Feeling Strong and Healthy 10 and 20 Years From Now

By Angie Doust

Yesterday I received an email from a friend in her late 50’s saying, “If I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself .” How great the wisdom of hindsight can be.

Too often when it comes to our health we only think of how we feel today. But the fact is the top five leading causes of premature death - cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, respiratory disease and diabetes – are degenerative diseases. Diseases caused by damage our bodies, little by little, over 10, 20 or 30 years until we end up with a life-threatening illness.

Current health research is now showing a direct link between nutritional imbalances, lifestyle factors and many common conditions and degenerative diseases. From problems with sleeping, low energy levels, mood swings, poor recovery from exercise, trouble with concentration, migraines and psoriasis to chronic diseases such as arthritis and cancer. For example, research shows that 80% of all heart disease is DIRECTLY related to nutritional imbalances.

This research is actually good news! What it shows is that through positive changes to our diet and lifestyle, we can prevent ourselves from getting these diseases in the first place.

Now 100 years ago we could get all the nutrients we needed from our food. But these days that can be difficult. That is where a good quality nutritional supplement can help. In fact, supplementation has become essential to good health these days.

So what exactly should we all be taking on a daily basis to achieve and maintain OPTIMAL HEALTH? Nutritional specialists agree that we all need:

· High-quality multi-vitamin containing vitamins, minerals and antioxidants

· Omega 3 essential fatty acids in the form of fish oil or flax seed oil

· Calcium, Vitamin D and Magnesium

An important thing to be aware of is that just like everything else in life, not all health supplements are created equal. So you want to do your own research—a good place to start would be the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements by Lyle McWilliam which compares over 1600 brands of supplements on the market in the US and Australia/New Zealand. It is full of detailed nutritional research and facts.

So the winning combination for health and happiness? Take a good-quality supplement, eat well, drinks lots of water, exercise regularly and laugh a lot! And also remember your children also need the proper nutrients too.

Magnesium intake increases bone mineral density and may reduce the risk of osteoporosis

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society has shown that dietary intake of magnesium is associated with an increase in bone mineral density in older men and women.

The study included 2,038 men and women aged 70-79 that were enrolled in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study. Food frequency questionnaires were used to assess magnesium intakes and document any medications. The data also accounted for variations in age, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, alcohol use, physical activity, estrogen use, and supplemental calcium and vitamin D.

Higher magnesium intake through diet and supplements was positively associated with total - body bone mineral density (BMD) in older white men and women. For every 100 mg per day increase in magnesium, there was an approximate 2 per cent increase in whole-body BMD.

The results have important implications since osteoporosis currently affects over 10 million adults in the U.S. alone, with another 34 million suspected to have low bone mass. In addition, earlier dietary surveys have consistently shown that a large portion of adults do not meet the RDA for magnesium.

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society November 2005, Vol 53, No 11, pp 1875-1880

High Glycemic Index Diets Increase the Risk of Chronic Degenerative Disease

Long-term consumption of high-glycemic foods may increase oxidative stress and the risk of chronic degenerative diseases.

Leading U.S. researchers recently concluded that a low-GI diet, not a low carbohydrate diet, appears to be beneficial in reducing the production of free radicals and oxidative stress.

Glycemic index (GI) is a measure of the rate that the carbohydrates in a food or meal are digested and appear in the blood as glucose (sugar). Glycemic load is a way of measuring the total carbohydrates in a meal or diet with a mathematical adjustment for GI. These measurements can be used to simultaneously describe the quality (glycemic index) and quantity of carbohydrate in a meal or diet.

Recent data suggest that the sudden rise in blood sugar associated with a high glycemic load may increase free radical production and the risk of oxidative damage. This increased production has been implicated in many disease processes including chronic heart disease, accelerated aging, and type 2 diabetes.

Investigators from several leading U.S. institutions recently investigated whether a diet with a high GI or GL is associated with greater oxidative stress by taking specific measurements in nearly 300 healthy adults.

Participants with a higher GI and GL diet were found to exhibit increases in oxidative stress when compared to those eating a diet lower in glycemic index and load.

Researchers concluded that chronic consumption of high-GI foods may lead to chronically high oxidative stress, increasing the risk for several degenerative diseases. A low-GI diet, not a low carbohydrate diet, appears to be beneficial in reducing oxidative stress.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 84, No. 1, 70-76, July 2006.

Omega 3 fatty acids reduce colorectal cancer risk

Although diets high in fat have been associated with an increase in cancer risk, a recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology concluded that a greater intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may be protective against colorectal cancer.

Researchers paired 1,455 men and women diagnosed with colorectal cancer with an equal number of healthy control subjects matched for age, gender and region of residence. Total fatty acid, as well as saturated fatty acid, monounsaturated fatty acid, omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, trans-fatty acid, and trans-monounsaturated fatty acid intake were determined. Intake levels of individual fatty acids, such as eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA), were also calculated.

Greater intake of omega-3 fatty acids, EPA, and DHA were dose-dependently associated with reduced colorectal cancer risk. Compared to those with the lowest intake, participants whose omega-3 intake was in the highest group experienced a 37 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer. Subjects with intakes of EPA and DHA in the top fourth had a reduced risk of 41 and 37 percent, respectively.

The authors concluded that the observed effects of different types of fatty acids illustrates the importance of the type of fat in the origins and prevention of colorectal cancer.
American Journal of Epidemiology 2007 166(2):181-195

High glycemic diets may increase the risk of age-related macular degeneration

New research shows an association between diets high in glycemic index and an increased risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the number one cause of adult blindness.

The number one cause of irreversible blindness in adults is age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which seems to share several carbohydrate-related risk factors with diabetes-related diseases, including retinopathy and cardiovascular disease (CVD). In a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers tested the theory that dietary glycemic index (GI), which has been associated with the risk of diabetes and CVD, may also increase the risk and severity of AMD in elderly populations. Over 4000 participants aged 55-80 years participated in the research and were assigned to groups according to several physical eye characteristics related to AMD.

Compared with the eyes in those with the lowest GI diets, eyes in the high GI subjects had significantly higher risk of AMD progression and severity. There was a 49% increase in the risk of advanced AMD for persons who ate a diet higher than average in GI. Researchers noted that the results indicated that 20% of all AMD cases in the study would have been eliminated if the participants consumed diets with a GI below the average.

The association between dietary GI and AMD suggests that reducing the dietary GI may provide one way to reduce the risk of AMD in adults.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 86, No. 1, 180-188, July 2007

High fiber intake reduces C-Reactive Protein

According to new research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, high fiber intake, either from dietary sources or fiber supplements, significantly reduced levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). Increased CRP levels are associated with inflammation, heart disease and diabetes. The present study provides evidence to support the health benefits of high-fiber diets.

The randomized crossover study included 35 participants who were assigned to follow either a high-fiber diet or a fiber-supplemented diet. Both diets included 30 grams of fiber per day. Eighteen of the subjects were lean and with normal blood pressure and 17 were obese with elevated blood pressure.

Overall, average CRP levels decreased by 13.7 percent in the high-fiber diet group and by 18.1 percent for the fiber-supplemented diet group. Unexpectedly, when the lean and the obese participants were considered separately, differences in the CRP response were observed. In lean individuals, CRP levels decreased by 30 percent when consuming the high-fiber diet and 40 percent when consuming the fiber-supplemented diet. In the obese participants, no significant change in CRP levels was observed for either diet.

Although more research is needed to explain the different effects seen in the lean versus obese individuals, the present study supports the assertion that high-fiber intakes are beneficial in reducing the risks of heart disease and diabetes.

Archives of Internal Medicine March 12 2007, Volume 167, Pages 502-506

Study With Smokers Finds That Vitamins Combine for Benefits

Feb 14, 2006

CORVALLIS, Ore. - A new study has found that supplements of vitamin C can largely stop the serious depletion of vitamin E that occurs in smokers, demonstrating for the first time in humans a remarkable interaction between these two antioxidants as they work together.

The research also suggests a possible mechanism by which smoking can cause cancer.

The findings are being published Wednesday in Free Radical Biology and Medicine, a professional journal, by scientists from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.
The results of the research were based on a placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical study with smokers and non-smokers, and showed that supplements of 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C per day could reduce by up to 45 percent the rate of disappearance of one form of vitamin E in smokers. In general, vitamin C supplements helped protect the function and plasma levels of vitamin E, so that smokers who took supplements had about the same level of antioxidant protection as non-smokers.

"A lot of nutrition research in the past has been done by studying one nutrient or another in isolation, sometimes with conflicting results," said Maret Traber, a professor of nutrition at OSU and lead researcher in the Linus Pauling Institute. "What this and other studies like it are showing is that the protection we get from proper diet or supplements often comes from combinations of nutrients working together. This has implications not only for smokers but also for many other people."

Vitamin E is one of the first lines of defense in human lung tissue against the ravages of cigarette smoke, Traber said, which creates destructive free radicals. If the body has adequate levels of vitamin E, this protective antioxidant can interact with the peroxyl radicals created by cigarette smoke and prevent the destruction of lung membranes.

In this process, however, vitamin E can itself be made into a destructive radical. If adequate levels of vitamin C are present, it can help the vitamin E return to non-radical form and continue its protective role. But in the absence of adequate vitamin C, this process breaks down. The new study is one of the first to ever demonstrate this phenomenon in humans.

This and other studies at the Linus Pauling Institute have also shown that in smokers, vitamin E is being depleted from tissue concentrations in order to keep up its levels in the blood.

"We've known for some time that smokers are under oxidative stress, because the smoke itself is an oxidant that creates free radicals and cell mutations," Traber said. "The immune response of the body also tends to cause inflammation, and this inflammation is one reason that smoking relates not only to lung cancer but other serious health problems such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease."

By having a rapid loss of protective antioxidants, Traber said, smokers face special challenges.
"Think of a bucket that's filled with water but has holes in it," she said. "If you want to keep the water level, you have to keep adding water. But with smokers, the holes in the bucket are bigger and the water level goes down faster. In the case of nutrition, you have to add more and more nutrients to stay even."

With smokers, she said, that rarely happens. In the general population, research has shown that only 8 percent of men and 2.4 percent of women have adequate dietary intake of vitamin E. And studies indicate that smokers often have a diet with lots of meat but low intakes of the fruits and vegetables that provide most antioxidants. So although smokers require higher levels of antioxidants to gain their protective benefits, their diets usually contain even lower dietary intakes than most people - and nearly 50 million Americans smoke cigarettes.

For antioxidant vitamins to play a role in disease prevention, experts say, they usually have to be present in advance. They are less successful in addressing existing disease. According to Traber, many of the studies showing "no benefit" from improved nutrition or vitamin supplements have been done in people with existing disease, or studying one nutrient at a time rather than combinations.

In this research, participants were asked to eat a diet low in fruits and vegetables for three months so they had low levels of vitamin C. Some members were then given vitamin C supplements, and others a placebo. Smokers who got vitamin C supplementation had a plasma vitamin E disappearance rate about the same as non-smokers. But smokers who were still deficient in vitamin C lost alpha vitamin E about 25 percent faster than non-smokers, and gamma vitamin E about 45 percent faster.

Other collaborators on this research were from Columbia University, The Ohio State University, the University of Washington, and Brock University in Canada. Richard Bruno, a doctoral student from The Ohio State University, was also a co-author. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

"What this clearly shows is that to perform their vital roles, vitamins C and E work together," Traber said. "They have a synergistic effect that will not be gained just by intake of one or the other, and adequate levels of these nutrients are especially important for people who smoke."

About the Linus Pauling Institute: The Linus Pauling Institute at OSU is a world leader in the study of micronutrients and their role in promoting optimum health or preventing and treating disease. Major areas of research include heart disease, cancer, aging and neurodegenerative disease.

Nutritional Supplements slow ageing of brain

A study published in the December 2004 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found a correlation between nutritional supplement use and improved cognition later in life.

Cognition is the mental process of thought, including perception, reasoning, intuition and memory. The researchers found that supplement users scored higher on mental speed tests than those who did not take supplements. Fish oil supplement users were found to have greater red blood cell membrane omega-3 fatty acid content, which was correlated with improved cognitive function later in life. A greater ratio of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to arachidonic acid was also related to better cognitive function. The results of this study are consistent with previous reports that dietary supplements may reduce dementia risk and suggest that optimizing omega-3 fatty acid intake may improve the retention of cognitive function in the elderly.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 6, 1650- 1657, December 2004

Fish Oil reduces heart rate

Fish oil is known to decrease the risk of heart arrhythmias, which are a potential cause of heart disease, stroke and sudden cardiac death. According to a new study, regular intake of fish oil can reduce heart rate and decrease the risk of sudden death by as much as 5% in the overall population.

There is significant evidence that omega-3 fatty acids can reduce arrhythmias, disorders of the regular rhythmic beating of the heart. Arrhythmias can occur in a healthy heart and be of minimal consequence, but they also may indicate a serious problem and lead to heart disease, stroke or sudden cardiac death.

A recent meta-analysis published in the journal Circulation further confirms this association. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health combined statistical analysis of thirty studies published from 1996 to 2005. These studies involved nearly 1,700 individuals treated with fish oil or placebo for up to one year. The median combined dose of EPA and DHA was 3.5 grams/day for an average of 8 weeks.

The overall estimated change in heart rate of those treated with fish oil was 1.6 beats per minute. The reduction in heart rate was even greater among trials whose participants had higher baseline heart rates. In those studies, treatment with fish oil resulted in a decreased heart rate of 2.5 beats per min. There was no evidence of a dose-response effect, and heart rate was not significantly different between higher and lower doses compared with placebo.
Although the overall effect of fish oil on heart rate appears small, researchers estimate that on a population basis this could correspond to as much as a 5% reduction in sudden death.

Mozaffarian D, Geelen A, Brouwer IA, Geleijnse JM, Zock PL, Katan MB. Effect of fish oil on heart rate in humans. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Circulation 2005;112:1945-1952.

Essential Fatty Acids for Skin Health

Incidence of eczema has increased by 30% since the 1970s. Researchers believe that increased pollutants and allergens in the environment may be partly to blame.

Deficiency of essential fatty acids (EFAs) such as omega-3 and omega-6 from nuts, seeds, fish and vegetable oils has also been associated with dry skin and eczema.

Healthy oils from fish, flax and hemp can help improve eczema and dry skin.

At a dermatological clinic in Norway, researchers investigated whether dietary supplementation with omega-3, omega-6, and vitamins and minerals may have a beneficial effect on eczema. A total of 19 patients, aged 17 to 43 years, with moderate to severe eczema participated in this 16-week study. In 14 of 17 patients, skin conditions improved by more than 50% after treatment with the nutritional supplements.

In a similar study at the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Kuopio in Finland, researchers found that hempseed, a rich source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, was useful in treating eczema. In this study, hempseed oil and olive oil were compared over a 20-week crossover period. These researchers found that levels of both EFAs, linoleic acid, alpha-linolenic acid and gamma-linolenic acid increased after supplementing with hempseed oil. Skin dryness and itchiness improved, and the use of topical skin medication decreased with the hempseed oil treatment. The researchers concluded that these improvements resulted from the abundant supply of EFAs in hempseed oil.

Sources: J Dermatolog Treat. 2006;17(2):82-5; J Dermatolog Treat. 2005 Apr;16(2):87-94

Antioxidants Improve Skin Health

Researchers evaluated breast cancer patients for ginseng use both before and after their diagnosis. All participants had received at least one type of conventional cancer therapy.

While 27% of patients reported using ginseng regularly before diagnosis, that percentage jumped to 62.8% after diagnosis. Researchers also found significant improvements in both survival and quality of life for the patients who used ginseng after diagnosis. The findings suggest that ginseng may provide meaningful benefits to breast cancer survivors, although the researchers say there were some limitations to this study and encourage further randomized clinical trials.

A 12-week study done at the Institute of Experimental Dermatology in Witten, Germany, showed supplementation with carotenoids, vitamin E and selenium improved skin roughness and scaling.

Proof that nutrition matters just as much, if not more, than topical skin care.

Thirty-nine volunteers with healthy, normal skin were split into three treatment groups and given either a placebo; a mixture of lycopene, beta-carotene, vitamin E and selenium; or the same antioxidant nutrients along with lutein. The researchers found that both groups receiving the antioxidants showed an increase in serum levels of selected carotenoids.

Using a technique called the Surface Evaluation of Living Skin (Visioscan), the researchers also found that roughness and scaling of the skin improved in both groups receiving antioxidants, while the placebo group showed no changes in any of the parameters measured.

Source: Skin Pharmacology Physiology 19, 4:224-31, 2006

Calcium, Vitamin D and Cancer Risk

A new study published in the June 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has shown a reduction in cancer rates among postmenopausal women taking vitamin D combined with calcium.

This four-year, double blind, randomized placebo-controlled study involved over 1,100 postmenopausal women who were divided into three treatment groups.

The first group received a supplement containing calcium and vitamin D, the second group received just calcium, and the third group received a placebo.

The researchers found that the women taking the calcium and vitamin D supplement had a 60 percent lower incidence of all cancers than women not taking the supplement.

This new study takes an important step in extending several decades of research involving the role of vitamin D in health and disease.

The results further strengthen the case made by many specialists that vitamin D may be a powerful cancer preventive and that it is commonly found lacking in the general population, particularly the elderly.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2007 June;85(6):1586-91.

Nutritional supplements slow aging of brain

A study published in the December 2004 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found a correlation between nutritional supplement use and improved cognition later in life.

Cognition is the mental process of thought, including perception, reasoning, intuition and memory. The researchers found that supplement users scored higher on mental speed tests than those who did not take supplements.

Fish oil supplement users were found to have greater red blood cell membrane omega-3 fatty acid content, which was correlated with improved cognitive function later in life. A greater ratio of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to arachidonic acid was also related to better cognitive function.

The results of this study are consistent with previous reports that dietary supplements may reduce dementia risk and suggest that optimizing omega-3 fatty acid intake may improve the retention of cognitive function in the elderly.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 6, 1650- 1657, December 2004

High glycemic index diets increase the risk of chronic degenerative disease

Long-term consumption of high-glycemic foods may increase oxidative stress and the risk of chronic degenerative diseases. Leading U.S. researchers recently concluded that a low-GI diet, not a low carbohydrate diet, appears to be beneficial in reducing the production of free radicals and oxidative stress.

Glycemic index (GI) is a measure of the rate that the carbohydrates in a food or meal are digested and appear in the blood as glucose (sugar). Glycemic load is a way of measuring the total carbohydrates in a meal or diet with a mathematical adjustment for GI. These measurements can be used to simultaneously describe the quality (glycemic index) and quantity of carbohydrate in a meal or diet.

Recent data suggest that the sudden rise in blood sugar associated with a high glycemic load may increase free radical production and the risk of oxidative damage. This increased production has been implicated in many disease processes including chronic heart disease, accelerated aging, and type 2 diabetes.

Investigators from several leading U.S. institutions recently investigated whether a diet with a high GI or GL is associated with greater oxidative stress by taking specific measurements in nearly 300 healthy adults.

Participants with a higher GI and GL diet were found to exhibit increases in oxidative stress when compared to those eating a diet lower in glycemic index and load.

Researchers concluded that chronic consumption of high-GI foods may lead to chronically high oxidative stress, increasing the risk for several degenerative diseases. A low-GI diet, not a low carbohydrate diet, appears to be beneficial in reducing oxidative stress.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 84, No. 1, 70-76, July 2006.

Multivitamins protect against B1 deficiency and may decrease severity of congestive heart failure

More than one-third of heart patients hospitalized for heart failure are deficient in thiamin (vitamin B1). Regular use of a multivitamin can protect against thiamin deficiency and may reduce the severity of congestive heart failure.

It has been recently reported that approximately one out of three patients hospitalized with heart failure have deficient levels of thiamin, also known as vitamin B1. The cause and effect relationships are complex. Congestive heart failure patients may be at increased risk for thiamin deficiency due to increased urine thiamin excretion, disease severity, malnutrition, and advanced age. In turn, thiamin deficiency itself may worsen existing heart failure.

Researchers measured thiamin levels among 100 heart failure patients and compared them with measurements of 50 healthy subjects. They found a deficiency of the vitamin in 33 percent of the heart failure patients compared to 12 percent of those without the disease.

It has been observed that heart failure may increase the body's need for certain nutrients, so even individuals with healthy diets may still come up short on vitamin B1. Researchers noted that a relatively small dose of thiamin from a multivitamin was protective against developing thiamin deficiency and may decrease disease severity in those with congestive heart failure.

J Am Coll Cardiol, 2006; 47:354-361.

Multivitamin use lowers preeclampsia risk

High blood pressure during pregnancy (preeclampsia) can result in serious complications for the mother and child. Results from a new study show that regular use of a multivitamin supplement in the months before and during pregnancy may reduce the risk of preeclampsia by as much as 71%.

Lean women who used multivitamins before and during their pregnancies reduced the risk of preeclampsia, a complication of pregnancy characterized by elevated blood pressure, swelling of the extremities and protein in the urine. If untreated, the condition can progress to eclampsia, which can lead to seizures, coma, and the death of the mother or child.

The study involved 1,835 pregnant women enrolled in the Pregnancy Exposures and Preeclampsia Prevention Study. All women were at less than 16 weeks' gestation and were asked whether they regularly used multivitamins or prenatal vitamins in the past six months. Women that reported using a multivitamin or prenatal during the previous six months had a 45 percent lower risk of preeclampsia than non-users. The reduction in risk was more significant among lean women. When lean women were analyzed separately, those who used multivitamins had a 71 percent lower risk of preeclampsia than nonusers.

These results suggest that regular use of a multivitamin supplement in the months before and during pregnancy may help to prevent preeclampsia, particularly among lean women.

Am J Epidemiol. 2006 Jun 13; [Epub ahead of print]

Antioxidants block prostate cancer

In experimental mice that naturally develop prostate cancer, supplementing with antioxidants vitamin E, lycopene and selenium effectively blocks the development or progression of prostate cancer.

According to a study published in the journal Cancer Research, dietary antioxidants (vitamin E, selenium, and lycopene) inhibited prostate cancer development in a group of mice that naturally develop prostate cancer. The prostate cancer disease process in these mice is similar to the human process in many respects, providing a good research model for the natural history of human prostate cancer.

Treatment of animals with the antioxidants resulted in a 4-fold reduction in the incidence of prostate cancer compared with the untreated animals. Prostate cancer developed in 73.68% (14 of 19) and 100% (19 of 19) of the animals from the standard and high fat diet, respectively.
In contrast, tumors developed in only 10.53% (2 of 19) and 15.79% (3 of 19) of the animals in the standard and high fat diets supplemented with antioxidants.

These observations support results from a growing body of research indicating a significant protective benefit of antioxidants on the development of prostate cancer.

Cancer Res. 2004 Aug 15;64(16):5891-6.

Antioxidants - Part 4

Safety of Multivitamins and Antioxidants

Nutritional supplements have been widely used and highly valued by American consumers ever since vitamins were discovered and commercialized, beginning in the early decades of the 1900's. According to recent national health survey, as many as 78 million Americans adults use multivitamins on a regular basis.

Multivitamin/mineral supplements are an effective means of delivering adequate amounts of most essential nutrients to help people achieve recommended intakes. The great majority of dietary supplements, including multivitamins, are safe for regular use. Despite widespread usage, there have been no specific published reports of toxicity or adverse effects associated with the use of multivitamins.

A series of well-publicized clinical trials conducted in diseased patients utilizing relatively high doses of single nutrients or combinations of nutrients (such as vitamin E and/or beta-carotene), have yielded disappointing results, and even suggested the presence of harm. However, those trials were conducted in patients with serious illnesses (ie. cancer or cardiovascular disease) who were on multiple medications or who were current heavy smokers. The results of these trials should be placed in context and are not applicable to the generally healthy population.

Advanced levels of antioxidants are a common thread among nearly every population that is less prone to premature chronic degenerative disease. The Japanese have high levels of fruit, vegetables, green tea and soy as part of their traditional diet. Vegetarians have lower levels of heart disease and cancer, compared to the typical mixed diet, likely in part due to higher intakes of antioxidants. While high levels of single nutrients and foods may pose a risk of danger and toxicity, there is no known unsafe intake level of total antioxidants in normally healthy individuals.

USANA Health Sciences Receives NSF Certification

USANA Health Sciences has been manufacturing high quality nutritional supplements for over 14 years. Since the beginning, we have sought to go above and beyond legal requirements, manufacturing our supplements with the same attention to detail and thoroughness that is required of pharmaceuticals. This has served us well. We have avoided the pitfalls that plague many competitors who find themselves on lists or reports as examples of poor quality that are typical of the dietary supplement industry. We routinely pass our audits by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the Australian equivalent of the U.S. FDA. Our sterling reputation for quality has been a key factor in the use and promotion of our products by numerous elite and Olympic athletes.

In recent years, the dietary supplement industry has come under increasing pressure to make drastic improvements in the quality and safety of its products. While USANA has always done our part to provide only high quality supplements, the industry itself is often maligned by health professionals and consistently attacked in the media.

To improve consumer confidence in light of these reports, and to substantiate our own high quality standards, USANA recently underwent an audit and gained certification by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF). NSF's certification service includes product testing, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) inspections, and ongoing monitoring.

Consumer confidence in the quality and safety of our nutritional supplements is a priority at USANA, and certification by NSF should serve to enhance our impeccable record of quality. Now, more than ever, you can be confident that USANA makes products you can trust.

About NSF:http://www.nsf.org/business/about_NSF/

Beneficial effects of magnesium are similar to statin drugs

Because of its many cardiovascular benefits and good safety profile, many researchers suggest that magnesium supplementation could be a viable alternative for those who cannot or choose not to take statin drugs.

Statins are a class of drugs commonly prescribed for individuals with elevated cholesterol levels, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. While statins are effective, they also carry undesirable side-effects, and some people cannot, or choose not to use them.

A review published in the October 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that the essential nutrient magnesium provides many of the same cardiovascular benefits ascribed to statin drugs.

The authors noted that both statin drugs and magnesium can inactivate the enzyme responsible for the first step in cholesterol formation, thus lowering LDL cholesterol levels in the blood. Both can improve the function of blood vessels, reduce inflammation, and provide other cardiovascular benefits. Magnesium, however, can also help elevate beneficial HDL cholesterol levels while reducing triglycerides. In addition, magnesium is necessary for the enzyme that converts essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic acids) into compounds that reduce inflammation. Optimal levels of magnesium also provide natural calcium channel blocker activity, which helps dilate blood vessels and control blood pressure.

Because of its many cardiovascular benefits, relatively low cost, and good safety profile, the authors suggested that increasing magnesium intakes through diet and supplementation could provide a viable alternative for those who cannot, or choose not to take statin drugs.

Note: If you are currently taking a statin drug to lower cholesterol, do not discontinue its use except on the advice of your physician. This information is not meant to imply that magnesium supplements should replace all statin drugs. However, adequate magnesium is very important for cardiovascular health, especially for those at risk for coronary artery disease.

Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 23, No. 5, 501S-505S (2004)

Thin people might be fat on the inside

Internal fat around organs can increase diabetes and heart risks
The Associated Press
Updated: 3:03 p.m. ET May 11, 2007

LONDON - If it really is what’s on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble.

Some doctors now think that the internal fat surrounding vital organs like the heart, liver or pancreas — invisible to the naked eye — could be as dangerous as the more obvious external fat that bulges underneath the skin.

“Being thin doesn’t automatically mean you’re not fat,” said Dr. Jimmy Bell, a professor of molecular imaging at Imperial College, London. Since 1994, Bell and his team have scanned nearly 800 people with MRI machines to create “fat maps” showing where people store fat.

According to the data, people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are otherwise slim. “The whole concept of being fat needs to be redefined,” said Bell, whose research is funded by Britain’s Medical Research Council.

Without a clear warning signal — like a rounder middle — doctors worry that thin people may be lulled into falsely assuming that because they’re not overweight, they’re healthy.

“Just because someone is lean doesn’t make them immune to diabetes or other risk factors for heart disease,” said Dr. Louis Teichholz, chief of cardiology at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, who was not involved in Bell’s research.

Even people with normal Body Mass Index scores — a standard obesity measure that divides your weight by the square of your height — can have surprising levels of fat deposits inside.

Of the women scanned by Bell and his colleagues, as many as 45 percent of those with normal BMI scores (20 to 25) actually had excessive levels of internal fat. Among men, the percentage was nearly 60 percent.

Relating the news to what Bell calls “TOFIs” — people who are “thin outside, fat inside” — is rarely uneventful. “The thinner people are, the bigger the surprise,” he said, adding the researchers even found TOFIs among people who are professional models.

According to Bell, people who are fat on the inside are essentially on the threshold of being obese. They eat too many fatty, sugary foods — and exercise too little to work it off — but they are not eating enough to actually be fat. Scientists believe we naturally accumulate fat around the belly first, but at some point, the body may start storing it elsewhere.

Still, most experts believe that being of normal weight is an indicator of good health, and that BMI is a reliable measurement.

“BMI won’t give you the exact indication of where fat is, but it’s a useful clinical tool,” said Dr. Toni Steer, a nutritionist at Britain’s Medical Research Council.

Unhealthy skinny peopleDoctors are unsure about the exact dangers of internal fat, but some suspect it contributes to the risk of heart disease and diabetes. They theorize that internal fat disrupts the body’s communication systems. The fat enveloping internal organs might be sending the body mistaken chemical signals to store fat inside organs like the liver or pancreas. This could ultimately lead to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, or heart disease.

Experts have long known that fat, active people can be healthier than their skinny, inactive counterparts. “Normal-weight persons who are sedentary and unfit are at much higher risk for mortality than obese persons who are active and fit,” said Dr. Steven Blair, an obesity expert at the University of South Carolina.

For example, despite their ripples of fat, super-sized Sumo wrestlers probably have a better metabolic profile than some of their slim, sedentary spectators, Bell said. That’s because the wrestlers’ fat is primarily stored under the skin, not streaking throughout their vital organs and muscles.

The good news is that internal fat can be easily burned off through exercise or even by improving your diet. “Even if you don’t see it on your bathroom scale, caloric restriction and physical exercise have an aggressive effect on visceral fat,” said Dr. Bob Ross, an obesity expert at Queen’s University in Canada.

Because many factors contribute to heart disease, Teichholz says it’s difficult to determine the precise danger of internal fat — though it certainly doesn’t help.

“Obesity is a risk factor, but it’s lower down on the totem pole of risk factors,” he said, explaining that whether or not people smoke, their family histories and blood pressure and cholesterol rates are more important determinants than both external and internal fat.

When it comes to being fit, experts say there is no short-cut. “If you just want to look thin, then maybe dieting is enough,” Bell said. “But if you want to actually be healthy, then exercise has to be an important component of your lifestyle.”

USANA Donates $110,000 to Children's Hunger Fund

USANA Health Sciences Donates $110,000 to Children's Hunger Fund

Funds Will Be Used to Purchase a New Semi Truck for Food Distribution

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2007

USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: USNA) announced today that it has expanded its long-standing support to a leading international charity, Children's Hunger Fund (CHF), with a $110,000 donation for the purchase and maintenance of a new semi truck for distribution of food, clothing and other critical relief aid.

As a result of USANA's donation, CHF estimates that it will be capable of distributing several million pounds of relief supplies each year, including nearly 2 million meals to needy children and families. USANA will also donate funds annually to offset the costs of operating the new truck, and the company will continue its existing sponsorship of a second truck in CHF's fleet.

"Much of the challenge in serving the needs of poor children is in transportation. We can garner donations from sources all over the country, but if we can't get it to where it's needed, we are simply missing the opportunity," Children's Hunger Fund President Dave Phillips explained.

"USANA has become a highly valued corporate partner to CHF, allowing us to reach thousands of needy children each month through their generous support. USANA's decision to support CHF in this way will increase our efficiency and our ability to feed the needy across America and around the world. For that we are extremely grateful."

USANA, a direct sales manufacturer of nutritional and personal-care products, and its thousands of independent distributors have donated more than $4.4 million in cash and products to CHF since 2001. These donations have helped the charity provide thousands of children around the world with daily allotments of Usanimals(TM), USANA's daily nutritional supplement for children, and support numerous families with weekly donations of food and other necessities.

USANA Founder Dr. Myron Wentz has also partnered with CHF to personally fund the construction of two state-of-the-art medical centers. The Wentz Medical Center in Ggaba, Uganda opened its doors in 2005 and now provides diagnostic and preventative care to more than 600 people each month. A second Wentz Medical Center in Cambodia is slated to open this fall.

USANA selected CHF as its charitable partner because of its well-established efficiency, accountability, and integrity. CHF has received national acclaim for being one of the most cost-effective non-profits based in the United States, with more than 99 cents of every dollar going directly to care for the needs of children.

In Forbes magazine's 2007 charitable investment guide, CHF was a top-rated charity with 100 percent ratings in all three of Forbes' efficiency ratios. The charity is able to keep its overhead costs low, in part, by soliciting donations of food and other relief supplies from U.S. corporate partners and delivering the donations through a monitored network of ministries. CHF has established partnerships with a wide array of companies including USANA, Dole, Ty Inc., Rite Aid and Del Monte.

"USANA is dedicated to providing opportunities for health and financial stability not only to our distributors and employees, but also to the greater global community," said Mark Wilson, USANA executive vice president of customer relations.

"Through a lasting partnership with an exceptional organization like Children's Hunger Fund, USANA has been able to bring real change to people's lives as part of our broader corporate and social responsibility commitment. We are pleased by what we have already accomplished in the fight against childhood hunger, and we look forward to continuing to do our part to help make this world a healthier, happier place for future generations."

For more information on Children's Hunger Fund go to http://www.childrenshungerfund.org/

69-Year-Old Canadian USANA Associate makes Successful Ascent of Mount Everest

USANA Recognizes Accomplishment of 69-Year-Old Canadian Associate on Successful Ascent of Mount Everest, Setting World Record

SALT LAKE CITY, May 22, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE)

USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: USNA) today recognized the achievement of Werner Berger, a 69-year-old USANA product user and Associate, who today became the oldest North American to ever climb Mount Everest and the oldest person in the world to have climbed the seven highest mountains on the world's seven continents.

Mr. Berger, a native of Canada, reached the summit of Mt. McKinley in 2006 and previously scaled the summits of Mt. Aconcagua (South America), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt. Elbrus (Europe), Vinson Massif (Antarctica), and Mt. Kosciuzsko (Australia). His summit of the highest point on earth today marks the crowning achievement in his long climbing career.

An ardent supporter of wellness and the outdoors, Werner became a USANA Associate and user of USANA supplements in 1994, selling the company's products to hundreds of customers around the globe.

Acknowledging the important role that USANA products have played in his expedition, Mr. Berger stated, "I have taken USANA products for the past 12 years, and have known throughout my journey that these tremendous products have helped make that journey and today's accomplishment possible. I thank USANA for providing the high-quality, pharmaceutical-grade nutritional supplements that have helped me make the most of my body and my life."

For more information about Werner Berger visit http://www.meetmeatthetop.com/

Vitamin D linked to reduced cancer risk; Cancer Society advises supplements

Lauren La Rose
Canadian PressFriday,
June 08, 2007 TORONTO (CP)

Canadian adults should consider taking a specific amount of vitamin D, says the Canadian Cancer Society, basing its new recommendation on an expanding body of evidence linking the vitamin to reduced risk for colorectal, breast and prostate cancers.

The recommendation coincides with the publication Friday of a study in a U.S. journal which found that taking vitamin D supplements and calcium substantially reduced all cancer risk in post-menopausal women.

The four-year study, conducted by researchers at Creighton University in Nebraska, initially enrolled 1,180 women who were over the age of 55 and living in a nine-county rural area of the state.

Of the 1,024 who completed the trial, those randomly assigned to take calcium and vitamin D and who had higher levels of both in their blood were 77 per cent less likely to develop cancer after the first year compared to those taking placebos or calcium alone.

The Canadian Cancer Society released its recommendation Friday for adults in Canada to consider taking a vitamin D supplement of 1,000 international units daily during fall and winter.

The recommended amount takes into consideration vitamin D intake from other sources, including food, water and a multivitamin, said Heather Logan, director of cancer control policy at the Canadian Cancer Society.

Adults at risk of having lower vitamin D levels should consider maintaining the recommended intake level year round, the organization said in a release. This includes people who are older,have darker skin, don't go outside often and wear clothing covering most of their skin.

"A thousand units is really a reasonable recommendation (for) people, according to the evidence and guidelines that exist currently across North America," Logan said. But she cautioned that total vitamin D intake - from supplements and other sources - should not surpass 2,000 international units.

In addition to the Nebraska research findings, the cancer society said another study released in May suggests women who consume more calcium and vitamin D may be less likely to develop breast cancer before menopause.

"This is a really exciting, emerging area of cancer prevention research and we'll continue to follow it carefully, and as new information emerges we will update our recommendations accordingly," said Logan.

The organization said Canada's geographic location was also a motivating factor for issuing the recommendation. The country's northern latitude, coupled with weakened sun rays in fall and winter, result in Canadians not producing enough vitamin D from sunlight.

But Joan Lappe, lead investigator on the Creighton University study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, said the implications of her study aren't to suggest people living closer to the Equator in warmer climates require any less of the vitamin.

"Their vitamin D health is probably more optimal, but the point is that many people further north in the northern hemisphere ... north of the 37th latitude just do not get enough months of sunlight exposure to give them optimal vitamin D in the whole year," she said in a phone interview from Omaha, Neb.

That doesn't mean Canadians should spend too much time in the sun, basking under harmful ultraviolet rays where they face overexposure, a prime risk factor for skin cancer, Logan said.

"We're definitely not talking about going out to get a tan, or to go in the middle of the day when the UV index is high," she said.

"(Supplementation) maximizes the potential benefits in reducing the risk of developing cancer with very few side effects at the doses that are recommended."

Lappe said based on the study findings, examining the role calcium played requires further investigation. "In the group that received calcium only there was a decreased incidence of cancer, but it wasn't as strong as in the group that had both calcium and vitamin D."

"We know from studies that calcium can bind some byproducts in the colon that actually prevent colon cancer in that way, but I'm not aware of any studies that show what (the) combination does together."

Logan said while the Nebraska study is "compelling," there are limitations to applying the results looking at a very specified group of subjects in one American state to the Canadian population at large.

"A large-scale clinical trial would include a much larger participant group that were more representative of the Canadian population, given our diversity, and they would be followed for a longer period of time," she said. "If these results can be replicated in a large-scale clinical trial they really would be a remarkable result."

At this time, the Canadian Cancer Society said it does not have a recommendation for vitamin D supplementation for children. Recent research highlighting the protective effect of early sun exposure on cancer risk outlines the need to consider boosting vitamin D intake for those at a younger age, said Dr. Reinhold Vieth, director of the bone and mineral lab at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

"It's plausible, I think, that vitamin D over a relatively short period like the four years of study here does help to prevent cancer, but you can even take it another step further and start earlier in life to prevent the cancers," Vieth said.

More vitamin D early in life also influences predisposition to get diabetes and multiple sclerosis, Vieth said. While there are different schools of thought in regards to calcium and cancer, the influence of vitamin D is more difficult to dispute, Vieth said.

"The thing that is unambiguous, zero debate is that more vitamin D is good," he said. "This is one agent that has a lot of different science backing it up."

The Canadian Press 2007 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 85, No. 6, 1586-1591, June 2007© 2007 American Society for Nutrition

Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk

Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial1,2

Joan M Lappe, Dianne Travers-Gustafson, K Michael Davies, Robert R Recker and Robert P Heaney 1 From the Osteoporosis Research Center, Creighton University, Omaha, NE

Background:
Numerous observational studies have found supplemental calcium and vitamin D to be associated with reduced risk of common cancers. However, interventional studies to test this effect are lacking.

Objective:
The purpose of this analysis was to determine the efficacy of calcium alone and calcium plus vitamin D in reducing incident cancer risk of all types.

Design:
This was a 4-y, population-based, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. The primary outcome was fracture incidence, and the principal secondary outcome was cancer incidence. The subjects were 1179 community-dwelling women randomly selected from the population of healthy postmenopausal women aged >55 y in a 9-county rural area of Nebraska centered at latitude 41.4°N. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive 1400–1500 mg supplemental calcium/d alone (Ca-only), supplemental calcium plus 1100 IU vitamin D3/d (Ca + D), or placebo.

Results:
When analyzed by intention to treat, cancer incidence was lower in the Ca + D women than in the placebo control subjects (P < 0.03). With the use of logistic regression, the unadjusted relative risks (RR) of incident cancer in the Ca + D and Ca-only groups were 0.402 (P = 0.01) and 0.532 (P = 0.06), respectively. When analysis was confined to cancers diagnosed after the first 12 mo, RR for the Ca + D group fell to 0.232 (CI: 0.09, 0.60; P < 0.005) but did not change significantly for the Ca-only group. In multiple logistic regression models, both treatment and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were significant, independent predictors of cancer risk.

Conclusions:
Improving calcium and vitamin D nutritional status substantially reduces all-cancer risk in postmenopausal women.

This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00352170.

Folic acid supplements reduce stroke risk

A meta-analysis published in the most recent issue of The Lancet concluded that supplementing with the B vitamin folic acid can reduce stroke risk by at least 18 percent.

Researchers analyzed eight randomized trials involving folic acid and stroke.

Participants supplementing with folic acid lowered their risk of stroke by an average of 18 percent compared to those who did not use folic acid supplements.

Trials involving folic acid supplementation longer than 3 years showed an even greater reduction in stroke risk (29%).

Folic acid supplementation was also more significant in people with reduced homocysteine levels, those with no prior stroke risk, or those who lived in area without folic acid fortification of foods.It is believed that folic acid's ability to reduce homocysteine, an amino acid found in the blood that is toxic in excess, may be the reason for the lower incidence of strokes.

Lancet 2007 Jun 2;369(9576):1876-82

Diabetes Cuts 8 Years Off Life

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
Mon Jun 11, 7:02 PM ET

A diagnosis of diabetes means losing an average of eight years from your expected life span, new research shows.

In addition, diabetics are more likely to develop heart disease sooner than non-diabetics, the study found.

"Having diabetes at age 50 years and over does not only represent a significant increase in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and mortality but also a very important loss in life expectancy and life expectancy free from cardiovascular disease," said lead author Dr. Oscar H. Franco, of the University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Unilever Corporate Research, Sharnbrook, England.

Most people with diabetes -- about 95 percent -- suffer from the obesity-linked type 2 form of the blood sugar illness. That means that "prevention of diabetes is a fundamental task facing today's society aiming to achieve populations living for longer and healthier," Franco said.
His team published its findings in the June 11 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
In the study, Franco's group collected data on more than 5,200 American men and women who participated in the ongoing Framingham Heart Study. These people were followed until they developed heart disease or died. In addition, the researchers noted whether they had diabetes.
According to the study, diabetic women had more than twice the risk of developing heart disease than non-diabetic women. In addition, women with diabetes who already had heart disease were more than twice as likely to die compared with non-diabetic women.

Among men, the researchers found that those with diabetes also had twice the risk of developing heart disease and faced a 1.7 times higher risk of dying after developing heart trouble, compared with non-diabetic men.

For those 50 and older, diabetic men lived an average of 7.5 years less than men without diabetes, and diabetic women lived an average of 8.2 years less. Moreover, life expectancy without heart disease still fell by 7.8 years in men and 8.4 years in women with diabetes compared with non-diabetics, Franco's group reported.

"Taking into consideration that treatment of diabetes and its complications accounts for at least 10 percent of health-care expenditure in many countries, effectively preventing diabetes will not only represent an increase in life expectancy and the number of years lived free from cardiovascular disease but may also represent important savings for health care, at least with respect to direct medical costs," Franco said.

One expert believes the study reflects the dangers posed by diabetes and the need for more efforts to prevent and control the disease.

"It's sobering to think about the number of years of life lost," said Dr. Larry Deeb, president for medicine and science at the American Diabetes Association. "We ought to be able to reduce the cardiovascular risk because we can manage diabetes better today, but we're not."

Deeb believes the new findings highlight the tragic results of not controlling the illness. "This is a powerful argument to people who have diabetes, that you have to control the diabetes," he said.

For more information on diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association.

USANA Expands Research Partnership with Renowned Linus Pauling Institute

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 12, 2007--

USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: USNA), announced today that it is expanding its existing partnership with the Linus Pauling Institute (LPI), in an effort to better determine the function and role of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants (micronutrients) in promoting optimal health and preventing disease. USANA will contribute $500,000 per year to the institute over the course of 10 years.

For more than a decade, LPI, one of the nation's first Centers of Excellence for Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine, has been committed to the research of heart disease, cancer, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases. Along with its research on micronutrition, LPI's mission includes:

-Determining the role of oxidative and nitrative stress and antioxidants in human health and disease
-Helping people everywhere achieve a healthy and productive life, full of vitality, with minimal suffering, and free of cancer and other debilitating diseases

"The partnership between LPI and USANA will significantly enhance the institute's research mission, enabling our scientists to better understand the role antioxidants, phytochemicals, and other nutrients play in human health," said Balz Frei, director of the Linus Pauling Institute. "We are very excited about this opportunity."

USANA's research team will collaborate with LPI on cutting-edge nutritional and clinical research. This collaboration and contribution will help advance the science of human nutrition and health, provide USANA with valuable information to be used to formulate and upgrade its nutritional products and help USANA to better advise its customers on how to use USANA products. USANA's support and the contributions of its scientists may also be credited in leading scientific and medical journals.

"The Linus Pauling Institute is clearly at the forefront of research in the arenas of nutrition and health," said USANA's Executive Vice President of Research & Development Tim Wood. "USANA is proud to be supporting their efforts and we look forward to working with LPI in advancing the science of nutrition in both laboratory and clinical settings."

About USANA
USANA Health Sciences develops and manufactures high-quality nutritionals, personal care, and weight management products that are sold directly to Preferred Customers and Associates throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

CONTACT: USANA Health Sciences, Inc., Salt Lake City
Dan Macuga, 801-954-7280
Dan.Macuga@us.usana.com
SOURCE: USANA Health Sciences, Inc.

Fish and Vitamin D Intake Linked to Lower Risk of Macular Degeneration

Two studies published in the May 2007 Archives of Ophthalmology have shown that vitamin D and the omega-3 fatty acids from fish may help lower the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration.

Age-related macular degeneration, also known as AMD, is a progressive eye disease of the retina that affects the light-sensing cells in the central area of vision and dims contrast sensitivity and color perception. The condition is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, and is most common in people who are age sixty and over. AMD is the leading cause of visual impairment in senior citizens.

In the first study, researchers evaluated habitual nutrient intake through food frequency questionnaires of over 4,500 people between ages 60 and 80 who participated in a study by the National Institute of Health's National Eye Institute. Researchers found that higher dietary intakes of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly from fatty fish, reduced the risk of age- related macular degeneration. The researchers speculate that these fatty acids may help promote cell health and survival as well as improve blood vessel function.

In the second study, researchers evaluated serum vitamin D and early and advanced macular degeneration in over 7,752 individuals from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III). Researchers noted that vitamin D intake was associated with a reduced risk of developing poor visual health that can lead to blindness. Participants were split into five groups based on the level of vitamin D in their blood. Those with the highest level had a 40% reduced risk of developing poor visual health compared with those with the lowest amount of vitamin D in their blood. These results support the idea that lower serum vitamin D levels may lead to progression of chronic diseases, specifically those associated with inflammation. This may be important to the health of older Americans who have a higher risk of insufficient vitamin D intake, the researchers said.

While these results are promising, researchers caution that at this time there is insufficient epidemiologic evidence of the relationship between vitamin D and age-related macular degeneration to make recommendations regarding optimum vitamin D levels and fish intake to protect against the eye disease or its progression. These results warrant additional investigation to further confirm the role of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin D in AMD.

The Relationship of Dietary Lipid Intake and Age-Related Macular Degeneration in a Case-Control Study: AREDS Report No. 20. Arch Ophthalmol. 2007 May;125(5):671-9.

Association Between Vitamin D and Age-Related Macular Degeneration in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988 Through 1994. Arch Ophthalmol. 2007 May;125(5):661-669.

Aspartame Part 3 - Why don't we hear about these things?

The reason many people do not hear about serious reactions to aspartame is twofold:

1) Lack of awareness by the general population. Aspartame-caused diseases are not reported in the newspapers like plane crashes. This is because these incidents occur one at a time in thousands of different locations across the United States.

2) Most people do not associate their symptoms with the long-term use of aspartame. For the people who have killed a significant percentage of their brain cells and thereby caused a chronic illness, there is no way that they would normally associate such an illness with aspartame consumption.

How aspartame was approved is a lesson in how chemical and pharmaceutical companies can manipulate government agencies such as the FDA, "bribe" organizations such as the American Dietetic Association, and flood the scientific community with flawed and fraudulent industry-sponsored studies funded by the makers of aspartame.

Erik Millstone, a researcher at the Science Policy Research Unit of Sussex University has compiled thousands of pages of evidence, some of which have been obtained using the freedom of information act 23, showing:

1. Laboratory tests were faked and dangers were concealed.
2. Tumors were removed from animals and animals that had died were "restored to life" in laboratory records.
3. False and misleading statements were made to the FDA.
4. The two US Attorneys given the task of bringing fraud charges against the aspartame manufacturer took positions with the manufacturer's law firm, letting the statute of limitations run out.
5. The Commissioner of the FDA overruled the objections of the FDA's own scientific board of inquiry. Shortly after that decision, he took a position with Burson-Marsteller, the firm in charge of public relations for G.D. Searle.

A Public Board of Inquiry (PBOI) was conducted in 1980. There were three scientists who reviewed the objections of Olney and Turner to the approval of aspartame. They voted unanimously against aspartame's approval.

The FDA Commissioner, Dr Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. then created a 5-person Scientific Commission to review the PBOI findings. After it became clear that the Commission would uphold the PBOI's decision by a vote of 3 to 2, another person was added to the Commission, creating a deadlocked vote. This allowed the FDA Commissioner to break the deadlock and approve aspartame for dry goods in 1981.

Dr Jacqueline Verrett, the Senior Scientist in an FDA Bureau of Foods review team created in August 1977 to review the Bressler Report (a report that detailed G.D. Searle's abuses during the pre-approval testing) said: "It was pretty obvious that somewhere along the line, the bureau officials were working up to a whitewash."

In 1987, Verrett testified before the US Senate stating that the experiments conducted by Searle were a "disaster." She stated that her team was instructed not to comment on or be concerned with the overall validity of the studies. She stated that questions about birth defects have not been answered. She continued her testimony by discussing the fact that DKP has been shown to increase uterine polyps and change blood cholesterol and that increasing the temperature of the product leads to an increase in production of DKP.(13)

REVOLVING DOORS
The FDA and the manufacturers of aspartame have had a revolving door of employment for many years. In addition to the FDA Commissioner and two US Attorneys leaving to take positions with companies connected with G.D. Searle, four other FDA officials connected with the approval of aspartame took positions connected with the NutraSweet industry between 1979 and 1982 including the Deputy FDA Commissioner, the Special Assistant to the FDA Commissioner, the Associate Director of the Bureau of Foods and Toxicology and the Attorney involved with the Public Board of Inquiry.(24)

It is important to realize that this type of revolving-door activity has been going on for decades. The Townsend Letter for Doctors (11/92) reported on a study revealing that 37 of 49 top FDA officials who left the FDA took positions with companies they had regulated. They also reported that over 150 FDA officials owned stock in drug companies they were assigned to manage. Many organizations and universities receive large sums of money from companies connected to the NutraSweet Association, a group of companies promoting the use of aspartame. In January 1993, the American Dietetic Association received a US$75,000 grant from the NutraSweet Company. The American Dietetic Association has stated that the NutraSweet Company writes their "Facts" sheets.(25)

What is the FDA doing to protect the consumer from the dangers of aspartame?

Less than nothing.

In 1992, the FDA approved aspartame for use in malt beverages, breakfast cereals, and refrigerated puddings and fillings. In 1993 the FDA approved aspartame for use in hard and soft candies, non-alcoholic favored beverages, tea beverages, fruit juices and concentrates, baked goods and baking mixes, and frostings, toppings and fillings for baked goods.

In 1991, the FDA banned the importation of stevia. The powder of this leaf has been used for hundreds of years as an alternative sweetener. It is used widely in Japan with no adverse effects. Scientists involved in reviewing stevia have declared it to be safe for human consumption--something that has been well known in many parts of the world where it is not banned. Some people believe that stevia was banned to keep the product from taking hold in the United States and cutting into sales of aspartame.(26)

What is the U.S. Congress doing to protect the consumer from the dangers of aspartame?

Nothing.

What is the U.S. Administration (President) doing to protect the consumer from the dangers of aspartame?

Nothing.

Aspartame consumption is not only a problem in the United States--it is being sold in over 70 countries throughout the world.

Aspartame Part 2 - Ailments Resulting From Aspartame

The components of aspartame can lead to a wide variety of ailments. Some of these problems occur gradually while others are immediate, acute reactions.

A few of the many disorders associated with aspartame include the following:

BIRTH DEFECTS
A study funded by Monsanto to study possible birth defects caused by consuming aspartame was cut off after preliminary data showed damaging information about aspartame. Additionally, in the book, While Waiting: A Prenatal Guidebook, it is stated that aspartame is suspected of causing brain damage in sensitive individuals. A fetus may be at risk for these effects. Some researchers have suggested that high doses of aspartame may be associated with problems ranging from dizziness and subtle brain changes to mental retardation.

CANCER (Brain Cancer)
In 1981, an FDA statistician stated that the brain tumor data on aspartame was so "worrisome" that he could not recommend approval of NutraSweet.(14)

In a two-year study conducted by the manufacturer of aspartame, twelve of 320 rats fed a normal diet and aspartame developed brain tumors while none of the control rats developed tumors, and five of the twelve tumors were in rats given a low dose of aspartame.(15)

The approval of aspartame was a violation of the Delaney Amendment, which was supposed to prevent cancer-causing substances such as methanol (formaldehye) and DKP from entering our food supply. A late FDA toxicologist testified before the U.S. Congress that aspartame was capable of producing brain tumors. This made it illegal for the FDA to set an allowable daily intake at any level.

He stated in his testimony that Searle's studies were "to a large extent unreliable" and that "at least one of those studies has established beyond any reasonable doubt that aspartame is capable of inducing brain tumors in experimental animals ... " He concluded his testimony by asking, "What is the reason for the apparent refusal by the FDA to invoke for this food additive the so-called Delaney Amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act? ... And if the FDA itself elects to violate the law, who is left to protect the health of the public?"(16)

In the mid-1970s it was discovered that the manufacturer of aspartame falsified studies in several ways. One of the techniques used was to cut tumors out of test animals and put them back in the study. Another technique used to falsify the studies was to list animals that had actually died as surviving the study. Thus, the data on brain tumors was likely worse than discussed above. In addition, a former employee of the manufacturer of aspartame told the FDA on July 13, 1977 that the particles of DKP were so large that the rats could discriminate between the DKP and their normal diet.(12)

DIABETES
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is actually recommending this chemical poison to persons with diabetes, but according to research conducted by a diabetes specialist, aspartame: 1) Leads to the precipitation of clinical diabetes. 2) Causes poorer diabetic control in diabetics on insulin or oral drugs. 3) Leads to the aggravation of diabetic complications such as retinopathy, cataracts, neuropathy and gastroparesis. 4) Causes convulsions.

In a statement concerning the use of products containing aspartame by persons with diabetes and hypoglycemia, the researchers says:
"Unfortunately, many patients in my practice, and others seen in consultation, developed serious metabolic, neurologic and other complications that could be specifically attributed to using aspartame products. This was evidenced by the loss of diabetic control, the intensification of hypoglycemia, the occurrence of presumed 'insulin reactions' (including convulsions) that proved to be aspartame reactions, and the precipitation, aggravation or simulation of diabetic complications (especially impaired vision and neuropathy) while using these products ... Dramatic improvement of such features after avoiding aspartame, and the prompt predictable recurrence of these problems when the patient resumed aspartame products, knowingly or inadvertently."

Another researcher stated that excitotoxins such as those found in aspartame can precipitate diabetes in persons who are genetically susceptible to the disease.(5)

EMOTIONAL DISORDERS
In a double blind study of the effects of aspartame on persons with mood disorders, findings showed a large increase in serious symptoms for persons taking aspartame. Since some of the symptoms were so serious, the Institutional Review Board had to stop the study. Three of the participants had said that they had been "poisoned" by aspartame. Researchers concluded that "individuals with mood disorders are particularly sensitive to this artificial sweetener; its use in this population should be discouraged."(18)

One researcher stated about aspartame, "I know it causes seizures. I'm convinced also that it definitely causes behavioral changes. I'm very angry that this substance is on the market. I personally question the reliability and validity of any studies funded by the NutraSweet Company."(19)

Additionally, there are numerous reported cases of low brain serotonin levels, depression and other emotional disorders that have been linked to aspartame and often are relieved by stopping the intake of aspartame.

EPILEPSY/SEIZURES
With the large and growing number of seizures caused by aspartame, it is sad to see that the Epilepsy Foundation is promoting the "safety" of aspartame. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 80 people who had suffered seizures after ingesting aspartame were surveyed.

Community Nutrition Institute concluded the following about the survey:
"These 80 cases meet the FDA's own definition of an imminent hazard to the public health, which requires the FDA to expeditiously remove a product from the market."

Both the Air Force's magazine, Flying Safety, and the Navy's magazine, Navy Physiology, published articles warning about the many dangers of aspartame including the cumulative delirious effects of methanol and the greater likelihood of birth defects. The articles note that the ingestion of aspartame can make pilots more susceptible to seizures and vertigo. Twenty articles sounding warnings about ingesting aspartame while flying have also appeared in the National Business Aircraft Association Digest (NBAA Digest 1993), Aviation Medical Bulletin (1988), The Aviation Consumer (1988), Canadian General Aviation News (1990), Pacific Flyer (1988), General Aviation News (1989), Aviation Safety Digest (1989), and Plane & Pilot (1990) and a paper warning about aspartame was presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association (Gaffney 1986).

A hotline was even set up for pilots suffering from acute reactions to aspartame ingestion. Over 600 pilots have reported symptoms including some who have reported suffering grand mal seizures in the cockpit due to aspartame.(21)