As we age we lose our ability to properly absorb B12. There is something called Intrinsic Factor which is needed for B12 to be properly absorbed. Therefore if we take oral supplements of B12 that we swallow they aren't doing us much good either because the intrinsic factor is not available to absorb what is in a vitamin pill. That is why many physicians use B12 injections. In my office I use sublingual B12 that is absorbed through the capillaries under the tongue directly into the blood stream. Anyone who is severely B12 deficient should use injections to get their levels up. But really anyone over 60 might want to get a complete blood count (CBC) to determine if they might be B12 deficient. If you see your (Mean Corpuscular Volume) MCV greater than around a 95 and your Hematocrit (HCT) and Red Blood Cell Count (RBC) on the low end of normal you may be B12 insufficient. (A blood test for B12 directly is not a good measurement of B12 status. Better measurements are Methylmalonic Acid (MMA) and Homocysteine which is a measure of folate status.) Read the rest of this entry
In the last few weeks two awfully designed studies regarding vitamin supplementation created some negative headlines around choosing to supplement.
One study published in wrongly concluded that "vitamin E" increases the risk the prostate cancer. Problem was they weren't using Vitamin E, just a portion of it. The use of only 1 portion of the Vitamin E class of molecules (in this case alpha-tocopherol) leads to other. This study was a faulty design with faulty assumptions whose mistake was made countless times in studies over the past 20 years regarding Vitamin E metabolism. But for some reason previous data was ignored. There are additional faults with this study and the hyperbole conclusions spun by the mainstream media 'health writer' pundits is extraordinary. I'll blog on this soon. Read the rest of this entry
looked at the absorption of Vitamin D as it relates to the type of fats we consume. It also only studied people 65 and older so we can only conclude this applies to seniors, however we can make an assumption that it may apply to everyone. The bottom line is that you don't want to take Vitamin D with say just some fish oils. You need some good fat. Olive oil, sesame oil, coconut, avocado would be great fats to have with Vitamin D.
This is important to know as I some people will just take a vitamin D with a fish oil in the morning. The absorption will be much lower this way than taken with a complete meal.
During pregnancy there are several supplements that show clear benefit in addition to a healthy non-junk food diet: Vitamin D, Fish Oils (prefer high DHA) and probiotics.
Here are a few articles posted in the past about the benefits of probiotics during pregnancy:
which means they are double-blind, placebo controlled. What they found was that probiotics given during pregnancy reduced the incidence of eczema in their children from ages 2-7 years old. What is interested is that it was only for the lactobacillus genus and not other strains such as bifidobacteria or products that contained a mixture of strains.Read the rest of this entry
You have probably seen the recent about a just released that correlated calcium supplementation with an increase risk of heart attacks and strokes. This certainly confuses people because it has been drilled into us through the media and many doctors that calcium can only be good for us. I find that some people are afraid to stop taking calcium because of what they have learned. When I suggest to my patients that they stop taking calcium because it is probably causing their digestive issues and constipation their response is usually "where am I going to get my calcium?" A very understandable response given what we have been told.
There are a couple of problems with the mantra of "take a calcium supplement". One is the form of the calcium. A large number of people buy calcium from GNC or CVS and it is most often partially (or fully) comprised of calcium carbonate. This can be a gastrointestinal nightmare for some. Also it isn't the best way to get the calcium to where it needs to go? You may have read it is very absorbable, but is it bioavailable? Most likely it is not very usable by the body except for the most calcium deficient individuals which is often the elderly. Sure research shows taking calcium is beneficial, but it is not without its unwanted side effects.
There are a plethora of studies showing the benefits of probiotics during second and third trimesters of pregnancy. One of the supplements I always recommend during pregnancy are probiotics. Research has shown they are particularly important in the latter stages of pregnancy. Read the rest of this entry
Background: Previous reports have suggested that certain probiotics given to mothers and children at risk of atopy halves the incidence of atopic dermatitis (AD) at two years of age.
Objectives: The purpose of this trial was to examine if probiotics given to pregnant women in a non-selected population could prevent atopic sensitization or allergic diseases during the child's first two years.
Methods: In a randomised, double-blind trial of children from a non-selected maternal population (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00159523), women received probiotic milk or placebo from 36 weeks of gestation to three months postnatally during breastfeeding. The probiotic milk contained Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Bb-12. Children with an itchy rash for more than four weeks were consecutively assessed for AD. At two years of age, all children were assessed for atopic sensitisation, AD, asthma and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC). The intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis was enabled by multiple imputations. Read the rest of this entry
There are several studies showing that maternal diet plays an important role in the health of offspring:
to determine if a particular strain of probiotic supplementation can reduce the incidence of eczema in infants that are born into a family history of allergies and eczema. There were 68 infant/mother pairs separated into a study group receiving the probiotic and a control group receiving a placebo. Read the rest of this entry
Background: Recent information suggests that the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) supplement, enhanced intake of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and reducing dietary glycemic index (dGI) are protective against advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Methods: Dietary information was collected at baseline and fundus photograph grades were obtained during the 8-y trial period from 2,924 eligible AREDS AMD trial participants. Using eye as the unit of analysis and multi-failure Cox proportional-hazards regression, we related the risk of AMD progression to dietary intake in the four arms of the trial.
Results: Independent of AREDS supplementation, higher intakes of DHA (? 64.0 vs. < 26.0 mg/d) (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.73, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57, 0.94), EPA (? 42.3 vs. < 12.7 mg/d) (HR = 0.74, 95% CI, 0.59, 0.94), and lower dGI (dGI, < 75.2 vs. ? 81.5) (HR = 0.76, 95% CI, 0.60, 0.96) were associated with lower risk for progression to advanced AMD. Participants consuming lower dGI and higher DHA or EPA had the lowest risk (P for synergistic interaction < 0.001). Only participants in the ?placebo? (P for antagonistic interaction = 0.006) benefited from higher DHA intake against early AMD progression (HR = 0.58, 95% CI, 0.37, 0.92; Ptrend = 0.01).
Conclusions: Our findings show an association of consuming a diet rich in DHA with lower progression of early AMD. In addition to the AREDS supplement, lower dGI with higher intakes of DHA and EPA was associated with reduced progression to advanced AMD.
, results indicate that supplementation with fish oil may reduce the frequency and duration of illness, particularly those involving the upper respiratory tract. The children received fish oil (200 mg EPA and 1 g DHA per day) or placebo, five days per week for a period of 6 months. At intervention end, children in the fish oil-supplemented group showed fewer episodes and shorter duration of illness (mainly upper respiratory tract) than the placebo group. Additionally, plasma transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 concentrations were lower in the fish oil group, compared with the placebo group. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, "Very long-chain omega-3 PUFAs reduce illness, mainly infections, in healthy Thai schoolchildren."
"Fish Oil N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Selectively Affect Plasma Cytokines and Decrease Illness in Thai Schoolchildren: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Intervention Trial," Thienprasert A, Calder PC, et al, J Pediatr, 2008 Oct;
As we age we lose our ability to properly absorb B12. There is something called Intrinsic Factor which is needed for B12 to be properly absorbed. Therefore if we take oral supplements of B12 that we swallow they aren't doing us much good either because the intrinsic factor is not available to absorb what is in a vitamin pill. That is why many physicians use B12 injections. In my office I use sublingual B12 that is absorbed through the capillaries under the tongue directly into the blood stream. Anyone who is severely B12 deficient should use injections to get their levels up. But really anyone over 60 might want to get a complete blood count (CBC) to determine if they might be B12 deficient. If you see your (Mean Corpuscular Volume) MCV greater than around a 95 and your Hematocrit (HCT) and Red Blood Cell Count (RBC) on the low end of normal you may be B12 insufficient. (A blood test for B12 directly is not a good measurement of B12 status. Better measurements are Methylmalonic Acid (MMA) and Homocysteine which is a measure of folate status.) Read the rest of this entry
