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CORVALLIS, Ore. – New research has found that elderly people with higher levels of several vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids in their blood had better performance on mental acuity tests and less of the brain shrinkage typical of Alzheimer's disease – while "junk food" diets produced just the opposite result. The study was among the first of its type to specifically measure a wide range of blood nutrient levels instead of basing findings on less precise data such as food questionnaires, and found positive effects of high levels of vitamins B, C, D, E and the healthy oils most...

The FDA has issued a proposed mandate that represents the greatest threat to dietary supplements since 1994. Back in the early 1990s, consumers were so alarmed by FDA bullying that they staged a massive revolt. The result was that Congress passed a law prohibiting the FDA from banning popular nutrients (as the agency had threatened to do). There was, however, a loophole in the 1994 law. The FDA was given authority to regulate ingredients introduced after October 15, 1994. It has been 17 years, but the FDA just issued draconian proposals as to how it intends to regulate what it...

Since he’s having trouble getting his own bill passed, he’s trying a different approach to get the same results. For weeks we have been telling you about Sen. Dick Durbin’s disastrous Dietary Supplement Labeling Act, which attempts to impose harsh limits on supplement availability by giving the FDA major new powers to make arbitrary standards and rules that will curtail supplement sales. Initially it orders the FDA to compile, with help from the Institute of Medicine, a list of dietary ingredients (read: supplements) that could lead to adverse events or are otherwise deemed risky in some way. But creating lists...

If it's Monday, it must be bad news about multivitamin day -- or was that Wednesday? No, Wednesday was good news about vitamin D, not so good news about vitamin E -- if you're confused, join the club. The alphabet soup of vitamin studies making headlines in the last few weeks has left more than one head spinning, and most clinicians scrambling for answers. As the dust begins to settle, physicians interviewed by MedPage Today and ABC News agreed on a bit of simple wisdom -- a healthy diet is more important than a fistful of supplements. "I had already...

(NaturalNews) TIME, USA Today, MSNBC, NPR, CTV, the LA Times and numerous other mainstream media outlets have all been running a juvenile hoax over the last week. Through various misleading headlines, they're all claiming that vitamins might kill you. Here are some of the headlines: Study links vitamins to higher death rates in women - CTV Study: Vitamins may increase death risk in older women - USA Today We've Been Wasting a Ton of Money on Vitamins and Dietary Supplements - TIME Some common vitamin supplements could increase death risk - MSNBC Dietary supplements risky for older women, study finds...

Popping vitamins may do more harm than good, according to a new study that adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting some supplements may have health risks. Researchers from the University of Minnesota examined data from more than 38,000 women taking part in the Iowa Women's Health Study, an ongoing study with women who were around age 62 at its start in 1986. The researchers collected data on the women's supplement use in 1986, 1997 and 2004. Women who took supplements had, on average, a 2.4 percent increased risk of dying over the course of the 19-year study, compared...

Predicts advanced diseaseMiami Beach, Fla., October 2, 2011 – More than three-quarters of cancer patients have insufficient levels of vitamin D (25-hydroxy-vitamin D) and the lowest levels are associated with more advanced cancer, according to a study presented on October 2, 2011, at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). "Until recently, studies have not investigated whether vitamin D has an impact on the prognosis or course of cancer. Researchers are just starting to examine how vitamin D may impact specific features of cancer, such as the stage or extent of tumor spread, prognosis, recurrence...

A few weeks ago, I wrote to you about the FDA’s proposed new policy on dietary supplements that could make it impossible or very expensive for you to purchase the natural products you rely on to support your health. The open comment period on the FDA’s proposed guidelines ends on September 30, so NOW is the time to act and let your voice be heard if you want to retain your right to access supplements. (Scroll down to the bottom of this article to learn how you can get involved.) If the FDA has its way, all vitamins, herbs and...

The power of DSunshine vitamin’s potential health benefits stir up, split scientists By Nathan Seppa July 16th, 2011; Vol.180 #2 (p. 22) A nutritional supplement that is free of charge, offers a wide range of health benefits and poses little risk sounds like fodder for a late-night TV commercial. It offers a safe route to better health, these advocates say, by promoting proper function of the bones, heart, brain, immune system, you name it. Yet, the proponents claim, most people don’t get enough. Whereas humans’ pre­historic ancestors lived outdoors and made oodles of vitamin D in their sun-exposed skin, people...

Vitamin A supplements to malnourished children worldwide could save 600,000 young lives a year, says study with strong Canadian connections that challenges the politics behind the controversial program. “This is a fundamental human rights issue,” bioethicist Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta told the Star on Monday. “I think further studies exposing large numbers of children are unethical,” he said. In 43 studies from 18 countries analyzed by Bhutta and his team, children given placebos rather than Vitamin A capsules were at 27 per cent higher risk of dying from diarrhea and suffered 50 per cent more cases of measles and far more...

Sen. Orrin Hatch blasted a new bill that health experts are calling a government takeover of the vitamin industry. New legislation proposed by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., earlier this month would crack down on the testing, labeling, and sale of dietary supplements nationwide. The increased regulation almost certainly will deny many Americans easy, affordable access to the natural health products they rely on daily, experts warn. Sens. Durbin and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., quietly submitted the Dietary Supplement Labeling Act of 2011 over the July 4th weekend. Despite its innocuous title, the bill would force a massive reclassification of food additives...

New research in the FASEB Journal demonstrates need for public health initiatives aimed at identifying, treating and taking seriously modest vitamin and mineral deficienciesBethesda, MD—Severe deficiency of the vitamins and minerals required for life is relatively uncommon in developed nations, but modest deficiency is very common and often not taken seriously. A new research published online in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), however, may change this thinking as it examines moderate selenium and vitamin K deficiency to show how damage accumulates over time as a result of vitamin and mineral loss, leading to age-related diseases. "Understanding how best to define and...

Having low vitamin D levels may increase a person's risk of developing Parkinson's disease later in life, say Finnish researchers. Their study of 3,000 people, published in Archives of Neurology, found people with the lowest levels of the sunshine vitamin had a three-fold higher risk. Vitamin D could be helping to protect the nerve cells gradually lost by people with the disease, experts say. The charity Parkinson's UK said further research was required. Parkinson's disease affects several parts of the brain, leading to symptoms like tremor and slow movements. 30-year study The researchers from Finland's National Institute for Health and...

A lack of vitamin D, even in generally healthy people, is linked with stiffer arteries and an inability of blood vessels to relax, research from the Emory/Georgia Tech Predictive Health Institute has found. The results add to evidence that lack of vitamin D can lead to impaired vascular health, contributing to high blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease. Study participants who increased their vitamin D levels were able to improve vascular health and lower their blood pressure. The data is being presented on Sunday by Ibhar Al Mheid, MD, a cardiovascular researcher at Emory University School of Medicine,...

Tired? Depressed? Forgetting things? Who isn't these days? Those are also symptoms of a deficiency of B12, a key nutrient needed to make red blood cells and DNA and keep the nervous system working right..... "B12 deficiency is much more common than the textbooks and journal articles say it is," says Alan Pocinki, an internist in Washington D.C., who routinely tests his patients who fall into those categories. He also notes that since the Metformin connection was discovered only recently,

Simple treatment may counteract widespread problem of subnormal vitamin levels in acute-care patientsTreatment with vitamin C rapidly improves the emotional state of acutely hospitalized patients, according to a study carried out by researchers at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital (JGH) and the affiliated Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (LDI). In a double-blind clinical trial, patients admitted to the JGH were randomly assigned to receive either vitamin C or vitamin D supplements for seven to ten days. Patients administered vitamin C had a rapid and statistically and clinically significant improvement in mood state, but no significant change in mood occurred with...

Calcium supplements, which many people consume hoping to ward off osteoporosis, may increase the risk of heart attack by as much as 30 percent, researchers reported Friday...(snip) ...While experts are not certain about the biological mechanism by which calcium supplements may damage the body, studies in the past have linked high levels of blood calcium to more heart attacks and damage to blood vessels, Reid said. "When you take calcium supplements, your blood calcium level goes up over the following four to six hours and goes up to the top end of the normal range," he said. "That doesn't happen...

Vitamin D promises to be the most talked-about and written-about supplement of the decade. While studies continue to refine optimal blood levels and recommended dietary amounts, the fact remains that a huge part of the population — from robust newborns to the frail elderly, and many others in between — are deficient in this essential nutrient. If the findings of existing clinical trials hold up in future research, the potential consequences of this deficiency are likely to go far beyond inadequate bone development and excessive bone loss that can result in falls and fractures. Every tissue in the body, including...

Previously I have highlighted the benefits vitamin D has with regard to improving the immune response and helping keep infections such as flu at bay. It has been mooted that the upsurge in viral infections during the winter is connected with the generally lower vitamin D levels at this time. The traditional view is that winter infections are due to “indoor crowding.”However, research indicates that flu epidemics do not occur in the summer in crowded workplaces despite the presence of the flu virus around people who should be susceptible to infection. This is based on research by the Centers for...

Long-term supplementation with dietary antioxidants has beneficial effects on sugar and fat metabolism, blood pressure and arterial flexibility in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism report these positive results in a randomized controlled trial of combined vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 and selenium capsules. Reuven Zimlichman worked with a team of researchers from Wolfson Medical Center, Israel, to carry out the study in 70 patients from the centre's hypertension clinic. He said, "Antioxidant supplementation significantly increased large and small artery elasticity in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors....

The amount of cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream is partly regulated by the brain, a study in mice suggests. It counters assumptions that levels are solely controlled by what we eat and by cholesterol production in the liver. The US study in Nature Neuroscience found that a hunger hormone in the brain acts as the "remote control" for cholesterol travelling round the body.Too much cholesterol causes hardened fatty arteries, raising the risk of a heart attack. The research carried out by a US team at the University of Cincinnati found that increased levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin in mice...

A pair of new studies has uncovered evidence that low levels of vitamin D could lead to poor blood sugar control among diabetics and increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome among seniors. ..... More than 90 percent of the patients, who ranged in age from 36 to 89, had either vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency, the authors found, despite the fact that they all had had routine primary care visits before their specialty visit. Just about 6 percent of the patients were taking a vitamin D supplement at the time of their visit, the research team noted, and those...

SAN DIEGO — The Institute of Medicine is reviewing its 1997 guidelines for vitamin D intake, and will likely recommend increased supplementation when new guidelines are published in 2010. There is a growing consensus that currently recommended intakes—200 IU per day for individuals under age 50 and 400 IU for those aged 50-70—are too low, said Connie Weaver, Ph.D., director of the department of food and nutrition, at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. A recent analysis of data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) during 1988-1994 and 2001-2004 even suggests that an epidemic of vitamin D...

Chemicals found in grape seeds significantly inhibited growth of colorectal tumors in both cell cultures and in mice, according to researchers who have already demonstrated the extract's anti-cancer effects in other tumor types. Their study, published in the October 18 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, documented a 44 percent reduction of advanced colorectal tumors in the animals, and also revealed, for the first time, the molecular mechanism by which grape seed extract works to inhibit cancer growth. The authors found that it increases availability of a critical protein, Cip1/p21, in tumors that effectively freezes the cell cycle, and often pushes...

Dietary factors have long been known to play a major role in the development of obesity. The global increasing prevalence of obesity suggests that there should be some common changes in diet worldwide. In fact, a significant, yet, often neglected worldwide change in dietary factors in the past few decades is the food fortification-induced marked increase in the content of niacin. However, the effect of long-term exposure to excess niacin on human health remains to be unclear. A research team from China examined the role of excess nicotinamide in glucose metabolism using co-loading of glucose and nicotinamide test. They proved...

A finance reform bill called the "Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009" (H.R. 4173), which recently passed in the House of Representatives, now includes a strange addition by Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA). Waxman seems to believe the dietary supplement industry should be regulated like the pharmaceutical industry. The language he wants in the bill can be used to get around the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), the legislation that governs dietary supplement regulation by the FDA. The new language would give new powers to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), allowing it to circumvent key supplement...

(NaturalNews) Of all the sneaky tactics practiced in Washington D.C., this recent action by Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) is one of the most insidious: While no one was looking, he injected amendment language into the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 4173) that would expand the powers of the FTC (not the FDA, but the FTC) to terrorize nutritional supplement companies by greatly expanding the power of the FTC to make its own laws that target dietary supplement companies. This is a little-known secret about the FTC and the nutritional supplements business: The FTC routinely targets...

Mike Adams Natural News April 30, 2010 Of all the sneaky tactics practiced in Washington D.C., this recent action by Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) is one of the most insidious: While no one was looking, he injected amendment language into the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 4173) that would expand the powers of the FTC (not the FDA, but the FTC) to terrorize nutritional supplement companies by greatly expanding the power of the FTC to make its own laws that target dietary supplement companies. Congressman Henry Waxman wants to give the FTC even more powers...

I need some help and I thought freepers could help. My daughter has low vitamin d due to anti-seizure medication she is taking. We are giving her 4000 IU of D3 every, but her levels have only gone from 19-24 (under 30 is deficient), and we've been supplementing for over a year. Our pediatrician is not sure what to do. My daughter is also symptomatic of low Vitamin D. This past year she has gotten lots of colds, her allergies are worse, and her problems with asthma are significantly worse. I know there have been lots of posts about problems...

Women living in the northeastern United States are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA), suggesting a link between the autoimmune disease and vitamin D deficiency, says a new study led by a Boston University School of Public Health researcher. In the paper, which appears online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, a spatial analysis led by Dr. Verónica Vieira, MS, DSc, associate professor of environmental health, found that women in states like Vermont, New Hampshire and southern Maine were more likely to report being diagnosed with RA. "There's higher risk in the northern latitudes," Dr. Vieira said. "This might...

(NaturalNews) The utter worthlessness of Big Pharma's cholesterol drugs was demonstrated recently by a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine which showed that niacin (a low-cost B vitamin) out-performs Merck's drug Zetia for preventing the build-up of arterial plaque, a symptom of cardiovascular disease. As the study reveals, Zetia failed miserably. Patients taking niacin showed a "significant shrinkage" in artery wall thickness, while those on Zetia showed no such improvement. At the same time, the rate of "cardiovascular events" in the niacin group was only one-fifth that in the Zetia group, demonstrating that niacin is far more...

Campaign staff and volunteers of Sen. John McCain and his former vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin are preparing for the pair’s appearance at Mesa’s Dobson High School on Saturday. A spokesman for the camp offered a bit of advice for those wanting to get in: “Folks should get there early,” said Brian Rogers, McCain’s communications director.The event is free, on a first-come, first-served basis and does not require a ticket. (snip) Also speaking at a rally in Tucson on Friday, the appearances are McCain and Palin’s first ones together at a public event since their concession speech in the...

Washington -- Senators have reached an agreement on more modest dietary supplement safeguards that would make it easier to crackdown on products that could hurt people. The move comes only a few days after Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, stepped away from a tougher bill because of the concerns expressed by Sen. Orrin Hatch, who is a major supporter of the dietary supplement industry, one of Utah's biggest sectors. McCain and his co-sponsor Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., announced the agreement in a letter sent to Hatch, R-Utah, and two other supplement supporters, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo....

A Senate staffer confirmed that Sen. John McCain no longer supports a bill he introduced to significantly tighten regulatory requirements for dietary supplements. McCain offered the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010, S. 3002, in February. The Arizona Republican will now collaborate with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, on revised legislation that allegedly provides for transparency and safety within the supplement industry but without the intensive regulatory intervention proposed in S. 3002. No timeline is set for introduction of a new bill. Hatch thanks McCain for withdrawing his support of the original legislation in a March 4 letter. "I'm counting on...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - High humidity present in bathrooms and kitchens could be degrading the vitamins and health supplements stored in those rooms, even if the lids are on tight, a Purdue University study shows. Lisa Mauer, an associate professor of food science, said that crystalline substances - including vitamin C, some vitamin B forms and other dietary supplements - are prone to a process called deliquescence, in which humidity causes a water-soluble solid to dissolve. Keeping those supplements away from warm, humid environments can help ensure their effectiveness. > Consumers could notice liquid in vitamin containers, but Mauer said...

At age 72, I have been taking a full range of vitamin and mineral supplements for years. Even I find it amusing to open more than a dozen bottles every morning to extract vitamins A, B, C, D and E, along with zinc, potassium, selenium, and fish oil. On the advice of my physician long ago, I also take a low dose aspirin every day. I also take some herbal supplements. In early January, I fell and broke my collar bone. A month later, it was completely healed. I don't get the common cold, although I do experience seasonal allergies...

Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) is proposing legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration sweeping new authority over the dietary supplement industry. If passed into law, The Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA) of 2010 would dramatically drive up supplement costs, allow the FDA unchecked discretion on which supplements to allow on the market and thus severely limit access to existing non-prescription disease remedies. Senator McCain purportedly composed DSSA in response to the recent professional sports doping “scandal” after several athletes admitted to taking steroids sold under supplemental labels. Important to note is that the FDA already has the legal...

The dietary-supplement industry is fighting a bid by U.S. Sen. John McCain to force it to disclose ingredients and register with the Food and Drug Administration. The Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 would also strengthen recall authority of any dietary supplement the FDA finds to be hazardous. Opponents say subjecting manufacturers to increased reporting requirements could drive up prices and restrict the availability of vitamins and supplements. They contend the FDA is hostile to supplements because they don't go through the drug approval process - but that's an expensive process for natural substances that can't be patented. Tucson's Food...

SOUTHERN ARIZONA – So-called small government “Maverick” and Arizona Senator John McCain wants to give the federal government more power over the regulation of vitamins and supplements by repealing the classification of these products, currently, as “food”. The Dietary Supplement and Safety Act would increase regulation over the availability of many vitamins and supplements available to consumers in the “free market”. “It is big government that has a proven track record of not protecting the public. And it is big government that is seeking to take away yet another individual freedom, the right to choose one’s own treatment,” said JBS.org,...

WASHINGTON—As the natural products industry continues to debate the provisions of Sen. John McCain’s Dietary Supplement Safety Act, the senator issued a floor statement clarifying what he considers to be misinterpretations of the bill. In fact, he noted, “opponents to this bill and their well-paid Washington lobbyists have spread false statements and rumors about the legislation, which is really a disservice to consumers, and instead proudly boast that they remain largely untouchable by the FDA.” However, in an online counterpoint, the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) suggested McCain (R-Ariz.) was overlooking key aspects of the current regulatory structure and how...

Uncle Sam Wants Your Vitamins! While Americans continue to fight the government takeover of our health care, Senator John McCain announced his plan for the government to regulate all dietary supplements. His Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 calls upon the FDA to regulate dietary supplements as if they are drugs. The language is so sweeping that the FDA would have a free hand to regulate all food products, which are manufactured to supplement nutrition. Why is McCain doing this? Who benefits?

Senator John McCain (R-Ariz) has joined forces with fellow Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) to introduce Senate Bill 3002, the Dietary Supplement Safety Act. The bill would grant the federal government’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) broad new authority to control the nutritional supplements available to American consumers. “What we have now is a chaotic, every-man-for-himself kind of approach when it comes to nutritional supplements,” McCain said. “Anyone can decide for himself what to take, when to take it, and for whatever reason he wants. Government has minimal control. All it can do is pull misbranded, fraudulent, or contaminated products off...

How to stop them? Generate Huge Opposition and GROW it by dissemination! We are pleased to say that about 16 health freedom and consumer groups have followed our lead and taken p this battle. That is wonderful. Our momentum and leadership are what you, and the other groups, rely on. Our numbers are what the decision-makers respond to ...http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/cat=4

Imagine a treatment that could build bones, strengthen the immune system and lower the risks of illnesses like diabetes, heart and kidney disease, high blood pressure and cancer. Some research suggests that such a wonder treatment already exists. It’s vitamin D, a nutrient that the body makes from sunlight and that is also found in fish and fortified milk. Yet despite the health potential of vitamin D, as many as half of all adults and children are said to have less than optimum levels and as many as 10 percent of children are highly deficient, according to a 2008 report...

Senator John McCain has introduced a bill that if passed will drive up the cost of dietary supplements and restrict your access to them. This bill seeks to give the FDA complete and arbitrary control over what supplements you are allowed to have... The bill being spearheaded by Senators John McCain and Byron Dorgan represents the kind of federal regulation that is not only ineffective, but also suffocates innovation in ways that inflict permanent damage to this nation’s economic vitality. The bill supposedly originates from the controversy surrounding the use of steroids by Major League Baseball players. Since some unethical...

Americans have a love affair with Vitamin Supplements. Any given day of the week, you will see TV ads, print media, and mail coupons for vitamins--for children, adults, and seniors. There are even vitamin supplements for pets. Americans spend billions of dollars each year to swallow vitamins in pill and liquid forms. Yet, according to the Mayo Clinic, can you skip your daily servings of fruits and vegetables and take a vitamin and mineral supplement instead? Unfortunately, no.

> Magnesium is a must. The diets of all Americans are likely to be deficient. Even a mild deficiency causes sensitiveness to noise, nervousness, irritability, mental depression, confusion, twitching, trembling, apprehension, insomnia, muscle weakness and cramps in the toes, feet, legs, or fingers. Folic acid deficiency can lead to neural tube closure defects (NTDs) and anemia. Zinc deficiency affects immune function, contributing to as many as 800,000 child deaths per year. Iodine deficiency is the leading preventable cause of brain damage and it can significantly lower the IQ of whole populations. >

Effects of vitamin D deficiency amplified by shortage of estrogenResearchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone. In a national study in 1010 men, to be presented Nov. 15 at the American Heart Association's (AHA) annual Scientific Sessions in Orlando, researchers say the new findings build on previous studies showing that deficiencies in vitamin D and low levels of estrogen, found naturally in differing amounts in men and...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic." On issues ranging from the health of your immune system to prevention of heart disease and even vulnerability to influenza, vitamin D is now seen as one of the most critical nutrients for overall health. But it's also one of those most likely to be deficient – especially during winter when...

The claims have been sensational. Martin Mittelstaedt checks up on the research behind the hype ### In the summer of 1974, brothers Frank and Cedric Garland had a heretical brainwave. The young epidemiologists were watching a presentation on death rates from cancer county by county across the United States. As they sat in a lecture hall at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore looking at the colour-coded cancer maps, they noticed a striking pattern, with the map for colon cancer the most pronounced. Counties with high death rates were red; those with low rates were blue. Oddly, the nation was almost...