Author: Claus Hancke

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

Vitamin C Can Protect the Heart

Claus Hancke

December 20, 2004

A new meta-analysis was published some weeks ago with the positive conclusion that high doses of Vitamin C can reduce the risk of coronary thrombosis (blood clots) in the heart by 25%.

Nine scientific studies with a total of 290,000 people who did not suffer from cardiac disease were thoroughly analysed by a group of researchers from several large centres in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Israel, and the USA.

In this group, during the course of ten years, approx. 4600 large coronary thromboses were discovered. Then, various factors that could influence this result were analysed.

Documentation that large amounts of fruit and vegetables reduce this cardiovascular risk is vast, and therefore, it was important to the researchers to distinguish between the ones who had only received their vitamins through their diet and the ones who had supplemented their diet with dietary supplements.

The research group found out that a daily dietary supplement with a high dose of Vitamin C with large statistic certainty (p<0.001) could reduce the risk of coronary thrombosis with 25% compared to the ones who did not take any supplements.

The dose of vitamin C to take for this reduced risk to set in was more than 700 mg. a day. This more or less equals the amount of Vitamin C that can be found in: 15 fresh oranges, 35 fresh apples, 75 fresh bananas, or ½ kg. of fresh blackcurrant. These amounts of fruit should be eaten every day – so there must be an easier way!

Moreover, the analysis confirms the results of a study that was made earlier this year that showed that Vitamin C reduces hs-CRP (high-sensitive C-reactive protein), which is a blood test that can predict the cardiac risk in a much more secure way than any cholesterol values in the world.

The analysis could only give weak support to the hypothesis that Vitamin E reduces the risk of coronary thrombosis. This result was not statistically certain.

By: Vitality Council

Reference:
Knekt P, Heitmann Berit L, Augustsson Katarina et al: Antioxidant vitamins and coronary heart disease risk: a pooled analysis of 9 cohorts.American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (vol. 80, issue 6, pp1508-1520, 2004).

www.ajcn.com
www.iom.dk

Folic Acid is Still Healthy

Claus Hancke

December 11, 2004

New media storm has no basis in the scientific data. To the long list of cheap and trashy attacks on dietary supplements another one can be added for folic acid, which is a recent hit-and-run victim of the Danish newspaper B.T. with its screaming headline: ”Supplement can cause cancer.”

To make such a sensational claim, this tabloid ignored the authors’ very clear statement that it may only be a statistical fluke. But we have seen this kind of cut-and-slash media coverage before.

The article actually covers an old study from 1967, which was dug up from its grave and published in the British Medical Journal. [1] It seems that some 3,000 women participated in this study, which was not double-blind controlled.

Instead, the supplements were given to the subjects using six different tablets, separately colored, and taken from numbered drawers. Of these 3,000 women, 31 died from breast cancer during the 37 years that had passed, and of these 31, 6 women got 0.2 mg folic acid, 8 got 5 mg folic acid, and 17 got a placebo.

Clearly, no statistical certainty follows from this result, which means that it may only be an accidental incident. The study was supported financially by the pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline.

As mentioned, the authors themselves stated that the result may be accidental.

Many earlier scientific studies had shown the contrary to be true. In fact, the official comment by the professors Oakley and Mandel in the British Medical Journal [2] clearly dissociates them from the media-sensationalized conclusion, when they write that these earlier studies taken together actually demonstrate that higher supplementation of folic acid would decrease, rather than increase, the risk of cancer.

Furthermore, they draw attention to the fact that every single year folic-acid enrichment of American foods alone saves more people from blood clots in the brain and heart than the number of people dying from traffic accidents in the USA.

Be wary of this study, which is old. Its proponents are trying to have their cake and eat it too because when old scientific studies speak of the benefits of dietary supplements or natural medicine, they are often accused of being based upon an ”old standard,” and of not ”living up to the present standard.”

In decency the same can be said about old studies that are negative towards dietary supplements. These days a lot are dragged out from the old moth bag.

The problem is not so much these old studies, as it is the media, which smell sensationalism and thereby frighten the population from taking these supplements that are so important, when taken properly. But proper use demands information, and the population is not allowed to be informed.

By: Vitality Council

References:
1. Charles D, Ness AD, Campbell D, Smith GD, Hall MH. Taking folate in pregnancy and risk of maternal breast cancer. BMJ 2004:329:1375-6.
2. Ockley GP, Mandel JS. Commentary: Folic acid fortification remains an urgent health priority. BMJ 2004;349;1376.

bmj.bmjjournals.com
www.iom.dk

Broccoli and Spinach are Not Likely to Affect INR Blood Test

Claus Hancke

December 10, 2004

Promising Dutch study of Vitamin K. The somewhat cryptic headline is probably nonsense to most people, but nevertheless has great importance to all those taking blood-thinning (anticoagulating) medicines such as Marevan (Warfarin) and who are doing the regular blood test control, called INR.

If you are undergoing treatment with anticoagulant drugs such as Marevan, you should regularly be tested with a blood test called INR.

This blood test is designed to estimate if the dose you receive is correct, but it should also prevent overdosing in which the blood would get “too thin”. This condition is dangerous and can result in internal bleeding.

12 healthy volunteers were included in a study in which they were given a correct dosage of anticoagulants for 13 weeks and adjusted to a maintenance dose with a constant and stable INR value that would prevent them from forming blood clots.

Then, they were given increasingly large daily doses of vitamin K from 50 mcg. to 500 mcg. during the course of one week. Not until the dose reached 150 mcg. of vitamin K a day taken as a dietary supplement, was any effect on INR observed. Even at this dose, INR was only affected in 3 out of the 12 trial subjects.

When the trial subjects were given food that is particularly rich in vitamin K, i.e. broccoli and spinach, there was no clinically relevant effect on INR because the effect was so transient, and the authors suggest that the reason might be a poor bioavailability of the vegetables. This may be surprising, as kale, spinach, and broccoli can contain up to 400 mcg. of vitamin K per 100 g.

Doses of 100 mcg. vitamin K as an easily absorbable dietary supplement had no effect on INR.

If this study on healthy, young trial subjects can be repeated with the same result on patients with a predisposition to forming blood clots, it would make life significantly easier on a great number of people who every day stare in despair at the long list of foods containing vitamin K that they are not allowed to eat while taking Marevan.

By: Vitality Council

Reference:
Schurgers LJ, Shearer MJ, et al: Effect of Vitamin K Intake on the Stability of Oral Anticoagulant Treatment. Dose-Response Relationships in Healthy Subjects. Blood 2004;104(9):2682-2689.

www.bloodjournal.org
www.iom.dk

Antioxidants Relieve the Adverse Effects of Chemotherapy

Claus Hancke

November 15, 2004

Children suffering from leukaemia tend to be more ill and be hospitalized longer if they are not given antioxidants.

The primary effect of chemotherapy is not through free radical activity but it does strain the organism with free radicals. Free radicals are combatted by antioxidants like vitamin C and -E. This piece of information is important, because not taking enough antioxidants while going through chemoterapy will result in more adverse effects and the treatment results can be delayed.

American doctors from several universities have published these results after having studied 103 children receiving chemotherapy for leukaemia. An evaluation of the children’s diet showed that they usually only got 1/3 – 2/3 of the recommended or normal amounts of various antioxidants. The reason for this is probably the treatment causing general malaise and reduced appetite.

The children who got the most vitamin C were hospitalized for a significantly shorter period and the children who got the most vitamin E suffered fewer infections and fewer adverse effects of the chemotherapy. The doctors conclude that a low intake of antioxidants results in more negative effects of the treatment.

The results can be related to a study of 49 American women who received chemotherapy for breast cancer and were asked about their use of dietary supplements. Multivitamins and vitamin E were the preferred supplements among the 35 women who did use supplements.

The women who took these vitamins maintained a better immune defence during the treatment – i.e. the number of white blood cells in their blood was less reduced during treatment compared to the women who did not use vitamin supplements. On the other hand, the number of white blood cells was more reduced in women taking relatively large amounts of the vitamin B9, folic acid.

It is very common for cancer patients to use dietary supplements. More than every other cancer patient at a hospital clinic in London used supplements, but less than half of them had told their GP about it.

By: Vitality Council

Source:
Kennedy DD, Tucker KL, Ladas ED, et al. Low antioxidant vitamin intakes are associated with increases in adverse effects of chemotherapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Am J Clin Nutr (United States), Jun 2004, 79(6) p1029-36.

www.ajcn.org
www.iom.dk

Vitamin E or false product description

Claus Hancke

November 12, 2004

Calculations on the basis of old studies leads to claim of increased mortality by antioxidants and vitamin E, but is in reality based on studies with beta-carotene.

Recently, researchers published a study on beta-carotene, but called it antioxidants. Now there is a new study of beta carotene, but this time it is called vitamin E. Both studies are so-called meta-analyzes, ie. calculations of previous research.

The two studies claim to show that respectively antioxidants and vitamin E increase mortality, but they are both based on the results of old beta-carotene tests. Since 1994, it has been known that beta-carotene can cause cancer and increase mortality in at least male smokers.

The latest meta-analysis originates from Johns Hopkins University in the USA. Here, the mortality rate in a total of 19 old treatment trials with vitamin E was investigated. Apparently, doses above 400 units per day slightly increased mortality, although it was decreased in the trial where the dose was the highest (2,000 units/day). There were 11 trials where more than 400 units were used per day. At a lower dose, there was a tendency for decreased mortality.

However, of the 11 trials, the so-called Heart Protection Study (HPS) from the year 2000 is by far the largest. In fact, so large that it completely dominates the calculation. In HPS, almost twice as many died as in all the other 10 trials combined – and more than four times as many as in the other trials with increased mortality. The problem with this is that in HPS, in addition to vitamin E, the treatment consisted of vitamin C and beta-carotene!

Of course, one cannot comment on the risk of vitamin E based on an experiment in which both vitamin E and C and beta-carotene were used. You can only comment on vitamin E and C and beta-carotene!

Also, in the trial in question (HPS), synthetic vitamin E was used. It consists of eight different chemical compounds, only one of which is found in nature. That makes it even more difficult to comment on vitamin E, which most people buy in its natural form.

There are many other objections to the new meta-analysis. If you e.g. arrange the numbers just a little differently, but still fairly, the excess mortality disappears entirely. That happens if you ignore the misleading HPS study and include trials using over 300 units instead of just over 400. That would be entirely plausible.

This and much else may be why several independent statisticians told the New York Times that they did not believe the conclusion.

One can debate whether there is a real need for these sometimes arbitrary concoctions of old experiments, which easily lead to misinterpretations. Far greater is the need for large-scale investigations into whether, for example, a combination of natural vitamin E and C prevents atherosclerosis in people who are not overwhelmingly atherosclerosis already. This is where one can expect an effect, but these experiments have not been carried out.

Sales of vitamin E are increasing in the United States, where many doctors in particular take it. The combination of vitamin E and C can be seen i.a. as a competitor to the tremendous expensive, but almost ineffective, prescription drugs for Alzheimer’s. According to a report earlier this year – also from Johns Hopkins – users of both of these vitamins have approx. 80% reduced risk of getting Alzheimer’s – compared to those who get only one of them or none at all.

Most recently, the Nobel laureate Louis Ignarro, based on his own experiments, strongly recommended the same combination as prevention against atherosclerosis.

By: Vitality Council

 

References:
1) Metaanalysis: High-dosage vitamin E supplementation may increase all-cause mortality. Ann Int Med 2004;142.
2) Bjelakowic G, Nikolova D, Simonetti R G, Gluud C. Antioxidant supplements for prevention of gastrointestinal cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet 2004;364:1219-28.
3) Ignarro L J et al. “Long Term Beneficial Effects of Physical Training and Metabolic Treatment on Atherosclerosis in Hypercholesterolemic Mice. PNAS 2004 (May 24).
4) Zandi PP et al. Reduced risk of Alzheimer disaease in users of antioxidant vitamin supplements. Arch Neurol 2004;61:82-88.
5) Gina Kolata: Large Doses of Vitamin E May Be Harmful. New York Times 11.11.04.

Vitamin E Competes with Viagra

Claus Hancke

October 26, 2004

Diabetic mice who are not able to obtain erection are helped nearly as well by taking vitamin E as with taking Viagra. A combination is even better, and the treatment is recommended for diabetic men with the same problem.

Based on animal studies, Canadian researchers believe that male diabetics suffering from erectile dysfunction can be helped with vitamin E.

Diabetic men must, due to a weak erection, often resort to Viagra. However, despite the widespread use of this preparation, its effect is not rarely inadequate.

A supplement with a high dose of vitamin E might help, according to researchers at the Urology Department at St. Joseph Health Care, University of Western Ontario (Canada).

By: Vitality Council

Reference:
De Young L, Yu D, Bateman RM, Brock GB. Oxidative stress and antioxidant therapy: their impact in diabetes-associated erectile dysfunction. J Androl. 2004 Sep-Oct;25(5):830-6.

www.andrologyjournal.org
www.iom.dk