Nutrition

Cochrane systematic review has demonstrated that antioxidant supplements may increase mortality

By John Wiens DC|January 13, 2013|Nutrition|

Antioxidant supplements for prevention of mortality in healthy participants and patients with various diseases

Bjelakovic G, Nikolova D, Gluud LL, Simonetti RG, Gluud C

Previous research on animal and physiological models suggests that antioxidant supplements have beneficial effects that may prolong life. Some observational studies also suggest that antioxidant supplements may prolong life, whereas other observational studies demonstrate neutral or harmful effects. Our Cochrane review from 2008 demonstrated that antioxidant supplements seem to increase mortality. This review is now updated.

The present systematic review included 78 randomised clinical trials. In total, 296,707 participants were randomised to antioxidant supplements (beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium) versus placebo or no intervention. Twenty-six trials included 215,900 healthy participants. Fifty-two trials included 80,807 participants with various diseases in a stable phase (including gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neurological, ocular, dermatological, rheumatoid, renal, endocrinological, or unspecified diseases). A total of 21,484 of 183,749 participants (11.7%) randomised to antioxidant supplements and 11,479 of 112,958 participants (10.2%) randomised to placebo or no intervention died. The trials appeared to have enough statistical similarity that they could be combined. When all of the trials were combined, antioxidants may or may not have increased mortality depending on which statistical combination method was employed; the analysis that is typically used when similarity is present demonstrated that antioxidant use did slightly increase mortality (that is, the patients consuming the antioxidants were 1.03 times as likely to die as were the controls). When analyses were done to identify factors that were associated with this finding, the two factors identified were better methodology to prevent bias from being a factor in the trial (trials with ‘low risk of bias’) and the use of vitamin A. In fact, when the trials with low risks of bias were considered separately, the increased mortality was even more pronounced (1.04 times as likely to die as were the controls). The potential damage from vitamin A disappeared when only the low risks of bias trials were considered. The increased risk of mortality was associated with beta-carotene and possibly vitamin E and vitamin A, but was not associated with the use of vitamin C or selenium. The current evidence does not support the use of antioxidant supplements in the general population or in patients with various diseases.

Authors’ conclusions:

We found no evidence to support antioxidant supplements for primary or secondary prevention. Beta-carotene and vitamin E seem to increase mortality, and so may higher doses of vitamin A. Antioxidant supplements need to be considered as medicinal products and should undergo sufficient evaluation before marketing.

Abstract included here.

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Could High Insulin Make You Fat? Mouse Study Says Yes

By John Wiens DC|December 30, 2012|Nutrition|

Source Science Daily

Animals with persistently lower insulin stay trim even as they indulge themselves on a high-fat, all-you-can-eat buffet.

When we eat too much, obesity may develop as a result of chronically high insulin levels, not the other way around. That’s according to new evidence in mice reported in the December 4th Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, which challenges the widespread view that rising insulin is a secondary consequence of obesity and insulin resistance.

The new study helps to solve this chicken-or-the-egg dilemma by showing that animals with persistently lower insulin stay trim even as they indulge themselves on a high-fat, all-you-can-eat buffet. The findings come as some of the first direct evidence in mammals that circulating insulin itself drives obesity, the researchers say.

The results are also consistent with clinical studies showing that long-term insulin use by people with diabetes tends to come with weight gain, says James Johnson of the University of British Columbia.

“We are very inclined to think of insulin as either good or bad, but it’s neither,” Johnson said. “This doesn’t mean anyone should stop taking insulin; there are nuances and ranges at which insulin levels are optimal.” (more…)

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A Basic Rehabilitative Template

By Frank M. Painter|May 24, 2012|Chiropractic Care, Clinical Decision-making, Diagnosis, Evaluation & Management, Evidence-based Medicine, Nutrition, Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation|

A Basic Rehabilitative Template

The Chiro.Org Blog

Clinical Monograph 1

By R. C. Schafer, DC, PhD, FICC

INTRODUCTION

Injuries can be classified into 13 types: abrasions, contusions, strains, ruptures, sprains, subluxations, dislocations, fractures, incisions, lacerations, penetrations, perforations, and punctures. This paper will not detail the management of burns or injuries requiring referral for operative correction, suturing, or restricted chemotherapy.

Objectives

Except for the most minor injuries, traumatized neuromusculoskeletal tissues are benefited by alert restorative procedures. The more serious the injury, the more prolonged is and the greater the need for professionally guided rehabilitation. The first step in rehabilitation is to explain to the patient that rehabilitation is just as important as the initial care of the injury. The goal is not only to restore the injured part to normal activity or as near normal as possible in the shortest possible time but also to prevent posttraumatic deterioration. It is an individualized process that requires patient dedication. The author recognizes that it is easier to write about comprehensive planning than to motivate some patients to follow prescriptions after pain has subsided.

You may also enjoy our page on:

Chiropractic Rehabilitation

Most authorities would agree with Harrelson when he lists the goals of rehabilitation as:

decreased pain;
decreased inflammatory response to trauma;
return of full pain-free active joint ROM;
decreased effusion;
return of muscle strength, power, and endurance; and
regain of full asymptomatic functional activities at the preinjury level (or better).

(more…)

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Nutrition: 4 Vitamins That Strengthen Older Brains

By John Wiens DC|January 6, 2012|Nutrition|

Source NY Times

Higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D and vitamin E are associated with better mental functioning in the elderly, a new study has found.

Researchers measured blood levels of these nutrients in 104 men and women, whose average age was 87. The scientists also performed brain scans to determine brain volume and administered six commonly used tests of mental functioning. The study is in the Jan. 24 issue of Neurology.

After controlling for age, sex, blood pressure, body mass index and other factors, the researchers found that people with the highest blood levels of the four vitamins scored higher on the cognitive tests and had larger brain volume than those with the lowest levels.

Omega-3 levels were linked to better cognitive functioning and to healthier blood vessels in the brain, but not to higher brain volume, which suggests that these beneficial fats may improve cognition by a different means.

Higher blood levels of trans fats, on the other hand, were significantly associated with impaired mental ability and smaller brain volume.

The lead author, Gene L. Bowman, a researcher in neurology at Oregon Health and Science University, said that the study could not determine whether taking supplements of these nutrients would decrease the risk for dementia. But he added: “What’s the harm in eating healthier? Fish, fruits, vegetables all have these nutrients, and staying away from trans fats is one key thing you can do.”

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General Factors Involved in Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies

By Frank M. Painter|November 13, 2011|Diagnosis, Education, Nutrition, Supplementation|

General Factors Involved in Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies

The Chiro.Org Blog

We would all like to thank Dr. Richard C. Schafer, DC, PhD, FICC for his lifetime commitment to the profession. In the future we will continue to add materials from RC’s copyrighted books for your use.

This is the Appendix from RC’s best-selling book:

“Symptomatology and Differential Diagnosis”

These materials are provided as a service to our profession. There is no charge for individuals to copy and file these materials. However, they cannot be sold or used in any group or commercial venture without written permission from ACAPress.

General Factors Involved in Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies

Several general factors are involved in vitamin and mineral deficiencies. For example, abnormal loss and utilization or subnormal absorption, intake, storage, or transport, singularly or in combination, may readily lead to symptoms of nutritional deficiency.

See Table A.1.

You may also find value reviewing the:

Nutrient–Drug Depletion Charts

Agents Contributing to Vitamin, Mineral, and Other Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms

Drugs and nutrients often have adverse interactions. Drugs usually interfere with normal cellular nutrition by:
(1) depressing the central appetite center,
(2) decreasing normal blood levels (eg, excessive excretion),
(3) interfering with the nutrient’s storage or metabolism,
(4) developing a chemical antagonism (eg, inactivate),
(5) increasing the action of ingested antivitamins or antiminerals, or
(6) destroying intestinal bacteria necessary to synthesize the nutrient.

See Tables A.2, A.3, and A.4.
(more…)

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Why You Should Not Stop Taking Your Vitamins

By Frank M. Painter|October 31, 2011|Nutrition, Research, Supplementation|

Why You Should Not Stop Taking Your Vitamins

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: The Huffington Post ~ 10-20-2011

By Mark Hyman, M.D.

Do vitamins kill people?

How many people have died from taking vitamins?

Should you stop taking your vitamins?

It depends. To be exact, it depends on the quality of the science, and the very nature of scientific research. It is very hard to know things exactly through science. The waste bin of science is full of fallen heroes like Premarin, Vioxx and Avandia (which alone was responsible for 47,000 excess cardiac deaths since it was introduced in 1999).

That brings us to the latest apparent casualty, vitamins. The recent media hype around vitamins is a classic case of drawing the wrong conclusions from good science.

Remember how doctors thought that hormone replacement therapy was the best thing since sliced bread and recommended it to every single post-menopausal woman? These recommendations were predicated on studies that found a correlation between using hormones and reduced risk of heart attacks. But correlation does not prove cause and effect. It wasn’t until we had controlled experiments like the Women’s Health Initiative that we learned Premarin (hormone replacement therapy) was killing women, not saving them.

A new study “proving” that vitamins kill people is hitting front pages and news broadcasts across the country. This study does not prove anything.

This latest study from the Archives of Internal Medicine of 38,772 women found that “several commonly used dietary vitamin and mineral supplements may be associated with increased total mortality”. The greatest risk was from taking iron after menopause (which no doctor would ever recommend in a non-menstruating human without anemia). (more…)

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