Guest guest Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 > " HSI - Jenny Thompson " > <HSIResearch > Ticker Tip > Tue, 03 Aug 2004 10:00:24 -0400 > > Ticker Tip > > Health Sciences Institute e-Alert > > August 03, 2004 > > ************************************************************** > Dear Reader, > > You have to be careful where you get your news, > these days. > > Case in point: A member named Kelly came across a > news bite > that she's wary of, and rightfully so. Kelly writes: > > > " Last night as I was watching the news I was > bothered by > something that flashed across the screen in the > ticker. The ticker > read that there has been research done on the link > between multi- > vitamin supplements and asthma in infants. Could you > please help > us out and find the study that came to that > conclusion and fill us > in? I have given my child multi-vitamins since the > day she got off > formula and I intend to follow suit with my second > child. Could > you please help me find this study and let me know > what it says? " > > When a TV ticker (which is basically just a > headline) delivers the > news, you can be sure that it will be long on shock > value, and short > on details. So Kelly did just the right thing. She > questioned what > she read, and then sought out more information, > which may help > keep her from making a rash decision. > > --- > Missing details > --- > > > " Vitamins During Infancy May Raise Asthma Risk " > > If you take that headline at face value, you'll be > missing some > important information in the fine print. > > The study that Kelly read about appeared in the July > 2004 issue of > the journal Pediatrics. Researchers at the > Children's National > Medical Center (CNMC) in Washington, D.C., examined > data > collected on more than 8,000 children over a period > of three years > as part of the National Maternal-Infant Health > Survey. The CNMC > team was specifically looking for a link between > vitamin > supplement use within the first six months and the > development of > asthma and allergies. > > Analysis of the data showed that early vitamin > supplementation is > associated with asthma risk in black children. A > similar link was > found between vitamin use and food allergies in > children who are > fed exclusively with formula, but researchers > couldn't determine > whether the formula or the vitamins created more of > the problem. > A slight risk of food allergies was detected among > kids who took > vitamins at age three. > > So what the TV ticker and the headlines didn't > bother to mention > was that, in fact, MOST children who receive > vitamins at an early > age will not be at risk of developing asthma. That's > quite a > different message than the one that Kelly was left > with, or the one > in the above headline. > > --- > > Mountain from a molehill > --- > > Kelly's question made me wonder about vitamin > supplements for > children. So I asked HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, > M.D., to give us > his reaction to the CNMC study. The first thing he > noticed was that > quite a few variables were involved in the study, > but none were > controlled for. So the results are somewhat > scattershot. > > For instance, the study states: " Male gender, smoker > in the > household, child care, prematurity (<37 weeks), > being black, no > history of breastfeeding, lower income, and lower > education were > associated with higher risk for asthma. Child care, > higher levels of > education, income, and history of breastfeeding were > associated > with a higher risk for food allergies. " > > Dr. Spreen notes that after studying 8,000 kids, > only black children > stood out, and even then, only in the first six > months of life. And > he adds: " It's always entertaining to what lengths > the medical > profession will go to implicate supplements, > especially when there > are so many variables involved. The fact that they > could only get > one subset of the baby population involved makes > them look even > sillier, seems to me. " > > --- > > Supplementing kids > --- > > As for general guidelines, Dr. Spreen offered these > thoughts on > giving vitamin supplements to kids: > > " I don't even use supplements in newborns, > preferring instead to > pump them into the breast-feeding moms, so I don't > know what > supplements they could have been using in the study. > However, if > they contained iron (and they most likely did) > nothing else much > matters. Asthma in kids has a fairly short list of > causes, in my > opinion: 1) Food allergy; 2) Inhalant allergy; 3) > Nutrient > deficiency. I'm sure there are other causes, but I'd > sure rule those > out first. > > " In newborns the food should be breast milk... > period. If there are > asthma problems (and 0-6 months is pretty early to > run into them), > then the mother's diet must be examined, taking her > off dairy, > wheat, corn, possibly egg, possibly citrus, and > anything else that > she craves. And her supplements should not contain > inorganic iron, > which is the type that's in all the common, 100% > RDA, junky > products. > > " For the older kids, the top nutrients on the list > are: Vitamin C > (possibly needing ascorbate form if ascorbic acid > bothers the > stomach), citrus bioflavonoids (which don't tend to > be allergic even > if the juice is), vitamin B-6, magnesium, and > vitamin B-12. " > > --- > On the grocery list: F. & V. > --- > > If Kelly happens to be a black woman, she should > talk with her > pediatrician about the CNMC study to weigh the > benefits and risks > before giving her children vitamin supplements at a > young age. But > she should also be aware of one more study, reported > earlier this > year in the American Journal of Respiratory Critical > Care > Medicine. > > Researchers from Cornell University used data on > more than 6,000 > subjects (enrolled in the Third National Health and > Nutrition > Survey) to examine links between asthma and > nutrients in children > aged four to 16 years. The results: The intake of > high levels of > three dietary antioxidants (vitamin C, > beta-carotene, and selenium) > was associated with a reduced risk of asthma. > > Just one more good reason for children to eat plenty > of fresh fruits > and vegetables. (Sorry about that, kids.) > > ************************************************************** > ...and another thing > > What is your heart's desire? > > In yesterday's e-Alert ( " Cholesterol Cowboys " > 8/2/04) I told you > that we'd check in with Dr. Spreen for some natural > ways to > effectively address elevated cholesterol and other > heart disease > markers without the use of drugs. So, as promised, > here are his > recommendations for putting vitamins to work in > support of your > heart, beginning with vitamin E: > > " If I had cardiovascular disease I'd be using more > than just vitamin > E (or tocotrienols, though I'd take them both). I'd > have the > selenium going, along with vitamins B-6, B-12 and > folic acid (in > doses higher than RDA amounts, by far), assuming my > serum > homocysteine levels were elevated (if they weren't I > probably > wouldn't be having cardiovascular disease!). > > " Then I'd be taking vitamin C, for a number of > reasons, along with > giving up the sugar and white flour products, since > it's these that > have caused most of the trouble and not the > saturated dietary fat > (and before anyone comes unglued at that remark, it > does not > originate with me - it comes from the director of > the Framingham > Study, the longest, best known and most prestigious > heart disease > study in history). > > " I'd also be off chlorinated water (not a problem in > many countries > outside the U.S., as they don't use it), which can > react against > vascular walls. And I'd be adding in the high-energy > nutrients > coenzyme Q-10 and L-carnitine (and maybe more if I > were really > worried). > > " So, there's lots that can be done, and a shotgun > approach of > nutrients (not drugs, which the body does not know > how to > metabolize properly) is the way to go about it. " > > And for those who wish to balance their cholesterol > levels, > policosanol offers a natural alternative to > cholesterol-lowering > statin drugs. > > Here's how Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., describes > policosanol in his > newsletter Nutrition & Healing (1/1/02): > " Policosanol is a group of > eight to nine 'long-chain alcohols' (solid, waxy > compounds). > Research is accumulating to show that policosanol is > more > effective than the most 'popular' (among mainstream > doctors) > patent medicines for lowering total cholesterol and > triglyceride > levels. " > > Dr. Wright also notes that policosanol may help > prevent strokes by > inhibiting platelet aggregation and abnormal blood > clotting, and > may even lower blood pressure as well. > > So if your doctor recommends a prescription statin > to lower > cholesterol levels, discuss these additional > therapies that provide > drug-free alternatives to controlling cholesterol > and other heart > disease risk factors. > > To Your Good Health, > > Jenny Thompson > Health Sciences Institute > > ************************************************************** > > Sources: > " Early Infant Multivitamin Supplementation is > Associated with > Increased Risk for Food Allergy and Asthma " > Pediatrics, Vol. 114, > No. 1, July 2004, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov > " Vitamins During Infancy may Raise Asthma Risk, New > Findings " > NutraIngredients.com, 7/6/04, nutraingredients.com > " Relationship of Serum Antioxidants to Asthma > Prevalence in > Youth " American Journal of Respiratory Critical Care > Medicine, > Vol. 169, No. 3, February 2004, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov > > Copyright ©1997-2004 by www.hsibaltimore.com, > L.L.C. > The e-Alert may not be posted on commercial sites > without > written permission. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.