One a day or Mother Nature's Way

New evidence shows that vitamin and mineral supplements just can’t compete with the nutrients from Mother Nature.
Americans want to believe in vitamin and mineral pills. We spent an estimated $10 billion on them in 2008, according to the Nutrition Business Journal. But recent studies undertaken to assess their benefits have delivered a flurry of disappointing results. The supplements failed to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, heart attacks, strokes, type 2 diabetes, and premature death.
“We have yet to see well-conducted research that categorically supports the use of vitamin and mineral supplements,” says Linda Van Horn, Ph.D., a professor of preventative medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Most studies show no benefit, or actual harm.”
THE POWER OF FOOD:
While some people may need supplements at certain stages of their lives, nutritional deficiencies are uncommon in the U.S. “Almost all of us get or can get the vitamins and minerals we need from our diet,” says Paul M. Coates, Ph.D., director of the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institute of Health (NIH).
Major health organizations for cancer, diabetes, and heart disease all advise against supplements in favor of a healthful diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. Unlike pills, those foods-contain fiber plus thousands of health protective substances that seem to work together more powerfully than any single ingredient can work alone. “That’s why it’s dangerous to say, “ I know I don’t eat well, but if I pop my vitamins, I’m covered,” says Karen Collins, R.D, . that you are not covered.”
TOO MUCH CAN HARM :
Another concern is that some vitamin pills can be toxic if taken in high doses for a long time. Studies show that beta-carotene pills, for example, can increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers, and a 2008 review suggests that the pills, plus supplemental doses of vitamin A and e, may increase the risk of premature death. In addition, a government survey found that more than 11 percent of adults take at least 400 international units of vitamin E a day, a dose that has been linked to heart failure, strokes, and an increased risk of death.
People are also apt to combine vitamin tablets and fortified foods, which can cause problems. For instance, too much folic acid---added to wheat products in this country---can mask vitamin B12 deficiency. Untreated, that can lead to irreversible nerve damage. In addition, high doses of folic acid may be associated with an increased risk of precancerous polyps, according to a trial of some 1,000 people at risk for them. “We’re getting several alarming signals that more may not be better,” says Susan T. Mayne, Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health.
SUPPLEMENTS STRIKE OUT :
There is insufficient evidence to support the use of supplements to prevent the following conditions:
CANCER: Two large trials published in 2009 came up empty. In one, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, researchers reported that Vitamin E and the mineral selenium failed to prevent prostate cancer. In fact, researchers noted possible increased risks of prostate cancer from vitamin E, and type 2 diabetes from selenium. The second study, the Physician’s Health Study II, found that neither vitamin C nor E reduced the risk of colon, lung, prostate, or other cancers in men. And women haven’t fared much better: Folic acid and certain other B vitamins provided no protection against breast or any other cancer in one study, and calcium and vitamin D had no effect on breast-cancer risk in another.
Some research suggests that vitamin and mineral supplements may pose particular risks to people who are being treated for cancer. While many cancer patients take antioxidant supplements such as vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene with the hope of reducing the toxicity of chemotherapy and radiation, a 2008 review found that the practice may protect cancer cells as well as normal ones. As a result, many oncologists now advise patients not to use antioxidant pills during those treatments.
HEART DISEASE: Folic acid and other B vitamins failed to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and death from cardiovascular disease in women at risk for heart disease in a 2008 trial by the Harvard Medical School. And neither vitamin C nor E prevented those events in men in the Physicians’ Health Study II. Vitamin E, however, was linked to an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke.
Antioxidant supplements were previously thought to prevent fatty buildups in arteries, but research now suggests that they may worsen cholesterol levels and blunt the effects of cholesterol lowering drugs. A 2009 review found that diets rich in those vitamins protected people from heart disease but supplements of them did not, underscoring the power of a healthy diet.
Type 2 Diabetes: In a 2009 trial, vitamin and mineral pills didn’t reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome---a cluster of symptoms including abdominal obesity and high levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and blood sugar---that can lead to type 2 diabetes. Additional 2009 studies found that vitamin pills didn’t prevent type 2 diabetes and might undermine the ability of exercise to improve blood sugar levels. And while many people with diabetes take supplements of the mineral chromium to control blood sugar and lose weight, that benefit is unproven.
Cognitive decline: B vitamins didn’t slow Alzheimer’s disease, and vitamin E failed to prevent dementia in people with cognitive impairment, according to trials from the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study, and NIH-funded consortium. Another study suggested that high doses of vitamin E slowed down the progression of moderate dementia, but most specialists are wary because of the potential risks, says Paul Aisen, M. D., director of the consortium.
On the other hand, a deficiency of vitamin B12 or thyroid hormone can cause cognitive impairment, so if you’re declining more than normal for your age, you should be tested for those conditions. “But speak to your physician,” Aisen says. “You can’t necessarily replenish low B12 stores on your own.”
Immune Function: The evidence on whether vitamin and mineral supplements can enhance immunity is contradictory, especially for people who eat adequately. And while supplements can boost immune response in older people with nutritional deficiencies, it’s still not known if that results in fewer infections. “In the vast majority of people taking megadoses is not recommended, and may be harmful,” says Kevin High, M.D., chief of infectious diseases at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N. C. An excess of vitamin E, for instance, can backfire.
Glimmers of Hope: Some evidence supports the use of supplements for these conditions:
Eye Disease: People who have at least moderate age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness, may be able to limit further damage by taking a daily supplement that contains vitamins C, e, and beta-carotene. But talk with you ophthalmologist first, since the formula could be risky for some people.
Recent research suggests that folic acid and other B vitamins reduce the risk of developing AMD for some people. “This is the first suggestion of a way of preventing early stages of AMD other than avoiding smoking,” says William G. Christen, Sc.D., an associate professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. But the study, sponsored by the National Eye Institute, needs to be repeated before firm recommendations can be made.
Osteoporosis: In a recent comprehensive review of 167 studies, the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that calcium and vitamin D pills reduced fractures and bone loss---although the fracture benefit was primarily only in female nursing-home residents. Vitamin D alone also helped prevent falls in older people in a 2009 analysis, but only at doses of 700 IU a day or higher.
Shortfalls of vitamin D are common, recent research suggests, so if you have health problems possibly linked to abnormal calcium metabolism or vitamin D deficiency such as hyperthyroidism and osteoporosis, consider having your blood levels tested. If your reading is low, your doctor will probably prescribe a higher dose vitamin D supplement for a few months, and then retest.

Music, Words & The Brain

My wife’s mother is 96-years-old and Julie is one of four generations of singers with perfect pitch. When Mum was confused and afraid, I suggested she sing, "When You’re Smiling." When she did that we realized that she not only became confident and happy ~ she could remember all the words. We tried other songs she had known like, "Amazing Grace," and sure enough she sang every verse and was proud and smiling. Dementia had caused her fear, frustration and even anger and outright belligerence. She allegedly punched the male nurse once when he was a bit rough in the handling of her transferal from the bed to the wheelchair.
Now she is singing more and remembering things that other people cannot remember. Julie is much more content now. She used to dread going to see her mother at the nursing home. It was an obligation she carried on because she loves her mother. The good news, is she sent her relatives a video of her mother singing and they were all thrilled at her performance.
RESEARCH FINDS BRAIN LINK FOR WORDS, MUSIC ABILITY. Like those who stutter, singing improves the links within the brain. A person who stutters does not stutter when they sing. Now science is confirming that those abilities are linked in the brain, a finding that might even lead to better stroke treatments. At the age of seven my father required all his sons (three boys) to pick an instrument and so we did. I played the accordion and sang right along with the music. I learned fractions and improved my ability in math. After a heart attack at 31-years-old, it was the music that brought me back from the brink of disaster. Words and music, such natural partners that it seems obvious they go together.
Shyness was a problem I confronted throughout my childhood into my late 30s, but dad had helped me to overcome that with music and would often set up the music stand and hand me my accordion in a restaurant or at a picnic. St. Joseph Day parties would consist of eating and singing. People enjoyed singing together and there were no arguments, and so I published a "Sing-A-Long" book with all the words and an alphabetical listing on the cover. It wasn’t fancy, but it brought strangers together and smiling faces made new friends.
Randolph E. Schmid, AP Science Writer reported this discovery on Saturday, February 20, 2010 and reported the findings which Julie printed out February 23, 2010.
Studies have found overlap in the brain’s processing of language an instrumental music, and new research suggests that intensive musical therapy may help improve speech in stroke patients, researchers said Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
In addition, researchers said music education can help children with developmental dyslexia or autism more accurately use speech. Julie’s grandson has responded so well to music and singing and I believe in the worth of music in overall health and development of brain and lungs. Family gatherings were always a joy when I took out the accordion and handed out the "Sing-A-Long" sheets. So you see, not all is responsive or required to resolve health issues in the way of pills and surgery.
People who have suffered a severe stroke on the left side of the brain and cannot speak can sometimes learn to communicate through singing, Gottfried Schlaug, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School told the meeting.
"Music making is a multi-sensory, activating links to several parts of the brain," Schlaug said. Schlaug showed a video of one patient who could only make meaningless sounds learning to say "I am thirsty," by singing the words, and another was able to sing "happy birthday." "If you have someone who is nonverbal and they can say they are hungry or thirsty or ask where the bathroom is that’s an improvement," Schlaug said of the Melodic Intonation Therapy. As long as a century ago there were reports of stroke victims who couldn’t talk but who could sing, he said. Now, they are doing trials to see if music can be used as a therapy. Nina Kraus, director of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University, reported that new studies show that musical training enhances the brain’s ability to do other things. When people first learn to talk and when they talk to babies they often use musical patterns in their speech, she noted.
"People’s hearing systems are fine-tuned by the experiences they’ve had with sound throughout their lives. Music training is not only beneficial for processing music stimuli. We’ve found that years of music training may also improve how sounds are processed for language and emotion," Kraus said in prepared remarks. Kraus said "the very responses that are enhanced in musicians are deficient in clinical populations such as children with developmental dyslexia and autism."
Aniruddh D. Patel of the Neuroscience Institute in San Diego said new studies show that music doesn’t involve just hot spots in the brain, but large swaths on both sides of the brain. "Nouns and verbs are different from the tones and chords and harmony, but the parts of the brain that process them overlap," he said. Some scientists, among them Charles Darwin, have speculated that musical ability in humans might have developed before language, " Patel said.
And so, my thanks to my late father for all that he gave me when he decided to buy me an accordion and include me in 100-piece bands that played at Kleinhan’s Music Hall before a packed house. Whenever I faced the most difficult times of my life, it was my accordion and the wisdom and sounds of the music that caused me to rebound. Julie’s mother is a living, breathing example of the miracle of music therapy. And thanks to Mrs. Lieberman, my music teacher in 7th grade, who decided to feature me as a soloist performer at Tech High School. As shy and fearful as I was before the performance, it all soon took flight from my mind as soon as I began playing "Dark Eyes." In 1945 my father decided to take me to the radio station to audition for "Uncle Bill’s Hour" and Aunt Sally played "School Days." At seven years old my father had enough faith in me to take a shy little boy into the limelight and it resulted in my winning a pair of shoes from Liberty Shoes and a book of green stamps. Another performance the following Sunday resulted in the remark that, "Little Stanley received most of his votes (a 2-cent postcard) from the "suburbs," even if little Stanley didn’t know where the suburbs were.
The rest of the story involves a very successful son who was given his first accordion while still in the crib. I never gave him a lesson on the accordion, but at three he could play every song and today, whenever the stress of his work needs to be attended to, he sits at his grand piano and plays the most beautiful music to soothe his nerves and fill his brain with the sound of music that resets his mood to one of complete serenity. He called the other day to excitedly report that his daughter (my granddaughter) is a gifted child and is happily playing on her Yamaha keyboard. She’s nine-years-old and so the beat goes on and all because of the "Sound of Music."