reach this level, could be very little in a lifeguard in Southern California… or quite a lot for someone in Northern Europe who tends to remain indoors most of the year.”
The serum level recommended by the study would correspond to intake of 2000 International Units per day of vitamin D3 for a meaningful reduction in colorectal cancer. The researchers recommend 2000 IU/day, plus, when weather allows, a few minutes in the sun with at least 40% of the skin exposed, for a meaningful reduction in breast cancer incidence, unless the individual has a history of skin cancer or a photosensitivity disease.
Garland also recommends moderate sun exposure and use of clothing and a hat when in the sun longer than 15 minutes.
This paper used worldwide data only recently available through a new tool called GLOBOCAN, developed by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. GLOBOCAN is a database of cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence for 177 countries. Previous studies from this core group have shown an association between higher levels of vitamin D3 or markers of vitamin D status and lower risk of cancers of the breast, colon, ovary and kidney. The researchers underscore their call for prompt public health action to increase intake of vitamin D3 as an inexpensive tool for prevention of diseases that claim nearly one million lives each year world wide.
“The message is, depending on where you live, you may need to consider taking in considerably higher levels of vitamin D3 than those currently recommended,” said Garland. “I’d recommend discussing vitamin D needs with a health care professional, who may order and interpret a simple blood test for a vitamin D metabolite [25(OH)D], and provide a dosage recommendation that’s appropriate for the individual’s needs.”

The study was co-authored by Cedric F. Garland, Dr. P.H., Sharif B. Mohr, M.P.H., Edward D. Gorham, M.P.H., Ph.D., and Frank C. Garland, Ph.D., of the Division of Epidemiology at the UCSD Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and Moores UCSD Cancer Center; and William B. Grant, Ph.D., of the Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center, San Francisco.



Christopher Wiechert, C.N.C.


Christopher Wiechert's Healthblogger is for educational or informational purposes only, and is not intended to diagnose or provide treatment for any condition. If you have any concerns about your own health, you should always consult with a health care professional. If you decide to use this information on your own, it's your constitutional right, but I assume no responsibility.

Please visit our websites:

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Orthomolecular Formulations
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