Health And Fitness News 

New Study Rebuffs Vitamin E And Heart Health Fears

A recently released study on the effect of vitamin E in heart health is a welcome change from the many studies that use too little of a vitamin or herb. Low dose studies, with poor parameters, often report poor results as a consequence of their poor study design - instead of being a true reflection of the effect of the supplement in question.

This study on vitamin E not only confirms what many have felt - that vitamin E can be beneficial in heart health at the right dose. But it also puts to rest the fears that some had that vitamin E acts as an oxidative agent. Oxidative agents are what causes the damage that antioxidants seek to reverse.

The study was published online in Free Radical Biology and Medicine. It differed from a lot of other studies on vitamin E and heart health in that it used a group of 8 participants, average age 34, who had polygenic hypercholesterolemia. This group was chosen because they represent people with a condition that may benefit from using vitamin E as a cardio protective agent.

This group of 8 women were a subset of the overall study, which followed 35 people with an average age of 42. Participants were given different doses daily for 16 weeks. The doses were either 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, or 3200 IU of vitamin E, or a placebo. It was a double-blind placebo controlled study.

The researchers wanted to measure the effect of different doses of vitamin E on plasma F2-isoprostanes concentrations, which is a biochemical marker of oxidative stress. They found that the results were dose dependant. To achieve a "statistically significant" reduction in plasma F2-isoprostane levels, much higher doses were needed than those studied in previous trials on vitamin E and hear health.

Daily doses of 1600IU per day achieved a reduction of 35% in plasma F2-isoprostane, and daily doses of 3200IU per day achieved a 49% reduction. The researchers did note that this did not make vitamin E a stellar antioxidant compared to some of the others available. They wrote:

"Even with this massive dose of vitamin E, you only observe a 50 percent reduction in F2- isoprostanes. So in my opinion, vitamin E is not the spiffy antioxidant everybody thinks it is - it's a pretty poor antioxidant."

As far as concerns about vitamin E being an oxidative agent, which were raised by some research in vitro (in the lab as opposed to in humans), the researchers found that their data found nothing to support those fears, across a wide range of doses.

Hopefully this study will spur further clinical trials on vitamin E using more effective dose ranges.

Is Mega Vitamin Therapy Safe

Mega vitamin therapy is championed by some, including some scientists, and criticised by many others. It is said that it is practised by a lot of natural therapists, and certainly by some members of the public. What is the truth? And what exactly is mega vitamin therapy?

The latter question is not so easily answered. In the broadest sense, it is said that it is the use of vitamins at many times the recommended daily allowance, to treat (and/or prevent) health problems. But given that many consider the RDA to be too low to support optimal health, this is somewhat meaningless.

Many natural therapists and nutritionists (and some doctors) may in fact be suggesting higher levels of supplements that are still within the newer, broader guidelines used by both Canada and the US. This set of guidelines is called the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI). The DRI is actually 4 different guidelines - the Estimated Average Requirements, the Reference Daily Intake, the Adequate Intake, and the Tolerable Upper Intake.

The latter has the most significance in relation to what is considered mega vitamin therapy. It is defined as: "the highest average daily intake level that is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects to almost all individuals in the general population. As intake increases above the UL, the potential risk of adverse effects may increase." (http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/pages/publicationD.jsp?publicationId=295)

So, what in some writings may be considered 'mega vitamin therapy', may in practice be within the tolerable upper intake. Natural therapists usually practice within these guidelines.

But if we consider mega vitamin therapy as being supplements taken beyond this Tolerable Upper Limit, then some of the criticisms may in fact be valid.

The criticisms center around the safety and effectiveness of mega vitamin therapy. Some of the question marks around one of mega vitamin therapy's advocates, Linus Pauling, are explained here.

One thing to keep in mind with vitamins, is that they usually work together. Phyllis A Balch writes that:

"you must recognize that nutrients work synergistically. This means that there is a cooperative action between certain vitamins and minerals, which work as catalysts, promoting the absorption and assimilation of other vitamins and minerals." (Prescription For Nutritional Healing)

She suggests taking a multi vitamin when you take single vitamin and mineral supplements for this reason. But taking large doses of single vitamins is going to throw associated vitamins and minerals out of balance, in a much bigger way than if you were sticking with recommended doses. Thus, taking large doses for a long period of time is not really a good idea at all.

Some vitamins, and most minerals, are toxic if taken in large doses. You can check out the symptoms of a vitamin overdose here. Whilst it is the fat soluble vitamins that tend to pose the most threat, because these are stored in the body, some water soluble vitamins can still prove dangerous if taken excessively. For example, vitamin B5 is taken by many acne sufferers in large doses, yet it can produce some significant side effects. One sufferer's experience of using vitamin B5 for acne are described here.

Whilst sticking to the range described by the RDI (or the old RDA) and the tolerable upper limit, will generally be quite safe, it's probably better to use other, less contentious treatments for health problems, unless you are directly supervised by a doctor.

Folic Acid And Liver Health

Folate is usually spoken of in the same breath as pregnant women in the more health aware. But this B vitamin has a lot of other benefits, including the possibility that it may help prevent liver damage and even liver cancer.

Folic acid is part of the group of B vitamins. These B vitamins have quite a range of effects, and are particularly good in times of stress. Folic acid is actually the synthetic form of folate. It is this molecule that is added to fortified food and supplements. Folate is the natural form, found in leafy green vegetables, sunflower seeds, dried legumes like lentils and chick peas, and even liver! That's a good a reason as any to snack on some great pate from the local deli!

The importance of folate in preventing neural tube defects in unborn babies is well established, hence its' association with pregnancy. However, some interesting research has just emerged from China. A study, conducted by researchers affiliated with the National Cancer Institute, a number of international hospitals and medical schools, and universities, found evidence that higher levels of folate were associated with a lower incidence of liver damage and liver cancer.

The study was conducted with 412 people with hepatitis B. They were chosen because they have a higher risk of developing liver damage. The study went for 4 years. Liver damage was measured by the presence of the enzyme, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in the blood. ALT is found in small amounts in the blood of people with healthy livers. When liver damage occurs, ALT is released into the blood in large amounts.

Researchers found when people had higher levels o0f folate in their red blood cells, the levels of ALT were correspondingly lower. At the point with the highest average of folate, ALT levels were 14% lower compared with those who had the least average level.

In terms of liver cancer, amongst these subjects, the risk was 67% less for those people with the highest folate levels in their blood.

Because this was only a small study, and on a fairly specialist group of people (those with hepatitis B), more research is definitely needed. However, if supported in future studies, folate could become a powerful nutritional tool in liver health.