All Articles

Perhaps Prostate Cancer may be a Rarity in the Future

Claus Hancke

April 1, 2005

Every forth man lives with a highly increased risk of getting cancer of the prostate, the next most frequent cause to cancer deaths in men. It does not have to be like that. Exactly these exposed men could easily decrease their risk to a tenth.

Researchers from Harvard University in Boston have published a landmark study. It strongly suggests that most cases of cancer in the prostate are due to lack of balance in the body’s defense against free oxygen radicals. And most importantly: This balance can be restored with antioxidants – especially with selenium, but also vitamin E and the red dye of the tomatoes, lycopene. Prostate cancer can thus become a rare disease.

The imbalance occurs especially in men who get too little selenium and who, for hereditary reasons, have a particularly effective antioxidant enzyme (manganese-containing SOD) in their mitochondria. The mitochondria are the cells’ internal energy factories, which are worn down by free oxygen radicals with age. This wear and tear, parenthetically noted, is believed to be a very significant cause of aging and age-related diseases.

One would therefore think that it was an advantage to have a particularly effective antioxidant enzyme in one’s mitochondria. But very often it is not. The SOD enzyme transforms free oxygen radicals into the less risky hydrogen peroxide, but this creates a new problem: the hydrogen peroxide must also be removed, since it also causes harmful oxygenation. The removal requires an enzyme (glutathione peroxidase), the quantity of which depends on the supply of selenium.

The more free oxygen radicals (e.g. from smoking) that need to be neutralized and the more efficient the SOD enzyme is, the more harmful hydrogen peroxide accumulates and the greater the need for selenium.

Balance in things
The Harvard study is part of a study of approx. 15,000 American doctors who have been followed since 1982. Around 1990, 275 of them had developed serious prostate cancer, and it was those who were primarily found interesting.

By: Vitality Council

References:
1. Haojie Li et al. : Manganese superoxide dismutase polymorphism, prediagnostic antioxidant status, and risk of clinical significant prostate cancer. Cancer Res. 2005;65:2498-2504.
2. Woodson et al. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) polymorphism, α-tocopherol supplementation and prostate cancer risk in the α-Tocopherol, β-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study. Cancer Causes Control 2003;14:513-8
3. Niels Hertz. Selen – et livsvigtigt spormineral. Forlaget Ny Videnskab 2002.

www.aacr.org/cncrrea.htm
www.ingentaconnect.com/content/klu/caco;jsessionid=2sf53q49osdn1.victoria
www.iom.dk

Supporting Evidence: B-vitamins Strengthen the Bones

Claus Hancke

March 18, 2005

A year ago a correlation between osteoporosis, folic acid and Vitamin B12 deficiency was discovered. It might have been a statistical coincidence, but a Japanese study discovered that the two vitamins reduced the risk of bone fracture by 80%.

Just a year ago, Dutch and American researchers demonstrated that at high homocysteine level – which is very common and most often a consequence of folic acid or vitamin B12 deficiency – the risk of breaking the hip doubles. It was only a statistical context, but was there also a causal link?

By: Vitality Council

References:
1. Sato Y, Honda Y, Iwamoto J, Kanoko T, Satoh K. JAMA. 2005 Mar 2;293(9):1082-8. Effect of folate and mecobalamin on hip fractures in patients with stroke: a randomized controlled trial.
2. Krumdieck CL et al. Mechanisms of homocysteine toxicity on connective tissues: Implications for the morbidity of aging. J Nutr. 2000;130:365S-368S.
3. Van Meurs Joyce B J et al. Homocysteine levels and the risk of osteoporotic fracture. N Engl J Med 2004;350:2033-41.
4. Mc Lean Robert R et al. Homocysteine as a predictive factor for hip fracture in older persons, N Engl J Med 2004;350:2042-9.

jama.ama-assn.org
content.nejm.org

Fried Herrings – Are They Really Good For The Heart?

Claus Hancke

March 15, 2005

An American study says that you can avoid heart flutter (atrial fibrillation) by eating fatty fish. Danish researchers have come to the exact opposite conclusion. Is that because the Danes like fried fish?

An American study concludes that you can avoid atrial fibrillation by eating fatty fish. Danish researchers have come to the exact opposite conclusion.

In the summer of 2004, researchers at Harvard University in Boston published an article stating that if you eat lots of fatty fish, your risk of atrial fibrillation will be reduced.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common cause of irregular heartbeat that will occur in a large number of elderly people and will require lifelong anticoagulant treatment.

To be precise, the American researchers had found that the risk of atrial fibrillation was reduced by 35% in people who consumed fatty fish at least five times a week and by 24% in the ones who consumed fatty fish 1 – 3 times a month – compared to people who only ate fish very rarely.

However, the matter is more complex than that: In January 2005, two Danish doctors published an article stating that a large consumption of fatty fish increases the risk of atrial fibrillation. They found the risk to be increased by 44% in the 20% who consumed the most fatty fish compared to the 20% who consumed the least.

Were do we go from that, then? If we take a rough average of the two studies, it will indicate that it does not matter whether or not you eat fatty fish.

But why are the results so conflicting? If we move below the surface, it turns out that the two studies are very different.

The American study included 5000 trial subjects with an average age of 73 years. The Danish study included 50,000 trial subjects with an average age that was 18 years less than the American study, i.e. 55 years.

Almost every fifth of the old Americans suffered atrial fibrillation during the 12-year duration of the American study. In comparison, the same was true for less than 2% of the Danes during the 6-year duration of the Danish study.

In total, the Americans observed more than twice as many trial subjects with atrial fibrillation compared to the Danes (980 and 456, respectively).

Frying distorts the fish oil
How were the person with atrial fibrillation indentified? The American trial subjects went through a cardiac examination every year in which all cases of atrial fibrillation were discovered. Contrary to this, information about the health state of the Danes was solely obtained from the hospitals – it was obviously assumed that all the trial subjects who had suffered atrial fibrillation had been hospitalized.

This discrepancy involves some uncertainty: Even though most trial subjects with atrial fibrillation were hospitalized, it is far from certain that this applied to everyone. Atrial fibrillation can very well be treated by a GP.

It was particularly important that the Americans observed that there is difference in the effect of fried fish and other kinds of fish. Fried fatty fish slightly increased the risk while non-fried (fatty) fish decreased the risk. Fried fatty fish neither increased the blood levels of fish oil (N-3 fatty acids) as non-fried fish does.

The Danish study does not explain how the fish were prepared. There was no distinguishing.

None of the studies explained how many and who took fish oil supplements: In the Danish study the trial subjects had not been given this question and in the American study, the information apparently did not alter the overall result.

To conclude: A detailed and precise American study has established that fatty fish reduces the risk of atrial fibrillation by approximately 33%.
A less detailed Danish study has established the opposite.

However, the size of the study is hardly decisive. It is probably more essential to pay some attention to how the fish was prepared. Fish oil is destroyed by high temperatures which, more or less, transforms the N-3 fatty acids into N-6 fatty acids, transfatty acids, and harmful oxidation products.

The American group has recently published some more news: Fatty fish – that has not been fried – reduces the risk of cerebral haemorrhage to approximately the same degree as is the case with atrial fibrillation. Fatty fish, on the other hand, increases this risk!

By: Vitality Council

References:
1. Dariush Mozaffarian et al. Fish intake and risk of incident atrial fibrillation. Circulation 2004;116:368-73.
2. n-3 Fatty acids consumed from fish and risk of atrial fibrillation or flutter : The Danish Diet, Cancer and Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2005;81:50-4
3. Mozaffarian D et al. Fish consumption and stroke risk in elderly individuals: the cardiovascular health study. Arch Intern Med 2005 Jan 24;165(2):200-6.

www.americanheart.org
www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml
www.ajcn.org
archinte.ama-assn.org
www.iom.dk

Magnesium May (Perhaps) Prevent Cancer

Claus Hancke

February 21, 2005

The less magnesium you get, the larger is the risk of colon cancer – plus asthma and imbalances in the muscle- and nerve function. Diuretic pills and empty calories is the major cause of magnesium deficiency.

Swedish researchers have discovered that a lack of magnesium seems to increase the risk of colon cancer which is one of the most common forms of cancer. The increased incidence was discovered in a group of 66,000 women of 40 – 70 years of age who were followed during a 3 year period.

The majority of the 66,000 women got less than the recommended 350 mg. of magnesium a day through their diet. Actually, if a woman got more than 255 mg. of magnesium a day, she would belong to the top 20% in regard to magnesium intake. This top 20% had a significantly reduced risk of colon cancer compared to the rest of the women, and the risk was inversely proportional to the intake of magnesium.

Why do so few people get enough magnesium? It should not be difficult to get enough, but it is estmated that at the beginning of the last century, an average adult person got more than 1000 mg. of magnesium a day. That is four times as much as the women who today get the most.

The explanation is obvious. At the beginning of the last century, the consumption of empty or half-empty calories in the form of sugar, margarine, and white flour was much smaller than it is today. In 100 g. of oatmeal, there is almost 300 mg. of magnesium while other whole grain products (and semisweet chocolate!) contain approx. 100 mg. of magnesium per 100 g. That is four times as much as in industrially manufactured white flour.

Lean meat which was rarely used 100 years ago does not contain more than about 25 mg. of magnesium per 100 g; which is about the same as in vegetables such as spinach, peas, and beans.

The comparison is interesting for other reasons than its relation to cancer. In numberous studies, a lack of magnesium has been linked to atherosclerosis and heart failure; diseases that were not all that common 100 years ago.

A number of years ago, for example, a Scottish study showed that when asthmatics were given a supplement of just 100 mg. magnesium, they suffered fewer asthmatic attacks and their mucous membranes were less irritable. It is a well-known fact that asthma is also a far more common disease today. The effect corresponds to the fact that you can stop an asthma attack by intravenously injecting magnesium sulphate.

Magnesium has many other effects as well: It inhitibs the tendency of the blood platelets to aggregate and increases the production of nitric oxide (NO) which keeps the blood vessels open, it lowers the blood pressure, and it maintains a normal circulation.

All these things can be assumed to reduce the risk of coronary thrombosis; a connection that is presumed but has yet to be finally confirmed. However, it is further supported by the fact that magnesium has several effects in common with the cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins – without having the side effects, that is.

The relaxing effect on the blood vessels might be connected to the generally relaxing effect on muscles and nerves for which magnesium is well-known. In earlier days, complete anaesthesia was induced by magnesium just as local anaesthesia can be achieved by injecting magnesium under the skin.

Magnesium is still the most important remedy against cramps in pre-eclampsia and can also be used against tetanus. Many people also benefit from a magnesium supplement that can relieve cramps in the legs which can be a nuisance to both pregnant women and elderly people.

It can seem alarming that we get so much less than we used to of a mineral with these properties. Not least because the widespread use of diuretics contribute to the lack of magnesium by excreting magnesium via the kidneys.

In addition to this, we can now add the possible anti-carcinogenic effects of magnesium. Of course, it might also be the result of a combination of other deficiencies which occurs at the same time as the magnesium deficiency. A poor diet will result in a lack of a number of essential nutrients, so the moral must be: Eat properly!

By: vitality Council

References:
“Magnesium Intake in Relation to Risk of Colorectal Cancer in Women”, Susanna C. Larsson, MSc; Leif Bergkvist, MD, PhD; Alicja Wolk, DMSc, JAMA. 2005;293:86-89.
“Comparison of Mechanism and Functional Effects of Magnesium and Statin Pharmaceuticals”, Rosanoff A, Seelig MS, J Am Coll Nutr, 2004;23(5):501S-505S. (Address:Mildred S. Seelig, MD, E-mail: mgseelig(at)comcast.net ).
Ford Es, Mokdad AH. Dietary magnesium intake in a national sample of US adults. J Nutr 2003;133:2879-82
Goodman and Gilman’s The Pharmacological basis of therapeutics. Pergamon Press 1990. P. 704-6.

www.jacn.org
www.nutrition.org
www.iom.dk

St. John’s Wort Outdoes Antidepressant Drugs

Claus Hancke

February 14, 2005

It is better to take St. John’s Wort than Anti-Depressant Drugs, even when suffering from a moderate to a severe depression. It not only works better but it has fewer side effects. But every second patient needs a double dose.”…

Taking St. John’s wort is better than taking antidepressant drugs, even in the case of moderate to severe depressions. The effect is better and it has fewer adverse effects. However, every other patients needs a double dose for the herb to be effective.

The fact that St. John’s wort can be used for other things than making schnapps has been known for some time. As early as in 1994 it turned out that the plant can be used for even serious depressions, and St. John’s wort has been an unlicenced herbal remedy for some time now.

On account of the usual hypocrisy of the authorities, the remedy is only approved for treating “melancholy, despondency, and sadness”; concepts that are not used in the scientific world of approved licensed medical drugs. It has been documented, however, that St. John’s wort is effective against depression; but the hyprocrisy forbids informing about this even though it is specifically the word of “depression” that is used in the scientific articles.

In Germany, the authorities are truthful and here, St. John’s wort has been officially approved for “mental disturbances, depressive conditions, anxiety, and nervous restlessness” since 1984.

For this reason, German doctors have used far more St. John’s wort than their British colleagues and have spared their patients of nausea, tiredness, impotence, oral dryness, dizziness, sleeplessness, and what else might come from using antidepressants – also called SSRI preparations. In Germany, St. John’s wort is prescribed twice as often as standard antidepressants.

So far, it has been known that St. John’s wort is just as effective against light depression as SSRI preparations and other antidepressants. When it comes to severe depressions, there has been more doubt about its effectiveness even though a study indicated that the effect was fully equal to prescription drugs. However, the study was too small for the results to be valid.

This uncertainty has now been removed. An unusually well accomplished German study performed with typical German thoroughness has documented that not only is St. John’s wort fully equal to the SSRI remedies; it actually outdoes them. In a study involving 244 severely depressed patients, St. John’s wort had both a better effect and caused fewer adverse effects than the widely used SSRI preparation paroxetine.

The study showed that adverse effects only appeared half as often in the group receiving St. John’s wort as in the group receiving paroxetine. After six weeks, the patients who had been treated with St. John’s wort noted a decrease in depression score of 57% while the patients who had been treated with paroxetine could only note a decrease of 45% – scored on the basis of the so-called Hamilton depression rating scale.

In all respects, this study lives up to the highest standards. There are therefore very strong reasons for preferring St. John’s wort to other remedies – in both mild and moderate to severe depression.

You should be aware of two things, however: First of all, the recommended dose in the over-the-counter drugs is generally too small: They advise you to take e.g. 3 – 6 tablets which gives you a total of 900 – 1800 mg of hypericin if the content of hypericin is 300 mg per tablet. The 900 mg is too small a dose.

In the German study, 900 mg was the starting dosage. Approximately every other patient had that dosage doubled after 14 days due to a lacking effect. This means that with Danish pills (450 milligrams hypericum / tablet) you either have to start with 2 and possibly increase to 4 tablets a day to get the same effect as the German trial subjects!

The second thing you should know is that St. John’s wort reduces the effect of several kinds of drugs, including prescription drugs such as contraceptive pills and anticoagulants. The reason for this is that St. John’s wort promotes the breakdown of the drugs in the liver. If you are taking any kind of medicine, you should consult your doctor before starting self-treatment with St. John’s wort!

By: Vitality Council

References:
1. Szgedi A et al. Acute treatrment of moderate to severe depression with hypericum extract WS 5570 (St Johns Wort): randomised controlled double blind non-inferiority trial versus paroxetine. BMJ online 11.2.2005, page 1-6.
2. de Smet P.A.G. et al. St Johns wort as an antidepressant. BMJ 1996;313:241-2 (L).
3. Linde K et al. St Johns wort for depression – an overview and meta analysis of randomised clinical trials. BMJ 1996;313:253-7.

bmj.bmjjournals.com
www.iom.dk

Folic Acid: It Seems Wise to Take a Supplement

Claus Hancke

February 7, 2005

Folic acid reduces the blood pressure, but only if you take a folic acid supplement, as you will not get enough simply through your diet. At the same time, folic acid protects your heart and brain from blood clots.

Since long, it has been documented that the B-vitamin folic acid (B9) prevents congenital neural tube defects. In Canada, all kinds of flour have been enriched with folic acid during the past 8 years, and 80% of the congenital neural tube defects have thus been prevented. In the USA, enrichment is also obligatory, but in Britain, expectant mothers are left to themselves. They have to figure out for themselves to take a supplement – before they become pregnant!

The main source of folic acid is leafy green vegetables (the latin “folium” means “leaf”). Many people do not like these leafy greens and folic acid deficiency is therefore more common than any other vitamin deficiency. Unfortunately, the deficiency probably does not only harm the unborn baby but does also increase the mortality of coronary thrombosis and cerebral apoplexy in adults. But this is not all: Folic acid deficiency probably also increases the risk of hypertension.

The connection between folic acid deficiency and hypertension that has been unknown till now was discovered when an eight-year study was concluded involving 156,000 American nurses *1). The risk of the nurses having hypertension while being 27 – 44 years of age was only half as great when they took 1 mg (1000 mcg.) of folic acid a day compared to when they took 0.2 mg. In both the US and Britain, 0.2 mg. is just below the average daily folic acid intake which is 0.25 mg. It is almost impossible to get 1 mg. of folic acid a day – which is four times as much – without taking a supplement.

With regard to apoplexy and coronary thrombosis, much interesting knowledge has been produced during recent years:
In the US, where enrichment of flour with folic acid began in 1996, the mortality rate following apoplexy has droppped dramatically – in all groups of society, that is, and for both men and women – so the results are rather regardless of lifestyle, etc.

Before 1996, the annual drop in mortality as a result of apoplexy was about 1%. This drop was the result of improved treatment and prophylaxis. However, in the succeeding three years, mortality rates dropped three times as fast, i.e. with a total of 10 – 15%! Statistically, this has been explained by the fact that the average American now has twice as much folic acid in his/her blood as before *2).

Moreover, apoplexy is far more dangerous if you are deficient in folic acid. This was recently demonstrated on mice. They were given an artificial apoplexy in that their cerebral artery was simply clamped. It turned out that the cerebral damage was only half as great in the mice that had been given enough folic acid *3).

Folic acid seems to be able to protect the heart as well. This appeared most recently when Italian doctors studied 900 patients hospitalized with or without coronary thrombosis. The patients were divided into three groups according to their estimated daily intake of folic acid. Among the patients admitted to the cardiology department, most of them belonged to the group that got the least folic acid!

The third of the patients that got the least folic acid had twice as great a risk compared to the third of the patients that got the most folic acid. When vitamin B6 intake was also taken into account (vitamin B6 collaborates with folic acid), the ones who got the most folic acid only had a relative risk of 29% *4).

It is not the folic acid itself that protects the heart and the brain. However, folic acid reduces the blood content of the harmful amino acid homocysteine which attacks the blood vessels.

About 10% of the population are unaware that they have a hereditarily increased homocysteine level in their blood (and therefore need more folic acid). Recently, it was discovered that these 10% suffer apoplexy significantly more often than others *5, 6). It was already known that these people already have an increased risk of suffering coronary thrombosis *7).

Nobody has yet performed a blinded study in which supplements have been used to efficiently lower the blood contents of homocysteine. However, this kind of research is now being encouraged *8). Yet, with our existing knowledge, it seems wise to take a folic acid supplement. The ideal dosage may be around 0.8 mg. (800 mcg.) a day.

By: Vitality Council

References:
1. Forman JP, Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Curhan GC. Folate intake and the risk of incident hypertension among US women. JAMA. 2005 Jan 19;293(3):320-9.
2. American Heart Association’s 44th annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.carole.bullock@heart.org
3. Endres M, Ahmadi M, Kruman I, Biniszkiewicz D, Meisel A, Gertz K. Folate deficiency increases postischemic brain injury. Stroke. 2005 Feb;36(2):321-5.
4. Taivani A et al. Folate and vitamin B6 intake and risk of acute myocardial infarct in Italy. Eur J Clin Nutr 2004;58:1266-72
5. Al-Delaimy WK, Rexrode KM, Hu FB, Albert CM, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Manson JE. Folate intake and risk of stroke among women. Stroke. 2004 Jun;35(6):1259-63.
6. Casas JP et al. Homocysteine and stroke: Evidence on a causal link from mendelian randomisation. The Lancet 2005;365: 224-32
7. Klerk M, Verhoef P, Clarke R, Blom HJ, Kok FJ, Schouten EG; MTHFR Studies Collaboration Group. MTHFR 677C–>T polymorphism and risk of coronary heart disease: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2002 Oct 23-30; 288(16):2023-31.
8. S Schwammenthal et al. Homocysteine, B-vitamin supplementation, and stroke prevention. From observational to interventional trials. Lancet Neurol. 2004;3(8):493-5.

jama.ama-assn.org
www.lancet.com
stroke.ahajournals.org
www.iom.dk

Listen to this: Vitamins Preserve the Hearing!

Claus Hancke

February 3, 2005

Studies with guinea pigs and American soldiers show that large doses of the vitamins C and E prevent chronic hearing impairment caused by noise. The conclusion is important, as every tenth grown-up has impaired hearing.

Do you have difficulties hearing? If so, the cause might be a vitamin deficiency. This is the result of a study carried out at the renowned Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden – the hospital is known throughout the world for being the place in which the staff scientists decide who gets the annual Nobel Prize for medicine.

The study showed that if the guinea pigs were given large doses of the vitamins C and -E before and after a violent noise impact, they would avoid the chronic hearing impairment that would otherwise be the result. Studies of American soldiers at target practice have shown similar results.

Impaired hearing is more common than you would probably think. 10% of all adults have so serious hearing difficulties that it affects their everyday communication. The prevalence increases with age, but many people become hearing impaired when they are young if they have a liking for violent music or if they have some sort of genetic predisposition for being sensitive to noise.

Professor Mats Ulfendahl from The Center for Hearing and Communication Research at the Karolinska University Hospital is behind the study. It was based on the knowledge that noise produces free oxygen radicals in the sensory cells of the inner ear and that these radicals are responsible for destroying the sensory cells.

For this reason, it was logical to try to limit the damage by supplying antioxidants to the guinea pigs. Ulfendahl presented the results at a congress about hearing impairment at the Karolinska University Hospital in September 2004.

Mats Ulfendahl is among the world’s leading researchers in hearing impairment and, among other things, he has demonstrated that there are stem cells in the inner ear that can develop into mature auditory- and neve cells. He believes that this discovery can imply that during the next 10 – 20 years, people suffering from aquired deafness can have their hearing restored. If he is right, it is hardly unlikely that his colleagues at the Karolinska University Hospital will nominate him for the Nobel Prize.

At present, there is no method for repairing damaged auditory cells in humans. Birds, however, automatically regenerate their hearing when they become deaf as a result of a noise injury. The thought of restoring hearing, therefore, is not fundamentally impossible. If you are considering some kind of prophylaxis before going to a disco, for example, it would probably be a good idea to consider taking a megadose vitamin supplement.

By: Vitality Council

References:
This time we do not refer to a scientific article, but an online introduction by a Swedish professor and a speech (in Swedish), which you may listen to directly at the web addresses below:
1) Can vitamins really soothe impaired hearing? ( Kan verkligen vitaminer lindra hörselnedsättning? ) http://www.hrf.se/templates/Page2x1____3855.aspx
2) Take a vitamin pill and then listen! ( Ta en vitamin och hör sen! )
http://www.karolinska.se/templates/Page.aspx?id=39736

www.hrf.se/templates/Page2x1____3855.aspx
www.karolinska.se/templates/Page.aspx
www.iom.dk

Vitamin Pills Prevent Infection

Claus Hancke

January 24, 2005

The increased predisposition to infections in diabetics can be reduced with a daily multivitamin-mineral pill.

Skeptics have doubted that ordinary vitamin pills can strengthen the immune defence. In 1992, the Canadian nutritionist R.K. Chandra did establish that a daily vitamin pill reduced the number of infections in a small group of healthy elderly people by 50%. However, critics questionned his independence and the succeeding year, French scientists could not find any similar effect in an – albeit short-term – study.

The situation is now completely different. An American study has shown that an ordinary vitamin pill almost halves the incidence of infections. The study that lasted nearly a year included 130 trial subjects who were predominantly middle-aged, overweight women; of these women, approximately 1/3 had type II diabetes – also called non-insulin-dependent diabetes or adult-onset diabetes. Their lifestyle, however, was not necessarily unhealthy; more than every other woman exercised moderately or intensely.

During the study, half the trial subjects were given placebo (a non-effective tablet) and the other half were given a daily vitamin-mineral tablet. In the placebo group, 73% suffered infection while this was the case for only 43% in the vitamin group.

The diabetics were apparently the ones who benefited most from the vitamin pill as most of the difference between the two groups could be ascribed to them. Indeed, it is well-known that diabetics are more susceptible to infections than other people; 93% of the diabetics in the placebo group suffered infection while this was the case for only 17% of the diabetics in the vitamin group.

The obvious explanation could
be that the diabetics were vitamin-deficient; this would weaken their immune defence, but when given a vitamin pill, their health would be restored. However, the figures do not confirm this theory. It was estimated that approximately 1/3 of all the trial subjects – i.e. both diabetics and non-diabetics – were deficient in the vitamins A, -E, and -C. Therefore, the conclusion must be that not all diabetics had eaten unhealthily.

There is also the question of diabetics perhaps having a particularly large need for vitamins in order to maintain a healthy immune defence. During the trial, they were given a substantial supplement. The vitamin pill used in the trial contains fairly large amounts of the vitamins A, -B, -C, and -D, and it also contains folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin K, chromium, and iodine which are not always present in standard vitamin pills.

Six months ago, the French 7-year SU.VI.MAX study showed that small amounts of antioxidants dramatically reduce mortality and the incidence of cancer in men. The men were given vitamin C and -E plus beta-carotene and selenium in the same dosage as in the American study; however, the Americans were given all the other vitamins and minerals as well.

Around the same time, a study in Tanzania showed that multivitamins significally strengthen the immune

There is reason to believe that, on a long view, a multivitamin pill – preferably a strong one of the kind – will be of benefit to most people. On a short view it is quite certainly a significant advantage to diabetics, men, and HIV positive people in particular.

By: Vitality Council

References:
1) Chandra RK. Effect of vitamin and trace-element supplementation on immune responses and infection in elderly subjects. Lancet 1992;340:1124-7.
2) Chavance M et al. Does multivitamin supplementation prevent infections in healthy elderly subjects ? A controlled trial. Int J Vitam Nutr Res 1993;63:11-16.
3) Barringer TA et al. Effect of a multivitamin and mineral supplement on infection and quality of life. Ann Int Med 2003;138:365-71.
4) Hercberg S et al. The SU.VI.Max study. Arch Int Med 2004;164:2335- 2342.

www.thelancet.com
www.annals.org
archinte.ama-assn.org
www.iom.dk

Decisive Agreement About Fish Oil Has Now Been Reached

Claus Hancke

January 10, 2005

For the first time, there is agreement about chronic lack of fish oil increasing the risk of coronary heart disease. An official American report sets a recommended intake for all adults.

It looks like there is now decisive agreement among experts that there is a connection between coronary heart disease and a chronic lack of the fatty acids in fish oil. This is the conclusion of a report published in Current Atherosclerosis Reports which was prepared at the request of the federal health authorities of the USA.

According to the report, the indications for a connection between a lack of fatty acids and death caused by coronary heart disease have become stronger year by year. It is the two N-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that are significant. According to the report, DHA and EPA have “clear heart-protective effects.”

It also states that both national American and international experts now recommend larger intakes of N-3 fatty acids. The recommended daily intake is 450 mg. a day (EPA + DHA), but for persons with recognized coronary heart disease, the recommendation is 1000 mg. a day. This equals 1.5 g. of ordinary fish oil for healthy persons and 3 g. in case of heart disease, respectively; this is half the contents of a concentrated fish oil capsule.

The report underlines that according to both cellular- and animal tests, the N-3 fatty acids are capable of preventing irregular heartbeat and that this has now also been confirmed in tests on humans; this fact is also mentioned elsewhere on this site. In particular, the fatty acids can counteract the extremely common and often uncomfortable atrial fibrillation. All in all, the risk of death as a result of coronary heart disease is reduced by 25% when taking sufficient amounts of fish oil, as mentioned.

The strength of this evidence is now so comprehensive that the report encourages measuring people’s blood content of fatty acids just as measuring the blood pressure, checking the cholesterol, etc. is being done at present to estimate the risk of coronary heart disease. Likewise, it is now appreciated that it must become a national priority to see to it that everyone gets a sufficient intake of fish oil.

By: Vitality Council

Reference:
Harris WS. Are omega-3 fatty acids the most important nutritional modulators of coronary heart disease risk? Curr atheroscler Rep. 2004;6:447-52.

lansbury.bwh.harvard.edu/docosahexaenoic_acid_reviews_L.htm

New Knowledge on the Spreading of Cancer

Claus Hancke

January 5, 2005

Research at the Finsen Institute explain how cancer tumours metastasize. The results may be of vital importance to the treatment of cancer and could give e.g. Vitamin C a central role.

A fundamental and unpleasant characteristic of cancer tumours is their ability to make metastases; cancer cells work loose from the original tumour and wander with the lymph or blood to the liver, lungs, bones, or brain. Here, they will settle and make new, independent tumours. Of course, this unfortunate process makes it incredibly difficult to completely cure the disease.

So – how can the metastasizing be prevented? More than ten years ago, the German-American M.D. Matthias Rath and the Nobel prize winner Linus Pauling made a joint hypothesis on this subject. They believed that a condition for metastases to be made was that the cancer cells should first make enzymes which break down the material and connective tissue that surrounds all cells like mortar around bricks.

The enzymes are necessary for both the ability of the cancer cells to break away from the original tumour and for them to penetrate healthy cells and install themselves in another organ.

The two scientists were particularly fastened upon a precursor (uPA) to the enzyme plasmin which partly breaks down the protein substance fibrinogen, and parly is involved in indirectly breaking down connective tissues etc.

They claimed that cancer patients could greatly benefit from particularly large doses of vitamin C, supplements of the amino acid Lysine, and the antioxidants (Epigallocatechin) in green tea. According to the two scientists, all these things would reduce the formation of uPA and thereby counteract metastasizing.

Now, at least the first part of the theory seems to hold water according to studies at the Danish Finsen Institute in Copenhagen. For more than five years, they have had a special interest in the very uPA enzymatic system, albeit without entering into the mentioned possibilities in regard to medical treatment. At least 15 articles regarding uPA have been published from this institute since 1999.

Most recently, a study of mice that was published in the International Journal of Cancer has aroused international interest. In six cases out of seven, it showed that genetically modified mice who had been made incapable of producing uPA did not form any metastases. The mice were doing fine without the enzyme. It seems, therefore, that the cancer needs this enzyme far more than does the healthy organism.

The perspective is, of course, that by inhibiting the uPA system, the cancer can be kept under control and medicine with strong side effects can be avoided. Both domestic and foreign research now carry conviction that the first part of the theory of Matthias Rath and Linus Pauling holds water. It strengthens the presumption – but unfortunately does not give proof – of the second part of the theory being right as well.

By: Vitality Council

References:
1) http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/NHC/aids/study/study01.htm
2) Almholt K, Johnsen M. Stromal cell involvement in cancer. Recent Results Cancer Res. 2003;162:31-42.
3) Rockway TW, Giranda VL. Inhibitors of the proteolytic activity of urokinase type plasminogen activator. Curr Pharm Des. 2003;9(19):1483-98.

www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/NHC/aids/study/study01.htm
cancerres.aacrjournals.org
www.iom.dk