Preventive Health’s Singlemost
Powerful Return on Investment Under Fire:
Health Benefits of Vitamins and Minerals Outweigh
Possible Risks, Reports Independent Expert Studies
A4M Official Position Statement (Original Date of Issue: May 12, 2003)
Regarding the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency Report (9 May 2003)
MAY 12, 2003 CHICAGO IL / Spring is in the air, and with it a rather stark harbinger has arrived. A report released on May 9, 2003 by the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) startled nutrition experts by issuing warnings against nearly all vitamin and mineral dietary supplements from A to Z. The FSA is now poised to slash recommended dosages of some of the most commonly used vitamins and minerals, and ban others. Remarks Dr. Ronald Klatz, President of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M): “This move could spell major tumoil for the continued freedom of access to natural health products around the world. Health regulatory agencies in the United States, continental Europe, and Asia may consider the UK FSA’s report as setting new precedents for supplement safety. As a leading advocate of the right of physicians to practice medicine according to individual conscience, and the right for patients to choose the form of medical therapy they feel best suits their unique medical needs, the A4M finds it essential to remind physicians, scientists, government officials, and the public that, for the vast majority of the population, the health benefits of vitamins and minerals clearly outweigh any possible risks.”
While the UK FSA states that it has conducted an “extremely thorough independent expert review of the scientific evidence,”1 the A4M submits that the agency may have been remiss in the balance of their review. Here we offer a selection of studies published by respected scientists in recognized publications that attest to the health benefits of judicious supplement use:
April 12, 2002 (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition): A team of scientists from University of California/Berkeley (USA)2 conducted a meta-analysis of previous research employing mega-vitamin treatment – vitamins in amounts at least 10 times greater than the United States Recommended Daily Allowance ([RDA], set by the Food and Drug Administration [FDA]). The researchers found that more than 50 genetic diseases could be successfully treated with by megavitamin therapy, which saturates the body in order to overcome a binding defect associated with a genetic mutation in these specific illnesses. Their research also suggested that there may be many more diseases treatable with high-dose vitamins – in particular the B-vitamins, which lead researcher Dr. Bruce Ames commented “are sold over the counter in dosages up to 100 times the US RDA and are generally considered safe at such levels.” Additionally, “because aging involves similar biochemical deficiencies, megavitamins may help perk up an increasingly older population.”3 The researchers submit that flooding the body with an excess of vitamins creates an ample supply of coenzymes required for optimal metabolic functions that otherwise become deficient with age. To conclude their paper, this research team states that “there is potentially much benefit and possibly little harm in trying high-dose nutrient therapy because of the nominal cost, ease of application, and low level of risk.”
June 18, 2002 (Journal of the American Medical Association): Harvard Medical School (Cambridge, MA USA) researchers recommend that “everybody – regardless of age or health status – take a daily multivitamin.”4 The research team reviewed 36 years of scientific literature that investigated the links between vitamin intake and diseases. Across the board, the researchers found numerous benefits and little risks. Warning that vitamin deficiencies can occur in both the elderly and sick, who may not absorb vitamins properly and may follow restrictive diets, and in people who don’t follow good nutritional habits, the team comments that: “It’s rare to find a health-promoter that offers such a substantial benefit with a relatively low cost and low risk of problems. When you have such a thing, you ought to jump on it.”
April 3, 2003 (Annals of Internal Medicine): US researchers conducted a one-year long study of a group of 130 adults over age 45, a portion of whom took a multivitamin and mineral supplement daily and another portion of whom took a placebo.6 The multivitamin contained amounts of vitamins and minerals similar to those found in most commercially available multivitamin and mineral supplements. The researchers found that the group taking the multivitamin and mineral supplement fell ill to an infection far less (43% versus 73% on placebo). resulting with significantly less infection-related work absenteeism (21% versus 57% on placebo). The difference in the chances of getting ill were even more pronounced in those with diabetes (type 2). Of the 51 diabetic participants in the study, 17% of those taking the supplement reported contracting an infection compared to 93% of those taking the placebo.
Remarks Dr. Klatz, “The A4M submits that while the vitamin and mineral supplementation is a newcomer to the conservative mainstream medical arena, there is strong evidence (as the above selections demonstrate) that multivitamin and mineral dietary supplementation is perhaps the singlemost potent preventive health measure that offers the greatest return on the investment. Those ‘in the know’ have a professional and ethical duty to share such knowledge with the public, rather than restricting the public’s access to this information and their options.” For example, a number of reputable scientists have been personally consuming antioxidants for years:7 at the US National Institutes of Health, Dr. Trey Sunderland, age 50, takes Vitamin E and anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, while he conducts work as the Chief of Geriatric Psychiatry at the Institute of Mental Health into Alzheimer’s prevention. At Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH USA), Dr. Craig Atwood takes Vitamin E and drinks blueberry shakes while conducting research commissioned by the Alzheimer’s Association to find antioxidant compounds to decrease plaques in brain tissue. Such conduct begs the question: If such nutrients were of no preventive or therapeutic value, why would these experts on aging-related diseases continue to consume them?
Dr. Dean Hamer, Chief of the Gene Structure and Regulation Section, Laboratory of Biochemistry, US National Cancer Institute, remarked at a February 2003 forum that “An ounce of prevention is worth $20,000 of pharmaceuticals.”8 This point is proven by research conducted by Dr. Ranjit Chandra and colleagues from Memorial University (Newfoundland).9 A supplement containing 18 vitamins, minerals, and trace elements was given to healthy men and women age 65 . Reports the team, “Those who took the supplement showed “significant improvement in short-term memory, problem-solving ability, abstract thinking, and attention.”Dr. Chandra suggested that nutritional supplementation “may be instrumental in preserving the anatomy and function of neurons and their appendages.” As a result, these men and women enhanced their capacities to live independently and without major disability. Additionally, the multi-vitamin, multi-mineral supplement improved immunity. The numbers of natural killer cells and helper T-cells, and the production of interleukin-2, all improved. Further, infection-related illness in those taking the supplement occurred at less than half the rate (23 days/year) compared to those who took placebo (48 days/year). Most compelling was the cost-effectiveness and simplicity of a nutritional supplement to prevent or delay illness and functional decline in the elderly. Dr. Chandra calculated that for every $1 US spent on the supplement, $28 US would be saved in healthcare costs.
Today, thirty-three percent (33%) of adults take supplements on the specific advice of their doctor.10 Dietary supplement sales in the US in 2000 were $17 billion.11 While the UK FSA cites the drafting of their vitamin/mineral report as due to a need for “new advice to help consumers make informed choices,” the A4M reminds you that healthcare consumers today are educated, savvy, and independent thinkers. According to the Robert Wood Foundation, we are witnessing the emergence of the new “top-tier healthcare consumer.”12 These consumers are, as a group, college graduates, computer literate, and affluent. As a demographic expected to “have the greatest ability to effect change,” these consumers have already voted with their wallets to reshape a new healthcare landscape… creating world of prolonged lifespans, absent of disease and disability, and full of productivity and vitality… While the outcome of vitamin and mineral dietary supplementation is highly individualized to a person’s unique medical situation and is best conducted under supervision by a qualified physician, studies published in prestigious medical journals from JAMA to the Annals of Internal Medicine attest to overwhelming benefits yielded with little risks and minimal expense.
The A4M is the world’s leading nonprofit medical organization dedicated to the exploration and application of innovative diagnostics and therapeutic interventions that aim to detect, prevent, and treat aging-related diseases. The A4M is publisher of the Anti-Aging Desk Reference, an annual compilation of the heading, scientifically validated preventive and therapeutic interventions for aging and aging-related diseases. This year, A4M has conducted a major revision to update information about vitamins, co-vitamins/co-factors, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids/lipids/oils, botanical agents, functional foods/food components, and other vital nutrients. This year’s Anti-Aging Desk Reference will be released in September 2003 as part of the A4M’s Anti-Aging Directory and Resource Guide 2003 [116 pages; softcover], containing insightful articles on the theme of “Emerging Markers in Disease and Aging” and showcasing the leaders in anti-aging services and products. The year’s most indispensable publication for preventive health is a free benefit for all A4M members, and is available to non-members for just $16.95. Contact the A4M at tel. (773) 528-4333 or fax (773) 528-5390.
REFERENCES
1 “High doses of vitamins are dangerous, UK report,” reported by Nutraingredients.com, May 9, 2003. The UK FSA’s report may be viewed at www.foodstandards.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/vitmin2003.pdf.
2 “Megavitamins can fight disease”: new evidence,” www.new-nutrition.com/newspage/120402f.htm, accessed May 15, 2002.
3 Ames BN, Elson Schwab I, Silver EA. “Am J Clinical Nutrition, April 2002; 75:616-658.
4 Cook A, “Adults urged to take daily multivitamin,” Reuters Health, June 19, 2002.
5 JAMA 2002; 287″3116-3126; 3127-3129.
6 “A vitamin a day,” reported by Nutraingredients.com, 3 April 2003.
7 Jaffe S., “Scientists test theories on aging and their resolve,” The Plain Dealer, Dec., 16, 2002.
8 Golden F. “Day 3: Living to 1,000?”, www.time.com.
9 Brody J., “Nutrition a key to better health for elderly,” The New York Times, August 21, 2001.
10 Harris Interactive survey, 2001.
11 Nutrition Business Journal, Nov. 2001
12 Morgan CM, Levy DL. Marketing to the Mindset of Boomers and Their Elders, 2002.
